Chapter 40: Assigning Points
"This... this is good news, right?" Glenn adjusted his baseball cap and suddenly let out a small laugh, looking at Maggie beside him.
Maggie stared blankly at Shawn's figure and subconsciously nodded. "Of course. It couldn't be better."
She came back to her senses, glanced back at the second floor of the house, and said nothing.
Everyone present, whether from the Quarry Camp or the Farm, had their own thoughts. The image of Shawn unhesitatingly bowing to Lori replayed in their minds. Only then did they fully believe that what had just happened was real.
Lori looked at Shawn, a little dazed. She shifted her gaze to Rick, who was standing with Shane in the distance. Her eyes met Rick's, and he just gave an imperceptible nod.
"At least... at least so far, you've done very well." Lori's voice was a bit weak, but when the others heard her words, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"But I hope you can keep your promise and that there won't be a next time. I can't... I can't lose Carl."
When her eyes met Rick's just now, Lori had understood instantly. First, Carl was really okay; Shawn hadn't lied. Second, Shawn's attitude was sincere and not faked.
Hearing this, Shawn stood up again, turned to face everyone, his face showing no embarrassment from being the center of attention.
"Since everyone is here at the camp, I have an announcement."
"Before midnight tonight, we will have a brief meeting. I hope everyone will be there."
"Hershel's side... I'll have to trouble you to inform them, Maggie." Shawn looked at Maggie, and she nodded.
"Alright, I've said what I needed to say. Everyone can get back to what they were doing." Shawn waved his hand irritably. 'Are you all addicted to watching?'
As if released from a spell, the crowd finally broke from their stupor and resumed their tasks. But now, their spirits were completely renewed, a stark contrast to before. The camp was suddenly filled with the sound of laughter and conversation, an atmosphere of joy and vitality spreading throughout. Seeing Carl safe and sound, and seeing this side of Shawn, everyone's hopes and confidence for the future suddenly soared.
Shawn started to walk away. "Alright, that's settled. I'm going to go sleep in the truck for a while. I'll get up again tonight."
Shawn stretched, casually picked up his sledgehammer and shouldered it. But a figure slowly approached from not far away, stopping him before he could get into the 'Red Tyrant'.
"Shawn." Old Dale adjusted the long gun slung over his shoulder and gave Shawn a kind smile, though his small frame looked a little cramped in front of him.
"What is it?" Shawn stopped, leaning against the truck door.
"I just wanted to say, we've always been grateful for everything you've done for the camp."
"Faced with new challenges, you have to make some choices that seem very tough... even if they seem a bit impersonal."
"I just want you to know, if you ever feel like you can't handle it, you have to tell me. At least let me share some of the burden." Old Dale looked at Shawn like a respected elder.
Shawn nodded to show he understood but didn't respond directly. He pulled open the back door of the truck and sat down.
'Slam—'
The moment the door closed, the world finally became quiet. Watching Old Dale's receding figure, Shawn shook his head.
'Old Dale isn't suited for the apocalypse, which is why he originally checked out so early.'
'So he absolutely cannot be in the camp's decision-making circle, at least not with the camp's current situation.'
'But if the camp starts to expand rapidly in the future, it might need people like Old Dale's help. Like good cop and bad cop, dictatorship and benevolent governance. A dictatorship is necessary for special times, but when development enters a new stage, a new management style is needed to keep the camp going.'
At this thought, an idea struck him. He silently called out 'System'.
A light screen suddenly unfolded in his vision, displaying the following information:
[Shawn]
Level: Lv. 13 (61%)
Unused Skill Points: 4
Health: 113/113
Stamina: 107/113 (Slowly regenerating)
Food/Water: 113/113 (Continuously, slowly decreasing)
Feels Like: 70°F
Walkers Killed: 136
Magazines: Bow Hunters - Crafting Skill Lv. 5
Equipment: Stone Sledgehammer Lv. 2, Stalker Gloves Lv. 3, Wood Armor Set Lv. 1
Status Effect: None
During his trip with Carl to the town and the highway, while training him, Shawn himself had also improved a lot. Especially in the battle when Carl was unconscious, Shawn had leveled up directly from Lv. 10 to around 40% of the way to Lv. 12, having cleared out almost all the remaining walkers in that small town area. He then gradually leveled up to Lv. 13 on the highway.
"Not bad." A knowing smile appeared on Shawn's face as his eyes landed on the 'Unused Skill Points' after his level. To be rewarded for hard work... sometimes Shawn even felt that coming to this apocalypse wasn't such a bad thing.
He opened the skill panel. It was another happy moment of assigning points. Last time, Shawn had leveled his core Strength attribute to Lv. 6. The passive skill for sledgehammers—Skull Crusher—was at Lv. 3.
He was now faced with a dilemma. With 4 skill points, he could directly raise his core Strength attribute from Lv. 6 to Lv. 8. But if he only leveled it up once, to Lv. 7, he could unlock the next level of Skull Crusher and still have one skill point left over. Both choices would greatly increase his strength...
"Better to be safe. My experience bar isn't far from the next level anyway. No need to be in such a hurry."
In the end, Shawn decided to go with the latter option.
[(Bodybuilder) Level 7/10, large increase to Strength and headshot chance.]
[Sledgehammers and clubs will grant you divine power, bro.]
Then, he put a point into Lv. 4 of Skull Crusher, only one level away from the final Lv. 5.
[Skull Crusher Level 4 (Specialize in using heavy weapons like Sledgehammers to destroy enemies and objects.) — Bone Breaker]
[You can now smash everything around you to pieces!]
[Wanna party?]
[Remaining Unused Skill Points: 1]
The moment he finished assigning the points, Shawn suddenly hunched over. Inside the truck, the muscles all over his body twitched slightly, as if they were having a wild party. He subconsciously gripped the Stone Sledgehammer with one hand, fighting the urge to smash everything as he looked up, a hint of joy welling up in his eyes.
"I didn't expect the boost from the later levels of the Strength attribute to be so huge!"
"From Lv. 7, my strength has increased so much. What kind of changes will I see when I reach Lv. 8, or even the top Lv. 10?"
The increase in the Strength attribute was the most direct. As for Skull Crusher, he would have to wait until he was actually facing walkers or enemies and swinging the sledgehammer to clearly feel the change.
*****
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