Chapter 55: An Unexpected Person
[Magazine 'Bow Hunters' — Who's still queuing at the hunting store in the apocalypse? Make your own bows and arrows, and save your money for the next issue of 'Bow Hunters'!]
Effect: Unlocks recipes to craft bows and crossbows!
Details: Different levels can craft weapons of different quality.
(Each weapon type is further divided into Quality 1~6)
[Magazine 'Scrapping 4 Fun' — One man's junk is another man's treasure!]
Effect: Unlocks recipes to craft wrenches!
Details:
—Wrench: Magazine Level Lv. 2--Lv. 21
—Ratchet: Magazine Level Lv. 22--Lv. 46
—Impact Driver: Magazine Level Lv. 47--75
(Each weapon type is further divided into Quality 1~6)
[Magazine 'Get Hammered' X2— Who says you can't satisfy your desire to smash things while reading a magazine?!]
Effect: Unlocks recipes, increases the quality of craftable sledgehammers!
Details:
—Stone Sledgehammer: Lv. 1--Lv. 10
—Iron Sledgehammer: Lv. 11--Lv. 35
—Steel Sledgehammer: Lv. 36--Lv. 75
(Each weapon type is further divided into Quality 1~6)
And then the next one... whoa, two copies of 'Get Hammered'.
Only then did Shawn remember that when he had put points into 'Skull Crusher', there was a note about an increased chance of finding 'Get Hammered'. After all, 'Skull Crusher' was the exclusive skill for sledgehammers. It not only increased combat power but also the drop rate of 'Get Hammered' magazines and sledgehammer parts. That must be where these two copies came from.
With this in mind, Shawn used all four magazines in succession. The four magazines in his backpack turned into points of light and disappeared from their slots.
His current magazine levels were:
'Bow Hunters' Lv. 10 — Can now craft up to 'Quality 6' primitive bows.
'Scrapping 4 Fun' Lv. 5 — Can now craft a minimum 'Quality 1' wrench.
'Get Hammered' Lv. 10 — Can now craft up to 'Quality 6' stone sledgehammers.
"Good, good, good." Shawn stroked his non-existent beard, wanting to laugh out loud. The stone sledgehammer he was currently using was only a lowly Quality 2.
"I need to find a place to make a new hammer..."
Although his right arm hadn't fully healed, Shawn couldn't resist. He went downstairs with the sledgehammer in his left hand. There were many corpses on the second floor, and on the first floor, they were piled up into a small mountain. These were all walkers he had knocked down the stairs. When he came down, there were still two or three stuck on the spikes of the 'spike traps', stubbornly baring their blood-stained teeth at him.
Of course, Shawn didn't spare a single one, harvesting them all for experience. He was already Lv. 22. The number of walkers needed to level up was several times what it was at Lv. 1; he had to kill more.
Seeing the sunlight shining in from outside, Shawn was in a great mood. He shouldered his hammer and cheerfully walked toward the door. But the moment his right foot stepped out of the church door!
An icy chill shot toward him from the side. The hair on his entire body stood on end in an instant! Before he could even wipe the smile off his face, he felt an intense, deadly threat! Like an ice dragon covered in blades, it was hurtling toward him with no mercy!
It was an almost subconscious reaction.
With a flick of his left wrist, Shawn spun the giant sledgehammer as if it were a small knife and slammed it into the attack coming at his face!
'CLANG—!!'
A sound like metal on metal rang out!
The smile vanished from Shawn's face. He twisted his head to the side like a wolf looking over its shoulder, a cold light in his eyes.
Before the attacker could react, Shawn's left hand exerted immense force, and with a single motion, he swept the long sword from their grasp and pinned it to the ground at his feet. The blade sank into the earth, the hilt vibrating like a wasp's wing. In a single exchange, with the other person having the element of surprise, the victor was already decided!
"The strength is too weak. Is it a woman?" Only then did Shawn realize. He had just been fighting a horde, so he had subconsciously used his full strength, regardless of who the attacker was. That, combined with his opponent's lack of strength, was why the fight was decided in a single move. And... his opponent probably hadn't expected him to be able to unleash such immense power.
But man or woman, it didn't matter. Shawn gripped his sledgehammer and swung it in a backhand motion.
'SWOOSH—!'
The sledgehammer moved like lightning, powerful and swift! Even though he was using his left hand, the force it generated was no weaker than his dominant hand! The hammer came up from below, and the moment it made contact with flesh, the sound of breaking bones was heard.
'Schlick—!'
Blood flew!
Only then did he bother to look up. The first thing he met was the woman's eyes. Against her dark leather attire, her eyes were particularly striking. Shawn sized her up, and she stared back at him.
What kind of eyes were these? If there were a sword in the world that could cleave mountains, then this woman's gaze was its cutting edge. Full of aggression, mixed with self-defense, and buried deep beneath it all, a trace of loneliness.
'"Her eyes hold the condensed shadow of the entire apocalypse..."' For some reason, this thought popped into Shawn's mind as he looked at her.
Just as he had seen, the woman was dressed in black leather. Tight-fitting clothes, boots made for mobility, a dark, blood-stained cloak, and a long, white scabbard on her back... The woman stood sideways, just looking at him coldly, but it was as if she were silently roaring at everyone, "Come closer, and you die!"
Behind her, there should have been two emaciated walkers, bound by chains, their arms and lower jaws removed. But because the woman had dodged his blow, the hammer had instead smashed into one of the chained walkers behind her.
Meeting Shawn's gaze, the woman slowly raised both hands, her eyes glancing at the 'barbed wire' on his sledgehammer, which was caked with walker blood. "I thought you were a walker. That's why I attacked."
Hearing her explanation, Shawn finally snapped out of it and lowered his sledgehammer. Although this was the first time he had seen this woman in this apocalypse, she was an indispensable character in the 'Walking Dead' story, and one of the story's individual combat powerhouses.
Michonne… Grimes, as many fans would call her. Although her last name was never explicitly mentioned in the show, her future husband was named Rick Grimes.
"You took a swing at me, and you missed. I took a swing at you, and you're not dead."
"Consider your life spared by your own luck."
Shawn used his sledgehammer to hook the long sword and held it horizontally in front of her face.
"Thanks." Michonne said coolly, without any coyness, and sheathed the sword. But seeing Shawn lift the Stone Sledgehammer with one hand and unleash such incredible power, a fleeting look of surprise still crossed her face.
'"This man in front of me is unbelievably strong,"' Michonne thought, looking at Shawn.
"Why are you here?" Shawn asked, looking at her with confusion. He hadn't expected to be so lucky as to run into Michonne in a randomly chosen village.
"I heard a bell ringing from a distance."
Michonne peered into the church. Only when she saw the small mountain of walker corpses did an unconcealed look of astonishment appear on her face. She turned back to Shawn.
"I just didn't expect anyone else to be alive."
*****
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