The conference room was quiet now.
Sam and Rachael had left, already throwing themselves into their new roles.
Sam had gathered the engineers, and survivor volunteers barking out orders about reinforcing walls, building watchtowers, and getting proper roadways reopened or repaired for future expansion and easier movement of the ever growing vehicle fleet.
Rachael was already sorting through medical supplies, coordinating with the Medicus unit, and doing her best to explain modern sterilization practices to men who were more used to bloodletting and poultices.
Everything was moving forward.
But Carter?
Carter needed to see just how much further he could push himself.
If his army was evolving, then so should he.
~
Carter returned to his own condo suite before pulling up the Scientific Military System's Status screen, and tapping onto the Skill Menu, something he had neglected for far too long, only using it a little in the beginning to increase his Melee and Weapon proficiencies.
His focus had always been on strengthening his army, on building up infrastructure, defences, and supplies.
But what about himself?
🔹 Available Skill Points: 22
After all his battles, all his missions, and all his brutal fights for survival, he had 22 skill points remaining after having spent the points to raise both his melee and weapon proficiency to level 4.
The key point he saw was that the number of skill points he earned per level had changed, in the beginning, he only earned 2 skill points per level, but after the system ranked up he started to earn 5 skill points.
He'd only ever spent six point to make himself better, while keeping his focus on the army and making sure as a whole they were stronger.
Now?
Now it was time to change that.
Skill Tree Overview
The Skill Menu was divided into many different branches, each focusing on different aspects of growth, from Leadership, to Combat, Resistances... etc.
1️⃣ Weapon Proficiency Level 4- Improves ranged combat ability, ranged weapon proficiency, and accuracy when firing at range.
2️⃣ Melee Proficiency Level 4 – Improves physical combat ability, weapon proficiency, and personal endurance.
3️⃣ Mental Augmentation – Enhances cognitive abilities, learning speed, and multi-tasking.
4️⃣ Tactical Innovation – Unlocks unique battlefield strategies, deception tactics, and resource efficiency.
...
~
Each category was tempting, each skill he scrolled past made him want to choose that one only to tell himself to see the who list before deciding how his 'build' was going to go.
But Carter's biggest weakness so far wasn't physical strength or leadership ability those things could be learnt the natural way or be performed by others in his place, instead.
It was his mind.
The larger his territory grew, the more he had to manage, strategize, plan, and the more forces he had to command.
He needed to think faster, be better, and become smarter.
Skill Unlocks
🔹 Parallel Thought Level 1(5 SP) – Allows the user to process multiple trains of thought (2)at once, significantly improving planning and decision-making speed.
🔹 Parallel Minds Level 1(8 SP) – Creates independent 'mental partitions' within the user's mind, allowing them to focus on multiple complex tasks simultaneously. (Max: 2 Minds)
Total SP Spent: 13
Remaining SP: 9
As soon as he made his 'purchase' it was like he had just woken up from a dream, it was... well weird, if he focused everything felt the same as he could push his increased processing power to the back of his mind.
But otherwise it was like he was actively thinking about one thing while a million other things were all happening in the background.
Thanks to the parallel minds, and thought skills he had two of each giving him four separate lines of overall thought.
His brain was now like an overclocked computer processor.
Next up he scanned to see if there was a way to ensure his continued growth, since the experience gains from the zombies themselves were low, and well through the weeks experimentation he could tell the system was not an extension of himself, before when the Medjay went on scavenging missions he noticed he didn't earn dollars or experience for undead they slew, but if he was close enough to be their 'commander' then he would earn from them.
Scanning through all the skill he'd seen, a few possibly helpful skills names under the leadership category.
1️⃣ Summoning Synergy - Allows the possessor to share a 'bond' with their summoning making them all a part of the same entity in a sense, all actions taken by one will be gained by all others connected through synergy.
2️⃣ Soul Siphon – Summons absorb the souls of defeated enemies maximizing the rewards provided by the system for target elimination.
The skills were honestly not that pricy only costing four skill points a piece but the effect if he was interpreting it correctly was more than worth it but also leaving him with only a single lowly point remaining.
As Carter was about to close the menu, his eyes narrowed on something at the very bottom of the skill list.
It wasn't highlighted like the others almost like it was being greyed out.
It wasn't even categorized into any of the main branches.
It was simply there, written in plain, golden letters.
🔹 Continue!? (???)
"...The hell is this?"
Carter tapped on the skill.
Nothing happened.
No description.
With a cost of a single point
No explanation.
Just a single confirmation button beneath it.
[Do you wish to acquire this skill? Y/N]
Carter frowned.
This was the first skill that didn't tell him what it did.
Every other skill had clear descriptions.
But this?
It was like the system wanted him to take it without question.
A trap?
Or something more?
After a moment of hesitation…
He pressed Yes.
📢 System Notification
⚠ WARNING: Unknown Skill Acquired
⚠ Applying Changes...
For a brief second, everything around him glitched.
His vision flickered, like static on an old TV screen as if his brain has rebooted.
The entire world felt like it stuttered—paused—and then resumed.
Then—
📢 Skill Acquired: Continue!?
...And that was it.
No details.
No explanation.
Nothing.
Just a vague sense of unease settling in his gut.
Having no idea just what it was exactly I had signed up for.
As soon as Carter closed the menu, he immediately felt the effects of his new skills.
The world around him sharpened.
His thoughts expanded.
He had always been someone with quick wit, but now?
It was like having an entire council of himself inside his own head.
It wasn't just thinking faster—it was thinking multiple things at once.
Like for real multi-tasking not just the fake multi-tasking everyone else talks about, even if he wanted to he could have his hands and feet each be controlled by one of the four 'brains' within his head each one independently doing something different.
Carter exhaled.
This…
This was dangerous.
Not for him.
But for everyone else.
If the system was already this powerful, then what would happen when he ranked up again?
When he got more skill points, when he upgraded himself again...
If this was only the Iron Age… what came next?
Rome was just the beginning.
What would the Medieval Age bring?
Gunpowder?
Castles?
Knights?
And after that?
The Renaissance?
The Industrial Revolution?
Would he summon Napoleon's Grand Armée?
Would he command WWII Panzer Divisions?
Would he reshape the entire world into a military empire spanning every historical era?
For the first time, Carter truly understood the scale of his power.
He wasn't just a leader.
He was an era-defining force.
And the world was not ready for what came next.