Fen Chiang couldn't believe it. Parallel universes existed! And they were more than a hundred billion! He knew more than one astronomer who would die a second time at that revelation.
But a doubt seized him: God's words sounded familiar to him... why did the worlds of his previous lives seem to belong first to a fantasy story and then to a science fiction?
"Because what you call 'stories' are actually events that really happened, they simply happened in another world" God said suddenly.
Fen Chiang jumped. "I didn't say anything! How... can you read minds?"
God seemed to roll her eyes. "You should search 'omniscient' on the dictionary" she answered simply.
Fen Chiang felt stupid at those words. He quickly changed the subject: "What do you mean? Why are all the stories real?"
"Because the humans of the world where you spent your last life, the Earth, have a particular power: their imagination" God explained. "With it, they can break the barriers of their universe with the mind and see what is happening in the others. Whenever a human imagines something, he is actually looking at another reality where that is happening. Consequently, every story, tale or novel ever invented by earthlings is a reflection of something that took place in another universe"
Fen Chiang was silent for a moment, unable to process what he had just heard, then he felt pervaded by excitement: "So universes like Star Wars or the ones of the Avengers really exist?"
"Of course, in all the various versions that humans on Earth have painted them in" God answered. "If you hadn't interrupted me earlier, I would have told you that in your third life you had the name of Aragorn"
Fen Chiang's eyes became two balls. "A... Aragorn!? That Aragorn? The one of the Lord of the Rings?"
"Exactly. Although Tolkien didn't quite describe all your adventures. Most have been missing, in truth" God replied, nodding her head slightly, a movement that seemed to shake the very pillars of creation.
Fen Chiang looked down at his shaking hands. "I... I am the mythical Aragorn! And not only! Before I was a dragon... and before that a space general... but... this is absolutely cool!". He looked up: "Who was I in the fourth life?" he asked, expecting another glorious tale.
However, he was disappointed. "You just finished it" God answered him, making him feel stupid again.
Fen Chiang scratched his head: "Right... I forgot..."
"You chose it" God said. "When you wanted to reincarnate a fourth time, you asked me to give you the life of an ordinary man. Even though this led to an unhappy end to your last life, I still granted your wish"
"Can I remember my old lives?"
"Of course, once you enter Heaven. Before then you can't do it"
"Why?"
"Because at this moment you are still in limbo between the mortal world and the afterlife. And only in the afterlife a soul can remember all their lives, since if by chance they remember them in the mortal world this could create different... problems that I let you imagine" God answered, and then she stared at him intensely. "However, sometimes I made some exceptions. And I would like to make one for you too, of course assuming you want to"
Fen Chiang felt the atmosphere change around them. "What do you mean?"
"Very simple. I would like you to reincarnate right now. However, don't feel obligated: you can say no if you don't want and go to Heaven. I can wait a few billion centuries before you want to try again the thrill of a mortal life, after all here time has no value" God said. The smile on her lips had widened.
Fen Chiang was confused, but he decided to leave biased: "Why do you want this?"
God looked nostalgic. "Sometimes, when a world is particularly in danger, I send someone, a soul that has already proved its abilities, to resolve the situation. I would like you to save a world too"
Fen Chiang raised an eyebrow: why did the situation seem to take the turn of a fantasy manga? "Sorry, but couldn't you save it alone? Aren't you supposed to be omnipotent or something?"
"Of course"
"So why don't you do something?"
"But I'm doing something. I'm talking to you"
Fen Chiang wasn't sure, but it seemed to him that God was secretly laughing, as if she considering his questions silly. The tone of her replies in fact seemed to be one of someone saying the most obvious thing in the world, even if from Fen Chiang's point of view they were completely meaningless. "Forget it. What threatens this world? Indeed, what world is it? Fantasy? Epic? Maybe something with cultivators and demon kings?" he asked showing off his culture as a fan of light novels.
God shook her head, which seemed to generate the force of a thousand supernovae. "Not exactly. The world I want to send you to is very similar to Earth, but a little more... complete". Between them appeared what looked like a hologram: a large blue planet with five continents, full of plants and life. "You see, every living species that has ever existed on Earth, in this world exists forever"
Fen Chiang took a moment to understand, then he opened his eyes wide: "You mean that in that world..."
"... dinosaurs, humans, prehistoric mammals, synapsids, all coexist. The rules of evolution are the same as those of the Earth, simply the concept of 'extinction' is removed" God replied. "You know, I was a little disappointed that the living species on Earth had a limited duration in time, so... I created this universe. I don't tell you the efforts of bringing together all the animals and all the plants of different ecosystems... but in the end I succeeded, and this is the result. It is called Eden"
Fen Chiang couldn't believe it. A world where dinosaurs and humans coexist? What was it, the advanced version of Dinotopia? "How can everyone stay there?" he asked, knowing from the knowledge of his past life that the habitats could only contain a limited number of species.
"This planet is very large. It has about ten times the diameter of the Earth" God answered.
"What!?" Fen Chiang was stunned. Ten times the diameter of the Earth? Such a planet was almost as big as Jupiter! "How do they resist gravity?"
"The laws of physics work a little differently in this universe. Gravity, for example, is ten times weaker" replied God. "Anyway, the gravity felt on this planet is the same as on Earth, but space is much greater"
"I understand..." Fen Chiang murmured scratching his chin. "And what is threatening this world??"
God smiled. "Humans"
"Excuse me!?"
"Are you surprised? Even in your old world you weren't exactly good guys. It can be said that you have destroyed millions of years of hard work"
"For real? Wait, what do you mean?"
"In a future not too far from the time period in which you existed, the human species on Earth with the pollution and the excessive exploitation of resources has caused a global catastrophe that has destroyed a large part of the planetary ecosystems" God replied with a veil of sadness. "Humanity will survive and learn from its mistakes, but much of the planet will be destroyed. Now, the same is unfortunately happening on Eden". Now God's voice sounded angrier. "Although they are not yet at irreversible levels, the humans of that world are slowly destroying the environment. They may end up bringing the concept of 'extinction' to Eden. I created that world on purpose so that lifeforms could coexist without disappearing, so I cannot allow them to destroyed all. Here you enter on the scene"
Fen Chiang shook his hands. "Ok... and what am I suppose to do?"
"You will become a dinosaur"
"A dinosaur!?"
"What's the problem? It seemed to me that you liked them in your previous life"
Fen Chiang swallowed. It wasn't so much the idea of becoming a dinosaur that worried him, instead it excited him: he remembered having loved those creatures in the past. The problem is that he couldn't figure out how to stop the human advance in the form of a dinosaur. "You don't have to worry about that, I've already thought about it" God said, making him jump again and reminding him that she was omniscient. "I intend to provide you with a System"
For an istant, Fen Chiang thought he misunderstood. "A System? You mean... like those systems from web novels, which characters are transported to another world and have an interface like that of a video game?"
"All the stories are real, I already told you. Even web novels are" answered God. "The System that I will provide you will allow you to grow and evolve continuously, and when you have reached a certain level it will also allow you to reunite the other dinosaurs and create an army". The deity seemed to smack her lips. "At the head of such an army, you will be able to make humans listen to you"
Fen Chiang was tempted: becoming a dinosaur was already extraordinary, but having a System was even better. However, he still had doubts: "I don't know... humans still have millions of super destructive weapons. What can a dinosaur army do against a nuclear bomb?"
"The humans of that world have not yet developed too dangerous weapons. You will have time to evolve and think of a strategy" God replied. "You will understand that world and the System once you are reincarnated. From that moment on, I will not interfere with your existence: you can do whatever you want. So, are you ok with this?"
Fen Chiang bit his tongue. Now he was really tempted. If there weren't too powerful weapons like nukes in that world, then he could really have fun... come on, who wouldn't want a life like that? Become a dinosaur with a System and lead an army against humans! It was like a dream!
However, he had a certain nostalgia for his family. He had a strong desire to see them again. It had to be said, however, that he could easily go to Heaven after his fifth life... after all, God had said that there was no time in Heaven, so he would not even have made them wait.
In the end he made his choice. Come on, such occasions only happened once in... okay, not life, but we understood each other. "Okay, I'll do it!" he said solemnly.
"Gorgeous! I knew I could count on you!" God exclaimed standing up. The movement seemed enough to make the whole universe explode. "Let's start immediately then"
"Wait a second! Which dinosaur will I be reincarnated as?" Fen Chiang asked.
"Oh, I chose one that you liked a lot in life" God said, and in front of her appeared the image of a creature similar to a crocodile with a large sail on its back.
Fen Chiang was a little surprised. "A spinosaurus?" he asked doubtfully: he likes that dinosaur, but in terms of fighting power a t-rex was much better.
"You will be able to evolve, remember?" God laughed again.
Fen Chiang slapped himself. Of course! He would have had the System! If so, then he could go from a quiet fish-eating dinosaur to a ruthless killer like the one in Jurassic Park franchise!
God pointed raised her hand (which gave Fen Chiang the impression that a huge shockwave was rushing towards him, far more powerful than the worst hypernova ever) and pointed to a place on the planet projected in the center of the room. "All the specimens of 'Homo sapiens sapiens' are concentrated here" she said, pointing to two large continents and part of a third. "They haven't reached the rest of the world yet, so to make your job as easier as possible, I'll send you here" and she pointed to a spot on the third continent not far from the human settlement. "Here you will find everything you need"
"Why so close to humans?"
"You will understand when the time comes"
"Ok... but how am I going to have a System? Well, it's a magical thing, and this doesn't seem like a magical world to me... how will I justify it if someone will ask me about it?"
"Don't worry, you will not have to explain nothing to anyone. I'll use a trick"
Fen Chiang wasn't convinced, but he didn't ask questions. After all, if he couldn't trust the opinion of God themselves, who could he trust?
"I say that your doubts have been clarified. You can go now" God said, moving her eyelids slightly. "However, there is one more thing you need to do. You won't be able to remember your old name, as well as most of your old life. I will allow you to remember our meeting and your knowledge from your past life, but if you want to reincarnate you will have to forget your old identity. So choose a new name and I'll give it to you"
Fen Chiang thought for a moment. He felt a little weird at the idea of giving himself a new name, but... basically it was a normal thing in a reincarnation. He was already lucky enough to be allowed to keep his memories. He looked at the figure of the spinosaurus in front of him and had the enlightenment: "If I have to reincarnate in this animal, then I can't think of a better name than 'Sobek'!"
"The name of the egyptian crocodile deity? Smart" God commented amused. "Now go"
Fen Chiang saw the room begin to fade and the figure of the woman blur in front of him. "One last thing!" he shouted, taken by a last afterthought. "How can you be sure? If you really won't interfere, how can you know I'll save that world? How can you know that I'll not just fail?"
"Because I know you'll never give up, little child. It is in your nature, I created you like this" God answered with a crystalline laugh. "And then... I trust you"
And upon hearing this, Fen Chiang's soul completely left the hall, heading for the universe of Eden.
Left alone, God smiled. "He should also search the meaning off 'all-knowing' on the dictionary..."
Fen Chiang jumped. "I didn't say anything! How... can you read minds?"
God seemed to roll her eyes. "You should search 'omniscient' on the dictionary" she answered simply.
Fen Chiang felt stupid at those words. He quickly changed the subject: "What do you mean? Why are all the stories real?"
"Because the humans of the world where you spent your last life, the Earth, have a particular power: their imagination" replied God. "With it, they can break the barriers of their universe with the mind and see what is happening in the others. Whenever a human imagines something, he is actually looking at another reality where that is happening. Consequently, every story, tale or novel ever invented by earthlings is a reflection of something that took place in another universe"
Fen Chiang was silent for a moment, unable to process what he had just heard, then he felt pervaded by excitement: "So universes like Star Wars or the ones of the Avengers really exist?"
"Of course, in all the various versions that humans on Earth have painted them in" God replied. "If you hadn't interrupted me earlier, I would have told you that in your third life you had the name of Aragorn"
Fen Chiang's eyes became two balls. "A... Aragorn!? That Aragorn? The one of the Lord of the Rings?"
"Exactly. Although Tolkien didn't quite describe all your adventures. Most have been missing, in truth" said God, nodding her head slightly, a movement that seemed to shake the very pillars of creation.
Fen Chiang looked down at his shaking hands. "I... I am the mythical Aragorn! And not only! Before I was a dragon... and before that a space general... but... this is absolutely cool!". He looked up: "Who was I in the fourth life?" he asked, expecting another glorious tale.
However, he was disappointed. "You just finished it" God answered him, making him feel stupid again. Fen Chiang scratched his head: "Right... I forgot..."
"You chose it" said God. "When you wanted to reincarnate a fourth time, you asked me to give you the life of an ordinary man. Even though this led to an unhappy end to your last life, I still granted your wish"
"Can I remember my old lives?"
"Of course, once you enter Heaven. Before then you can't do it"
"Why?"
"Because at this moment you are still in limbo between the mortal world and the afterlife. And only in the afterlife a soul can remember all its lives, since if by chance it remember them in the mortal world this could create different... problems that I let you imagine" God answered, and then stared at him intensely. "However, sometimes I made some exceptions. And I would like to make one for you too, of course assuming you want to"
Fen Chiang felt the atmosphere change around them. "What do you mean?"
"Very simple. I would like you to reincarnate right now. However, don't feel obligated: you can say no if you don't want and go to Heaven. I can wait a few billion centuries before you want to try again the thrill of a mortal life, after all here time has no value" God said. The smile on her lips had widened.
Fen Chiang was confused, but decided to leave biased: "Why do you want this?"
God looked nostalgic. "Sometimes, when a world is particularly in danger, I send someone, a soul that has already proved its abilities, to resolve the situation. I would like you to save a world too"
Fen Chiang raised an eyebrow: why did the situation seem to take the turn of a fantasy manga? "Sorry, but couldn't you save it alone? Aren't you supposed to be omnipotent or something?"
"Of course"
"So why don't you do something?"
"But I'm doing something. I'm talking to you"
Fen Chiang wasn't sure, but it seemed to him that God was secretly laughing, as if she considering his questions silly. The tone of her replies in fact seemed to be one of someone saying the most obvious thing in the world, even if from Fen Chiang's point of view they were completely meaningless. "Forget it. What threatens this world? Indeed, what world is it? Fantasy? Epic? Maybe something with cultivators and demon kings?" he asked showing off his culture as a fan of light novels.
God shook her head, which seemed to generate the force of a thousand supernovae. "Not exactly. The world I want to send you to is very similar to Earth, but a little more... complete" Between them appeared what looked like a hologram: a large blue planet with five continents, full of plants and life. "You see, every living species that has ever existed on Earth, in this world exists forever"
Fen Chiang took a moment to understand, then opened his eyes wide: "You mean that in that world..."
"... dinosaurs, humans, prehistoric mammals, synapsids, all coexist. The rules of evolution are the same as those of the Earth, simply the concept of 'extinction' is removed" replied God. "You know, I was a little disappointed that the living species on Earth had a limited duration in time, so... I created this universe. I don't tell you the efforts of bringing together all the animals and all the plants of different ecosystems... but in the end I succeeded, and this is the result. It is called Eden"
Fen Chiang couldn't believe it. A world where dinosaurs and humans coexist? What was it, the advanced version of Dinotopia? "How can everyone stay there?" he asked, knowing from the knowledge of his past life that the habitats could only contain a limited number of species.
"This planet is very large. It has about ten times the diameter of the Earth" God answered.
"What!?" Fen Chiang was stunned. Ten times the diameter of the Earth? Such a planet was almost as big as Jupiter! "How do they resist gravity?"
"The laws of physics work a little differently in this universe. Gravity, for example, is ten times weaker" replied God. "Anyway, the gravity felt on this planet is the same as on Earth, but space is much greater"
"I understand..." Fen Chiang murmured scratching his chin. "And what would this world be threatened by?"
God smiled. "By humans"
"Sorry!?"
"Are you surprised? Even in your old world you weren't exactly good guys. It can be said that you have destroyed millions of years of hard work"
"For real? Wait, in what sense?"
"In a future not too far from the time period in which you existed, the human species on Earth with the pollution and the excessive exploitation of resources has caused a global catastrophe that has destroyed a large part of the planetary ecosystems" replied God with a veil of sadness. "Humanity survived and learned from its mistakes, but much of the planet was destroyed. Now, the same is unfortunately happening on Eden". Now God's voice sounded angrier. "Although they are not yet at irreversible levels, the humans of that world are slowly destroying the environment. They may end up bringing the concept of 'extinction' to Eden. I created that world on purpose so that lifeforms could coexist without disappearing, so I cannot allow them to destroyed all. Here you enter on the scene"
Fen Chiang shook his hands. "Ok... and what should I do?"
"You will become a dinosaur"
"A dinosaur!?"
"What's the problem? It seemed to me that you liked them in your previous life"
Fen Chiang swallowed. It wasn't so much the idea of becoming a dinosaur that worried him, instead it excited him: he remembered having loved those creatures in the past. The problem is that he couldn't figure out how to stop the human advance in the form of a dinosaur. "You don't have to worry about that, I've already thought about it" God said, making him jump again and reminding him that she was omniscient. "I intend to provide you with a System"
Fen Chiang thought he misunderstood. "A System? You mean... like those character systems from web novels, which are transported to another world and have an interface like that of a video game?"
"All the stories are real, I already told you. Even web novels are" answered God. "The System that I will provide you will allow you to grow and evolve continuously, and when you have reached a certain level it will also allow you to reunite the other dinosaurs and create an army". The deity seemed to smack her lips. "At the head of such an army, you will be able to make humans listen to you"
Fen Chiang was tempted: becoming a dinosaur was already extraordinary, but having a System was even better. However, he still had doubts: "I don't know... humans still have millions of weapons. What can a dinosaur army do against a nuclear bomb?"
"The humans of that world have not yet developed too dangerous weapons. You will have time to evolve and think of a strategy" God replied. "You will understand that world and the System once you are reincarnated. From that moment on, I will not interfere with your existence: you can do whatever you want. So, are you ok with this?"
Fen Chiang bit his tongue. Now he was really tempted. If there weren't too powerful weapons like nukes in that world, then he could really have fun... I mean, who wouldn't want a life like that? Become a dinosaur with a System and lead an army against humans!
However, he had a certain nostalgia for his family. He had a strong desire to see them again. It had to be said, however, that he could easily go to Heaven after his fifth life... after all, God had said that there was no time in Heaven, so he would not even make them wait.
In the end he made his choice. Come on, such occasions only happened once in... okay, not life, but we understood each other. "Okay, I'll do it!" he said solemnly.
"Gorgeous! I knew I could count on you!" exclaimed God standing up. The movement seemed enough to make the whole universe explode. "I would say to start immediately then"
"Wait up! Which dinosaur will I be reincarnated as?" Fen Chiang asked.
"Oh, I chose one that you liked a lot in life" said God, and before her appeared the image of a creature similar to a crocodile with a large sail on its back.
Fen Chiang was a little surprised. "A spinosaurus?" he asked doubtfully: he likes that dinosaur, but in terms of fighting power a t-rex was much better.
"You will be able to evolve, remember?" God laughed again.
Fen Chiang slapped himself. Of course! He would have had the System! If so, then he could go from a quiet fish-eating dinosaur to a ruthless killer like the one in Jurassic Park 3!
God pointed raised her hand (which gave Fen Chiang the impression that a huge shockwave was rushing towards him, far more powerful than the worst hypernova ever) and pointed to a place on the planet projected in the center of the room. "All the specimens of 'Homo sapiens sapiens' are concentrated here" she said, pointing to two large continents and part of a third. "They haven't reached the rest of the world yet, so to make your job as easier as possible, I'll send you here" she pointed to a spot on the third continent not far from the human settlement. "Here you will find everything you need"
"Why so close to humans?"
"You will understand when the time comes"
"Ok... but how am I going to have a System? Well, it's a magical thing, and this doesn't seem like a magical world to me... how will I justify it if someone will ask me about it?"
"Don't worry, you will not have to explain nothing to anyone. I'll use a trick"
Fen Chiang wasn't convinced, but he didn't ask questions. After all, if he couldn't trust the opinion of God itself, who could he trust?
"I would say that your doubts have been clarified. You can go now" God said, moving her eyelids slightly. "However, there is one more thing you need to do. You won't be able to remember your old name, as well as most of your old life. I will allow you to remember our meeting and your knowledge from your past life, but if you want to reincarnate you will have to forget your old identity. So choose a new name and I'll give it to you"
Fen Chiang thought for a moment. He felt a little weird at the idea of giving up his name, but... basically it was a normal thing in a reincarnation. He was already lucky to keep his memories. He looked at the figure of the spinosaurus in front of him and had the enlightenment: "If I have to reincarnate in this animal, then I can't think of a better name than 'Sobek'!"
"The name of the egyptian crocodile deity? Smart" said God. "Now go"
Fen Chiang saw the room begin to fade and the figure of the woman blur in front of him. "One last thing!" he shouted, taken by a last afterthought. "How can you be sure? If you really don't interfere, how can you know I'll save that world? How can you know that I'll not fail?"
"Because I know you'll never give up, little child. It is in your nature, I created you like this" replied God with a crystalline laugh. "And then I trust you"
And upon hearing this, Fen Chiang's soul completely left the hall, heading for the universe of Eden.
Left alone, God smiled. "He should also search the meaning off 'all-knowing' on the dictionary..."
Sobek opened his eyes. Darkness greeted him, followed by a peculiar mushy sensation. He felt like he was wrapped in some kind of jelly. He tried to go out from that place, but even move the fingers was difficult because of the substance that covered him."Where did that damn woman send me!?" Sobek thought angrily, desperately trying to swim. Very soon he hit something, something very hard. "What the... a wall?"It actually looked like a wall. Th logic told him to change direction, but something inside him, some kind of instinct, was telling him to hit his head against it instead. Trusting that singular sensation, he knocked the wall with all his strenght.Crack... crack...A crack appeared in the wall and a faint light came out of it. Sobek finally understood: he was in an egg!Of course! Like almost all vertebrates except mammals, dinosaurs laid eggs. If he had reincarnated in one of them, then it was normal for him to be in an egg!Understanding the situation, he began to hit the egg
Sobek contemplated the System a little longer, then he turned it off. Unfortunately, the [Guide] didn't say many other things: for example, how many experience points were needed for each level advancement. It was unlikely that the 1,000 points that he needed would always have been enough to reach level 2.He turned and walked back to what was presumably his mother, who was still next to the egg he had come out of. Other small spinosaurs were still emerging from other eggs. There were at least twenty of them. His mother was taking care to help them get out.Although he remembered his encounter with God and the knowledge of his previous life, Sobek found that he felt a strong bond with those spinosaurs. It wasn't affection, it was something more... instinctive. A sense of belonging to the pack, let's say.He snorted. Being an animal was really different from being a human: even his thoughts and feelings were different. He was experiencing sensations he had never felt before.When he pau
The hunt that day was more fruitful than Sobek expected: the river bank looked bare, but it was actually teeming with small creatures. Sobek had managed to catch two more frogs, a large millipede and a strange chameleon-like lizard with long colorful spikes on its back called longisquama.Of course, the credit wasn't his alone. Without the help of the other spinosaurus pups he probably would have been able to catch only the millipede, another demonstration of the benefits of having a herd. To thank them Sobek had helped them catch another lizard.He certainly hadn't done it for charity: simply he felt that his stomach was already full, so he couldn't continue eating. So he could spend some time playing with his siblings, and while he did this he would also have improved his skills as a hunter.With all those preys he had already obtained 210 experience points (30 for each of the three frogs, 50 for the fish brought by his father, another 50 for the longisquama and 20 for the millipede)
When he woke up the next day, Sobek initially thought he had a dream, but soon he realized that this couldn't be the case since he remembered nothing of his previous life as a human except his knowledge. When he opened his eyes in fact he found himself in front of a scaly wall which turned out to be the tail of his sleeping mother there.The sun was just starting to rise, but Sobek could already fell its warmth: its rays crossed the clear sky and warmed his body like a radiator. Sobek had no idea how the changing of seasons worked in that world, but since animals generally calved during the warm seasons, there was a great possibility that it was summer.Although with a little regret, he lifted himself from his comfortable position and stretched. Alerted by his movement his brothers and sisters also woke up and began to get up as well. Sobek noticed that many of them were imitating him, stretching as he did and yawning like him.He had definitely become some kind of a big brother.A thu
Sobek woke up sore and with a heavy weight on his face. When he opened his eyes he found that one of his siblings had rolled over in the sleep and landed on his head.He was annoyed, but he couldn't blame the little spinosaur. After all, Sobek alone occupied nearly a third of the nest.Most of his brothers and sisters didn't even reach half a meter in length, while he was a two-meter colossus. They didn't even seem to belong to the same brood! If any scientist had passed by and had seen the nest, he probably would have thought he was a retarded cub from the previous brood.When he got up his movement awake all his brothers and sisters who blew in protest. Sobek felt sorry for them, but there was nothing he could do about it.As usual, he calmly waited for his father to bring him the breakfast. However, he knew it wouldn't have been enough to satisfy him this time. A larger body needed more energy to live, so from now on hunting would have been vital to his survival.His father didn't d
The next morning Sobek was awakened by strange movements. When he opened his eyes he found that some of his brothers and sisters had come out of the nest and were playing on his back. For cubs as small as half a meter, a three-meter older brother was basically like a huge slide for them.Sobek let them do it: they didn't bother him, so he could let them have fun. Until they started nibbling at him, he wouldn't need to chase them away. Besides, he had more important things to think about. "System, open the main interface!"[Spinosaurus aegyptiacus]Level: 3Length: 3 mHeight: 1.5 mWeight: 1,5 tonDiet: carnivore, fishivoreStrength: 170Agility: 130Defense: 86Maximum speed: 4 km/hExperience points: 180/3,000Skill Points: 3.5Fame points: 0/1,000,000Bonus money: 340Much to his relief, the amount of experience points for each level up only increased by 1,000 points at a time, not doubled. Even so, however, it was a fairly high expense.With his current size he would no longer have
The next day Sobek went hunting as soon as he woke up, without even waiting for his siblings to wake up. He headed for the forest and, as usual, placed the eggshell in plain sight.As on the previous day, the first to show up were the compsognathus. After all, such small animals couldn't go too far, so the little pack was still near and they could smell the egg's yolk. Sobek promptly killed one and left its carcass on the sand as he had done the day before.His hopes were not disappointed: after an hour, another thylacinus came out from the bush to eat. Sobek killed it exactly as he did with its predecessor and devoured it.With the thylacinus and the compsognathus he had gained another 1,600 experience, enough to level up again. He didn't hesitate and immediately agreed.After the usual ten seconds of pain he opened the main interface.[Spinosaurus aegyptiacus]Level: 4Length: 4 mHeight: 1.8 mWeight: 2 tonsDiet: carnivore, fishivoreStrength: 510Agility: 470Defense: 142Maximum
When the sun rose Sobek was already awake. He would had lied if he had said he wasn't very excited: this would have been his first time in the river!Even if the yolk in the eggs had not yet completely dried, that type of hunting could no longer support him. He needed more preys, and since he had proved that the forest was still off-limits, his best way was to follow his father into the river.He was confident enough now to dive into the water. Even if there were very large prehistoric crocodiles, most of them would have lost interest in front of a five-meter predator. The only ones who would have seen him as a prey would have been titans like the deinosuchus, but common crocodiles would have aimed for smaller, more viable preys like fishes.Of course, there were other dangers as well. For example there were snakes: gigantic animals such as the titanoboa and the gigantophis hunted in the water. Or there could be freshwater sharks or other huge fishes...But he had no choice this time.