NOVEL NEXT Chapter 351: The egg
Sobek was in the middle of the sea. He was placidly lying on the water on his stomach, barely moving his legs to be able to float. Incredibly, despite his enormous bulk, he wasn't sinking.
It was a beautiful sunny day and the warm rays warmed his back and dorsal sail. If he wasn't careful, Sobek could have fallen asleep from how relaxed he was. The movement of the waves that cradled him did nothing but make them fall asleep even more.
However, he had thoughts that kept him awake.
"It's useless to wait any longer now. While the world isn't quite a utopia yet, it is safe and peaceful enough for me to have offspring without worrying too much about the consequences. Before I was too scared of what could happen to my child, but now that would be an irrational fear"
Sobek wanted to have a child, he had wanted it all his life. To generate offspring was the intrinsic desire of almost every living being, it was written in their DNA. Sobek hated the idea of having to leave that world without a piece of himself behind, and [Parthenogenesis] was the solution to his problems.
But the prospect of becoming a father scared him a little. Would he have been a good parental figure? Would he know how to handle a child? Would he be able to pass on the right values to them and raise them efficiently?
What if he did something wrong? What if his child grew up too spoiled and started looking down on everyone? Or what if he had been a terrible father and his child had gone through a rebellious phase that would have led to them getting hurt, or worse?
Sobek was going through that moment all parents experience in their lives: the very dread of becoming a parent.
"I don't feel ready at all. But after all, will I ever be? I doubt there is a course or manual that teaches you how to be a father or a mother. And I can't waste any more time. I'm still in my prime, but I'm also still a spinosaurus. My species generally does not exceed thirty years of age. I don't know how long it will take for my child to become fully autonomous. I can't risk facing a rebellious teenager when I'm old and tired"
Sobek was not deluded. Even though he'd evolved five times and gained abilities that defied the laws of nature known just a few years ago, he knew he wasn't immortal. He could see for himself that he was ageing: his scales were slowly changing color and, while remaining extremely strong, had begun to fall off more frequently. He was still very strong and probably had at least fifteen years to live, but he didn't know if that would be enough to raise a child and make sure they wouldn't need him anymore when he died.
If he wanted to have offspring, he had to act now, regardless of his doubts and worries.
"System, open interface!"
[Spinosaurus divinus]
Level: 80
Length: 80 m
Height: 24,6 m
Weight: 40 tons
Diet: carnivorous, piscivorous
Force: 30,100,000
Agility: 28,956,000
Resistence: 25,321,000
Maximum speed: 81 km/h
Experience points: 0/33,310,000
Skill Points: MAX REACHED
Fame points: MAX REACHED
Bonus money: 123,456,789
For the last decade his only source of food had been his [Personal manger]; only rarely had he allowed himself to hunt a few giant squids while he was in the ocean. Also, the title of 'beast emperor' made it very difficult to level up, as it cost him 1,000,000 experience points each time and the [Personal manger] now gave him very little. Even so, however, he was able to grow another 20 meters compared to when he fought in the last world war.
According to the description, [Parthenogenesis] would have allowed to transmit all the attributes of him to the unborn child. Which meant that his son would in turn become a giant of 80 meters. However, Sobek still had the System on his side, which meant that he could continue to level up albeit slowly. While his little son would have stopped at 80 meters, Sobek could have continued towards the 100 meters, and maybe even beyond.
"Sorry, my future child. It looks like your old man is going to be the biggest creature that ever lived…"
By now Sobek was nearly three times the length of a blue whale. If it hadn't been for all the tricks to lighten his body, such as the air bags, the hollow skeleton and the hydrogen bag, he would have been crushed by a weight probably exceeding 500 tons.
If his child had been able to reach that size, the future of the herd would have been more secure: even if Sobek knew that the dinosaurs were becoming more autonomous, it was still better to continue to maintain a strong central figure, at least for a century or maybe even more. If his child had reached 80 meters, there would have been no living being in the world capable of keeping up with them, thus ensuring the stability of the pack that would not have risked breaking up in internal fights.
"System, show my skills!"
[Skill Interface]
Swimming speed: 5/5
Ambush: 5/5
Quick digestion: 5/5
Regeneration: 5/5
Deadly Claws: 5/5
Quick consumption: 5/5
Reinforced leather. 5/5
Powerful bite: 5/5
Linguistics: 5/5
Freediving: 5/5
Devastating Roar: 5/5
Linguistics (2): 5/5
Teleport: 5/5
Supreme Instinct: 5/5
Linguistics (3): 5/5
Parthenogenesis: 5/5
Radiation absorption: 5/5
Linguistics (4): 5/5
Even if she knew them by heart by now, looking at the interface displaying all abilities at max level was always satisfying. If [Parthenogenesis] allowed all attributes to be passed on, then her son should also possess all of her abilities.
Not only that: he would also have the [Secondary Systems] and the ability to share minds and skills of the [Contract].
And he would also have [Parthenogenesis], thus being able in turn to generate a new individual when it would have been time to continue the lineage, again guaranteeing the safety of the herd and the continuation of the Sobek dynasty.
In practice, the new individual that Sobek was about to generate would have been a real war machine. Which didn't make the spinosaurus any quieter.
"Raising a child is already difficult, how am I supposed to raise a child with such powers? Power goes to the head, it's well known... how am I going to teach them to be a good pack leader? How will I keep them from getting arrogant and subduing others for fun? How will I avoid them considered themselves a step above all others?"
Sobek was literally panicking.
"How ironic: the mighty spinosaurus with divine powers, directly chosen by God, great strategist, invincible warrior, the one who overturned the world order, scared of his own child. No, even better: of the perspective of having a child. I'm pretty sure it could be considered a joke"
Sobek let out a deep sigh. He had to calm down or he would never get out of it.
"It makes no sense to keep thinking about it. As that man once said, away the tooth, away the pain. If I don't, I will always find a reason to postpone"
The decision was made. With one dive he plunged into the waters of the ocean and swam towards the continent. He could have just teleported, but he liked the thrill of swimming. It was what his nature dictated, after all. As he hurtled at 810 km/h the water around him moved creating huge waves. Luckily he was far from the coast, or it could have generated a tsunami.
Once he reached Maakanar he swam to the mouth of the Skai River, the same spot where he, Carnopo, Al, Blue, Old Li and many others had arrived many years before after their escape. From there he quickly sailed upriver until he reached a beach in the middle of the forest.
But not just any beach.
It was the beach where he was born.
Over the years, the herd of spinosaurs that had been his family had moved to new territories, favored by the different conditions of life. Many of them had gone to human territories, others had begun to explore the rest of the world. Nevertheless, instinct always brought his family back to where the eggs had hatched.
However, at that time of year the spinosaurs did not nest. Therefore, Sobek had the beach all for himself.
Once out of the water, he dug a large hole and flattened it as best he could, creating the perfect place to hatch an egg. After that, he took a deep breath and activated [Parthenogenesis].
He immediately felt something happen: the point on his body where his genitals were seemed to change. With his latest evolution Sobek had become a full-fledged hermaphrodite, possessing both male and female sexual organs, and at that moment she clearly perceived something forming inside what must have been his uterus. He had never felt this feeling before, but he knew there was new life inside him.
Sobek knew it would take some time for the egg to be ready to leave his body, so he lay back and waited. He still had many doubts, but by now the damage had been done: it was too late to go back.
He had to wait a week before instinct told him it was time. When he sensed it was about to come, he stood up slightly and pushed. Within seconds, an egg the size of a sink emerged from inside him and settled placidly on the ground.
Sobek looked at his egg. It was pearly white, free from blemishes, and looked extraordinarily fragile. He immediately placed himself on top of it, being very careful not to crush it, fearing that the baby inside would freeze to death if he didn't immediately start brooding.
That would have been the beginning of a long hatching. And after the hatching would come what Sobek, the same spinosaurus who had fought a good number of wars, would have considered to be the most difficult period of his entire life… fatherhood.