Chapter 69: Ankylosaurus

Sobek pulled his phone out of the [Inventory] and went looking for the latest news. His huge claws made it difficult for him to use his cell phone, but he was patient. When he went to Google he simply searched for the word 'spinosaurus', sure that he will have find something useful to understand that situation. As expected, the first thing that appeared was a photo of him. No, an entire gallery of images of him. He could say he had become famous. Sobek quickly scrolled the page. It was filled with newspaper articles, links, and scientific journals that did nothing except talk about him. He couldn't believe the amount of information scientists had gathered about him. He hadn't expected so much interest from the scientific community. He was startled when he found out they had called him 'Spinosaurus superior'. So the species names given by the System were what humans would have given yo him once he was discovered by them? Did this mean that before evolving again he would have had another 'close encounter' with them? He called himself stupid right after thinking about it. It was obvious that he would have had to get close to them again! He needed fame points for the next evolution, so he had to do something to be known by them! He certainly couldn't stand still in the middle of the forest waiting for the fame points to magically rise! There had also been interviews with the people he had met. Oddly, there wasn't even one to the girl he had saved; she probably wasn't someone who liked to put on a show. The only information he found about her was released from her parents. Sobek read as many articles as he could, but unfortunately he didn't find a single one that talked about the girl's current condition. He was a little sorry: he had hoped to at least know how she was doing now. He hoped she was okay. On the contrary, there were a lot of articles about the scientists that had tried to drug him. Apparently their chief's name was Mitch Morgan and he was a professor. Strange, it seemed he had already heard that name before... He didn't have time to dwell on this problem, because he discovered a much more compelling one shortly after. Sobek jumped when he found out that they had made a video of him not frightened by the burning helicopter! If he had known, he would certainly not have let them go! To hell the smoke, he would have razed the forest to the ground tree by tree if necessary! Now everyone considered him the smartest animal on the planet after the humans! That's what those 67 million fame points were due to. Now surely they would have come looking for him much more assiduously! It was as if he had hung a target on his back! "FUCK!!!" Was he really sure that God wasn't intervening? Because it seemed to him that someone was doing everything to make life difficult for him! As he thought about it, Sobek almost thought he heard the mocking laughter of that evil woman behind him. He put the cell phone back in his [Inventory] because he was more than sure that if he held it in his hand for another second he would throw it into the river or crush it in anger. Fortunately he was a very patient type, otherwise he would have gone to eat a whole bunch of argentinosaurs just to let off steam. When he finally calmed down he decided there was no reason to sulk. The damage was done now, so there was no point in feeling sorry for that. After all, he was still safe enough: finding him in the forest would have been nearly impossible even for the sophisticated tools of modern-day scientists. He just had to keep moving towards the interior of the continent, keeping away from human territories, and with a little luck he would have avoided having to confront other idiots who had come to annoy him. Perhaps stay away from rivers or other streams would be a good idea too. After all, that would be the first place scientists or hunters would look for it. And now he was strong enough to hunt exclusively on land. By the way, it was time to start the hunt again! Now it was a predator of 24 meters, capable of silent ambushes and with claws powerful enough to cut through steel: there was no prey that could escape from him! All his senses were amplified. Now he could hear things tens of kilometers away. His eyesight had become better than an eagle and his sense of smell had been amplified to extreme levels. He was definitely a war machine! He sniffed the air and searched for palatable preys. Eventually he found something decent: a smell that sme time ago he had learned to associate with a dinosaurus that when he was a human he had known very well. He decided it was the perfect prey to start with. His new, nimble, muscular legs moved and carried him quickly to the source of that smell: a large male ankylosaurus! Even a t-rex would have kept away from an ankylosaurus. It was a real living tank, protected by an impenetrable bony armor and armed with a tail ending with a mace so powerful that it can shatter the bones of a leg as if they were made of butter. But Sobek had maximized [Regeneration] and had already raised [Reinforced skin] of two levels. Any wounds the ankylosaurus inflicted on him would heal quickly. When he found it, the notification from the System left him very satisfied. [Prey identified: Ankylosaurus magniventris, ankylosauridae. Experience: 40,000 points] To level up again, he needed at least 270,000 experience points. Those 40,000 were a great first investment! He looked eagerly at the ankylosaurus and studied it in its every part. Its armor made of bony plates made the tough shells of turtles or the armor of armadillos turn pale. It was literally a walking fortress. The nickname 'living tank' that scientists had given it was not accidental. Sobek could feel his survival instincts quiver just by looking at that invincible creation of nature. No predator could have even scratched that armor, so attacking an ankylosaurus was useless from the carnivore's point of view. No, not useless, it was just risky. After all, the ankylosaurus wasn't a gentle giant: it could have easily killed any of its attackers. Prredators could take the risk against a triceratops, which despite being armed was still vulnerable; but against an ankylosaurus? It literally meant courting death. However, Sobek's claws were more than enough to pierce that armor. All he had to do was get close enough. In reality, it would have been enough for him to attack it from below, where its most vulnerable point was, but he was pretty sure that, like the armadillos, the ankylosaurus would have flattened to the ground to defend itself. With a roar he stepped forward. There was no point in ambushing: the ankylosaurus was too slow and heavy to escape. Furthermore, Sobek at that moment also wanted to prove himself: he had to know how strong he had actually become. The ankylosaurus let out a verse that sounded like a bellow, then as Sobek had predicted it lowered to protect its belly. As the spinosaurus approached it began to beat its club tail repeatedly on the ground in clear warning. It was literally yelling at him 'if you dare to come closer, you will end very badly!'. But Sobek was certainly not intimidated by that. As usual, he took the initiative and attacked. However, what he received was only excruciating pain in his right leg. The ankylosaurus had moved its tail so fast that Sobek hadn't even seen it. Even with [Reinforced skin] at level 2/5 his leg was twisted and bent inwards! Luckily he had [Regeneration] which fixed his leg in seconds or else he would be doomed. The strength of the ankylosaurus' club tail was really extraordinary! Sobek was surprised. He knew the ankylosaurus was strong, but he didn't expect that it was so strong! As if to have guessed his astonishment, the ankylosaurus had started bellowing and beating its tail harder, clearly trying to scare him. Sobek didn't wait any longer: he lunged forward with unsheathed claws. He felt a stabbing pain in his paw again, a sign that the 'living tank' had hit him again, but he paid no attention. Forcefully he planted his claws in the armor of the ankylosaurus. The animal bellowed in pain as it felt the claws crack through its armor and penetrate its back. With all the strength that he had, Sobek pulled towards it and turned the ankylosaurus over. The armored dinosaur continually moved its legs in a vain attempt to get up, but it was all in vain: Sobek lowered his muzzle and slashed his jugular with his teeth. The ankylosaurus twitched a few more, then stopped moving. Sobek roared proud of himself: he had beaten a prey against which even a tyrannosaurus would have lost! He saw that as an absolute victory! Thanks to [Fast eating] the ankylosaurus disappeared in his stomach in just half an hour; the only thing that remained of it was the skeleton. As a first hunt Sobek could call himself satisfying! Of course, this had also made him aware of his limitations. If he didn't have [Regeneration] and [Reinforced skin], the ankylosaurus could have killed him. This meant that many herbivores were still beyond its reach. A sauropod's whiptail or a ceratopsid's mighty horns might still be weapons that could take him out. He couldn't let himself be taken by pride and hunted carelessly. As usual, he had to evaluate each of his prey carefully and attack only when he was sure it was really a prey, and not something that could injure him or worse kill him. It was the only way to stay alive in that immense prehistoric forest. He had to stay rational and think with his brain, not certainly with other very questionable parts of his body.