Finally Sobek turned back to the dinosaurs. As he tried his new skills, many more had arrived. 'Am I wrong or are there more than before I evolved?'.

The questions can wait. "Tell me, has something important happened in my absence?" he asked simply.

Explaining the dinosaurs for his behavior and evolution was out of the question. For humans, knowing the thoughts of their leaders was important, but for animals it was different. A pack leader didn't act like this: he didn't have to give any explanation for his actions. Even if Sobek was tempted to say 'sorry, now I'm done checking my powers, tell me something nice', this act would have been interpreted to the ears of his subordinates as an act of weakness. For the animals, lowering themselves to the level of others was a sign of ineptitude. Therefore, if Sobek wanted his pack to remain united and steadfast, he always had to be indifferent and sure of himself.

Buck stepped forward and spoke for everyone. "We haven't encountered any major problems. With the gifts you entrusted to us, we were able to eat and drink our fill every day"

"Good. You have respected my orders, I hope". Although Sobek was more than certain that no one had rebelled it was important to emphasize the hierarchical ladder on every occasion, so that no one would forget their place.

Buck nodded. "No one attacked the other members of the pack and everyone trained to improve their skills. The dinosaurs in the zoo have made great progress. However..." the tyrannosaurus chewed his words. "... although it wasn't a problem, other dinosaurs wanted to join us"

"Uh?" Sobek looked up and with his overdeveloped senses studied the herd that surrounded him. He found that there were many, many dinosaurs around him... at least a hundred! There were much more than the ones he had saved at the zoo!

Most of them were small and medium-sized carnivores: velociraptor, deinonichus, sinraptor, ceratosaurs... it was clear that they had been attracted by the easy food. Herbivores, to a lesser extent, were mostly small creatures such as protoceratops, who had probably wanted to join the pack for the protection it provided.

Sobek hadn't anticipated that, but he recovered quickly: more dinosaurs under his command were good for him. He just had to make sure they didn't cause trouble. "I have nothing against if they want to join the pack, but I hope they have respected the rules"

"Yes, they did. However they cannot talk to other dinosaurs and this made it difficult for them to integrate" Buck replied. "We hoped that you could give him gifts as you did to us"

Of course: only Sobek, thanks to [Contracts], could provide abilities to the dinosaurs. The other members of the pack couldn't. Consequently, in a conversation Buck could talk to a stranger thanks to [Linguistics], making himself perfectly understood, but his interlocutor couldn't answer since he did not possess the ability. "All those who are new, come here immediately" he ordered bluntly.

Several dinosaurs stepped forward. Many of them were visibly nervous, especially herbivores who did not feel comfortable being so close to carnivores. However, even the predators weren't calm: Sobek was literally a giant among the giants, if he had refused them he could have swallowed them in one mouthful.

Sobek waited until they were all lined up in front of him, then said in an authoritarian tone: "I will ask you a simple question: do you want to join the pack and will you be loyal to it?"

"Yes!" the dinosaurs replied without being asked. In an instant, hundreds of [Contracts] appeared in Sobek's field of vision.

However, something happened that Sobek had not foreseen: the [Contracts] had changed! Something was different! 'Has evolution influenced this function?' he think.

The [Contract] now allowed a maximum of four skills to be traded. Not only that, but it was much more difficult to break once stipulated: a sense of loyalty to Sobek was formed in the dinosaur in question which, while not indestructible, was still very strong. Finally, and this was the most interesting feature, the [Contract] now allowed to share minds!

"What is it? A kind of collective intelligence?" Sobek thought confused. Reading the description well, he realized that he could now send images, smells and sensations into the minds of his subordinates.

In a way, he reflected, the original [Contract] was already a form of collective intelligence in itself: through it Sobek could control every single one of his subjects in real time and exchange powers and information with him. This was only the second stage. If his knowledge of web novels did not deceive him, with his future evolutions these characteristics would have been improved to form a real hive mind with him as the center.

"This can be very useful... I already have an idea or two for using this skill" he thought. However, this was not the time: he was still in the middle of an initiation. "Very good! So, from now on you are a full member of this pack, and you can take advantage of my gifts! As a first gift, let me give you the power to talk to all the dinosaurs!"

[Linguistics] was passed on to all the dinosaurs in front of him, who from the very first moments began to look around with wide eyes. Now their ears no longer received only indefinite sounds: what they heard were words!

"Another gift I want to give me is about your protection. Your skin will become hard as stone and your opponents will struggle to break it!" Sobek continued handing them [Reinforced skin]. Again the dinosaurs sensed that something had changed in them: they could feel that their bodies were no longer as fragile as before.

At that point Sobek stood up to his full height and spoke loudly: "Now I am addressing everyone, both new and old members of the pack! You did well while I slept and you proved loyal to the pack. Therefore I will give you a further gift, giving all of you mighty weapons!"

Through the [Contracts] he transmitted various abilities to all the dinosaurs around him. To those who used the jaws most he gave [Powerful bite], to those who used the claws he delivered [Deadly claws], and to the herbivores, not knowing what else to give him, he entrusted [Devastating roar], which although not at its best was still a very powerful ability. Sobek could have given them one more skill, but he didn't want to: since pterosaurs would soon join the pack, he would soon have to switch to all [Linguistics (2)] as well as [Linguistics], so he had to leave a gap empty.

The dinosaurs around him roared in celebration; those who had long been part of the pack were accustomed to such powers, but still they were happy to have received them as a gift. Those who had just arrived were hopping from side to side with no restraint, trying out their new skills.

Sobek roared and in a second he was calm. "Silence!" he growled. "I know you are happy, but this is not the time to celebrate. I have a task to entrust to you"

The dinosaurs quickly became alert. Sobek was satisfied: that was the essence of the pack, one in charge, all obeying. "I have a great ambition... but to achieve it I need an army. I need the biggest pack the world have ever seen. For this, now all of you will have to scatter through the forest and track down every other dinosaur in this region. Get them to join us and become part of the pack!"

If he wanted to increase the size of his army quickly, Sobek could not track the dinosaurs on his own: sending his underlings to do the dirty work would have saved much more time. The region he spoke of, which encompassed the entire lake to the mountains, totaling a hundred square kilometers, was too large for him to control with his own strength, but if the other dinosaurs helped him then the music changed.

"If someone refuses, then fight them" he continued to say. "Once you have defeated them, however, don't kill them: it doesn't matter how, but bring them alive to me. I'll offer them one last chance, and if they refuse I'll kill them with my hands"

Doing so would still have gained experience and skill points that he would otherwise have lost. Furthermore, the dinosaurs of the pack would be forced to work together: a deinonichus could never defeat a tyrannosaurus without the help of other large carnivores or mammoth herbivores. This would have greatly strengthened the internal unity of the pack, a fundamental thing in any army that has ever existed. "These are my orders. Go now!"

The dinosaurs did not let themselves be begged and immediately set off. Most of them looked drifted and clearly didn't know how to move, but Sobek knew they'd figure out how to do it in a couple of days. They weren't taking any chances as they all had [Reinforced skin] they would hardly have been mortally wounded in combat. However, not dying and winning a fight were two different concepts. A velociraptor alone could never have triumphed over a giganotosaurus even if it was indestructible. When they realized this, the dinosaurs would understand that they had to act together.

Before he could leave, Sobek called Buck to him: "I hope you understand what you have to do"

The tyrannosaurus nodded. "Yes. Don't worry, it will be done"

Sobek was obviously referring to Buck's old pack. Those ten or twelve tyrannosaurs must have been hers. Such a strength wasn't easy to find even in a world where dinosaurs were the norm.

He hoped that Buck would be able to convince them without battles, but even if it turned out otherwise, victory was not negotiable: one way or another, Buck had to get them to their side. At least, the tyrannosaurus didn't seem to have second thoughts.

As Buck also walked towards the forest, Sobek noticed that Carnopo was staring at him with an inquiring gaze, however he looked away and disappeared into the trees before he could question him.