Bab 4: Chapter 4: The Final Hour
I woke before the sun.
The room was still dark, the air cool against my skin. I sat up immediately and called the System.
[Hatchling Status: Incubation – 1 hour until first emergence]
It was time.
I was on my feet before I even thought about it, pulling on my tunic and fastening my belt. The cube went into the satchel. The Beastmaster's Ring was already on my hand. No hesitation, no second-guessing—just movement.
I unlocked the door, stepped into the hallway, and headed for the stairs at a run. The common room below was empty except for one man sweeping near the hearth. I didn't slow down. The front door swung open hard enough that it bounced against the wall.
The street outside was only half-lit by the dawn. Smoke curled from chimneys, and a few people were already moving between homes. I ran straight down the main road toward the forest path.
"Watch the road!" a voice called.
I turned my head briefly and saw a woman carrying a basket of bread from the baker's shop. I almost clipped her elbow as I passed.
"Sorry," I said, but didn't slow.
A little further on, two boys hauling a crate of fish stepped out of an alley just as I reached it. I sidestepped hard, the edge of the crate grazing my hip.
"Slow down!" the older one barked, though his tone wasn't harsh.
"Yea, yea," I said quickly, already past them.
Another thirty paces and I nearly ran into an older man carrying a bucket of water. He shifted just in time, and some of the water sloshed onto the packed dirt road.
"You'll break your neck running like that," he said.
"I'll be fine," I replied without stopping.
The village fell behind me, replaced by the steady green wall of the forest. My boots struck the earth in measured steps now, my breathing evening out. I followed the path I had memorized: four hundred steps forward, then right for two hundred. The familiar cutting site passed on my left. Beyond it, the trees opened to the clearing.
I stepped inside and immediately checked the cube.
[Hatchling Status: Incubation – 35 minutes until first emergence]
Still time. Enough to prepare.
I set the satchel down near the pond and began scanning the clearing for materials. There were plenty of fallen branches near the tree line, along with dry leaves gathered in patches where the wind had pushed them. I collected armfuls, setting them in a rough circle in the center of the clearing.
The goal was a nest—large enough for all five eggs when they hatched, padded enough to keep them off the bare ground. I laid thicker branches on the outside edge to form a shallow wall, then filled the inside with layers of smaller sticks and leaves. The result was uneven but functional.
When the base was done, I took my axe and moved to the edges of the clearing. The bushes here were tall enough to break the line of sight from the forest beyond, but there were gaps between them. I started cutting branches, bending others inward, trying to make the edges less open. It wouldn't hide the clearing completely, but it might keep casual passersby from seeing directly in.
Each cut was deliberate. The sound of the axe against wood echoed faintly in the still morning air. I worked quickly, dragging the cut branches to fill in the thinner spots along the tree line.
By the time I was satisfied, the cube's display read:
[Hatchling Status: Incubation – 12 minutes until first emergence]
I crouched near the nest, placing the cube in the center. My hands rested on my knees, eyes scanning the surrounding forest. It was quiet—no voices, no movement. Only the occasional sound of a bird in the distance and the faint trickle of water from the pond's edge.
This clearing wasn't safe. I knew that. The openness made it easy to approach from multiple directions, and the pond would draw animals sooner or later. But for now, it was space, and space was what I needed for the first hatching. Moving the eggs before they bonded would be riskier than keeping them here for the initial moments.
If all went according to plan, the Utahraptors would grow fast. Once they reached size, I could move them to a more secure location, perhaps in the cliffs north of the village. There, they would be hidden from both land approach and anyone sailing close to shore.
But that was later.
For now, I stayed still, my focus on the cube, my thoughts moving ahead to the next days and weeks. Hatch them. Feed them. Train them. Begin shaping them into a force that could guard what I built.
The kingdom I envisioned was not for conquest or tribute. It was for stability. A place where ordinary people could live without being caught between feuding lords. It would take time, careful movement, and a base of strength no one could challenge without consequence. The dinosaurs would be that base.
The cube made no sound, but the timer continued its silent countdown. I rested my hand briefly on the lid, feeling the faint hum of the incubator at work. The Beastmaster's Ring was warm again, steady.
I took the last minutes to adjust the nest, shifting sticks to even the surface and adding another layer of leaves for softness. The air in the clearing was still cool from the night, but the sun had risen enough to touch the tops of the surrounding trees.
When the timer reached three minutes, I sat back on my heels and waited.
Tomorrow's planning would start today, the moment these creatures entered the world.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone