Time passed quickly.
At first, James thought this quiet life would feel painfully slow.
Instead, an entire month slipped by before he even noticed.
During that time, his daily routine barely changed.
Eat.
Sleep.
Wake up and eat again.
Aside from that, he spent time doing simple exercises and occasionally walked outside the cave with Rosa and Reed.
The days were repetitive and somewhat boring.
But for a growing tiger cub, this kind of life was exactly what he needed.
Now nearly four months old, James had grown significantly.
His body measured almost fifty centimeters in length, and his weight had reached close to thirty kilograms. From a distance, he looked about the size of a fox.
His saber teeth had also begun to develop. The pale white tips now extended slightly past his lips.
Compared to him, Zack and Zoe were noticeably smaller.
Although they had been born in the same litter, both weighed only around twenty kilograms.
The difference was obvious.
James's daily training played a major role in that gap.
Regular exercise strengthened his muscles and also increased his appetite, allowing him to absorb more nutrients from every meal.
Over the past month, he had also steadily accumulated Gene Points.
Each time he ate meat, the system occasionally extracted small amounts of genetic material.
The amount gained from each meal varied, but after a full month, he had collected around twenty Gene Points.
Most of them had already been used to strengthen his body.
Now his status panel looked very different from before.
Host: James
Species: Smilodon (Male)
Age: 4 Months
Strength: 10 (+)
Agility: 8 (+)
Endurance: 7 (+)
Gene Points: 3
Fused Genes: None
Dusk slowly spread across the mountains.
The sky shifted through shades of dark amber and pale blue as the sun sank behind distant peaks.
James sat near the cave entrance, quietly watching the scenery outside.
Not long ago, Rosa and Reed had left to hunt.
As the cubs grew older, their mother no longer stayed with them all the time. Both parents now left together more frequently to search for prey.
They usually chose to hunt around this time of day.
Like most large cats, they rested during daylight hours and became active as night approached.
Keeping five saber-toothed tigers fed was no easy task.
The adults themselves already needed large amounts of food.
And the three growing cubs had appetites that increased almost daily.
Milk alone was no longer enough.
Fresh meat was now essential for their growth.
James watched the fading sunlight and sighed quietly.
"I wonder when I'll be allowed to hunt with them."
For the past month, he had spent most of his time inside the cave or wandering only a short distance from it.
He wanted to explore further to see the Ice Age wilderness with his own eyes.
To encounter the prehistoric creatures that shared this ancient world.
Most importantly, he wanted to begin preparing for the day he would eventually live alone.
Learning to hunt with Rosa and Reed would be the best way to do that.
Unfortunately, the two adults clearly had other plans.
Every time they left to hunt, the cubs were forced to stay behind.
Even when Zack occasionally tried to follow them, Rosa simply picked him up by the scruff and tossed him back into the cave.
Hunting was dangerous.
They couldn't watch the cubs constantly while chasing prey.
If another predator appeared, the results could be disastrous.
Only when the cubs grew older would they be allowed to accompany their parents and begin learning hunting skills.
For now, James could only wait patiently.
Eventually, the sun disappeared completely.
Night fell.
The full moon rose above the mountains, casting pale silver light across the forest.
Rosa and Reed still hadn't returned.
Inside the cave, James continued his exercises.
Suddenly—
Rustle.
A faint sound came from the bushes outside.
James immediately froze.
Felines possessed extremely sharp hearing. Their ears could rotate to pinpoint the direction of even the smallest sound.
This time was no different.
Something was approaching.
His muscles tensed as he stared toward the source of the noise.
Zack and Zoe, who had been wrestling nearby, also stopped moving.
The cave grew silent.
Then—
Crack.
A dry branch snapped.
The sound echoed clearly in the quiet night.
James's heart tightened.
Something stepped out of the bushes.
Two glowing green eyes appeared in the darkness.
Cold,Predatory filled with hunger.
A moment later, the creature revealed itself.
A gray wolf.
Its fur was rough and dirty, its body lean and skeletal from hunger. Long fangs extended from its jaws, giving it a vicious appearance.
The American continent during the Ice Age wasn't ruled by dire wolves alone.
Ordinary gray wolves also roamed the land.
For nearly one hundred thousand years, gray wolves had shared the same environment as their larger cousins.
Even after dire wolves eventually disappeared near the end of the Pleistocene, gray wolves would continue to survive and spread across the continent.
The wolf slowly approached the cave.
James felt his heart tighten.
"What terrible luck…"
Only a month after being reborn, and he might already become someone else's dinner.
But as the wolf stepped closer, he noticed something important.
The animal was young—likely not fully grown. Its body measured only around one meter in length.
And it was clearly starving ,Its ribs visible from its skin.
More importantly— It was limping.
One of its legs was injured.
James quickly scanned the surrounding darkness.
No other wolves appeared.
Which meant only one thing.
This wolf was alone.
A wounded lone wolf, desperate enough to ignore the scent warnings left by two adult saber-toothed tigers.
It had come here looking for food.
James's thoughts raced.
Even injured, the wolf was still far larger than him.
Nearly twice his size.
Fighting it directly would be extremely dangerous.
Running wasn't a good option either.
Wolves were faster and had far greater endurance.
He felt nervous as the wolf stepped closer and showed its teeth.
For a brief moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
The hungry wolf was already stepping closer to the cave.