Time passed quickly. Before James realized it, more than two months had already gone by.
An autumn rain arrived and quietly announced the beginning of the new season. After the rain, the mountains and forests were covered in shades of fading gold as leaves slowly changed color.
Inside the cave, James looked out toward the forest and let out a quiet sigh.
"So the seasons here are actually very clear."
Before coming to this world, he had imagined the Ice Age as endless frozen land stretching for thousands of miles. The reality in front of him was very different. At least in the southern region of the Rocky Mountains where they lived, the four seasons still existed and changed just like they did in the modern world.
By the end of the Pleistocene era, the global climate had already begun to shift. Between fifteen thousand and ten thousand years ago, global temperatures increased by nearly six degrees Celsius. That warming caused the glaciers covering large parts of North America during the last glacial period to begin melting.
Massive ice sheets that once covered Alaska and the northwestern regions of the continent gradually retreated. As the ice melted, a land corridor formed along the Pacific coast. That corridor later allowed ancient humans to travel deeper into North America.
However, the warming climate was not good news from James' perspective.
Because it meant the Pleistocene era was approaching its end.
Soon, one of the most famous extinction events in Earth's history would occur — the Quaternary megafauna extinction.
Many large animals weighing more than forty kilograms disappeared during that period. In North America alone, dozens of species of large mammals vanished from the planet, including the saber-toothed tiger.
Scientists in the future would debate the cause for decades. Some believed climate change was responsible, while others blamed human hunting, disease outbreaks, or even meteor impacts. No single explanation was universally accepted.
Regardless of the cause, the result was certain.
Many giants of the Ice Age disappeared forever.
That meant James was living during the final chapter of his own species' history.
He paused for a moment before shaking his head.
"Thinking about that now is pointless. We're still alive."
For the moment, survival mattered far more than distant history. Eating, growing stronger, and continuing forward step by step were the only things that truly mattered.
Autumn continued to deepen, and the air inside the mountains gradually became colder.
The arrival of autumn also meant that winter was approaching. For animals living in the wilderness, this was the final opportunity to gather energy before the harsh season arrived.
Herbivores ate constantly to build fat reserves. Smaller animals gathered food and strengthened their shelters.
Predators also became more active.
Mom and Dad were no exception. Besides their regular hunting trips, they now had another important responsibility.
They needed to teach their cubs how to hunt.
The three cubs were now six months old, and their milk period had already ended. That meant it was finally time to begin learning real survival skills.
In the wild, young saber-toothed tigers usually remained with their parents until they were two or three years old. After that point they would be forced to leave and survive alone.
If they failed to master hunting before then, hunger would quickly become their greatest enemy.
Over the past two months, all three cubs had grown noticeably.
James had changed the most.
His shoulder height had reached nearly half a meter, his body length had grown to around 1.2 meters, and his weight was approaching eighty kilograms. Compared with when he first arrived in this world, his body size had more than doubled.
The muscles beneath his thick fur were becoming increasingly visible as his body matured. Daily exercise and steady meals played an important role in that growth, but the improvements from his attribute points also made a significant difference.
Strength, aggression, and endurance were essential qualities for a predator like the saber-toothed tiger, and his body was slowly developing all of them.
Zack and Zoe watched their older brother with obvious envy. They shared the same parents, yet James had grown noticeably larger than both of them.
If this were a human family, someone might have started questioning the neighbor.
Mom and Dad, however, seemed very satisfied with his development. For predators, larger bodies usually meant greater survival chances.
Later that evening, the red sun slowly disappeared behind the mountains.
James opened the system panel as he usually did.
---
[Status Panel]
Host: James
Species: Smilodon (Male)
Age: 6 Months
Strength: 23 (+)
Agility: 19 (+)
Endurance: 17 (+)
Gene Points: 20
Fused Genes: None
---
During the past two months, he had earned more than fifty gene points. Most of them were used to increase his attributes, while the remaining points were saved for future gene upgrades.
Just then, a deep call echoed through the forest.
"Rrr—"
Mom and Dad were preparing to hunt.
However, something was different this time. Instead of leaving the cubs inside the cave, they brought all three of them along.
James followed behind them, feeling both nervous and excited.
The earlier failure with the rabbit was still fresh in his memory. That experience had already taught him an important lesson. Hunting was not simply about speed or strength. Hunting required skill, training, and experience, and those were things he still needed to develop.
As they moved through the forest, James carefully watched every movement his parents made. Tracking prey was not random. They frequently stopped to inspect the ground, examining footprints, fur, droppings, and scent marks left by passing animals. Each clue provided information about the creatures that had recently moved through the area.
Experienced predators could read these signs almost like a map.
James paid close attention to everything they did.
Zack, however, behaved very differently. The moment they left the cave, he started running around the forest like an excited dog.
James glanced at him and shook his head.
Just then Dad suddenly stopped.
His body lowered slightly as he focused on the ground.
He had found something.
James quickly moved closer and looked down.
The soft soil ahead was covered with hoof prints, and they appeared fresh.
Mom and Dad immediately began following the trail.
About ten minutes later, they discovered the animals that had left those tracks.
A herd of rare-horned moose was grazing peacefully in the forest ahead.