"Let me check my status panel."
With a thought, James opened the system interface to review his current attributes.
---
[Status Panel]
Host: James
Species: Saber-toothed Tiger (Male)
Age: 7 months
Strength: 45 (+)
Agility: 35 (+)
Endurance: 37 (+)
Gene Points: 50
Fused Genes: None
---
Since he had started hunting regularly, the amount of Gene Points he earned each day had steadily increased.
Part of those points went toward enhancement points to keep his physical attributes growing evenly. The rest he saved for emergencies or future gene sequences.
Now he had finally accumulated 50 Gene Points.
"At this rate… I should be able to unlock a gene sequence soon."
The thought made him feel satisfied.
Right now, however, his stomach was far more important.
James lowered his head and began eating the gray fox he had just hunted.
He had heard that fox meat usually tasted sour and carried a strong odor, so he hesitated before taking the first bite.
But after tasting it, he blinked in surprise.
"…Not bad , better then I expected."
Maybe the fox had already released most of the smell earlier with that horrible gas attack.
That idea actually made sense.
After eating until he was half full, James picked up the remaining fox meat in his mouth and started heading back.
He had been away from the family for quite a while.
If he stayed gone any longer, Mom and Dad might start worrying.
Following the scent and footprints left behind by his parents, he quickly found them again.
They still hadn't found suitable prey.
So when they saw James returning with food, both of them looked pleasantly surprised.
Mom let out a low sound and gently rubbed her head against his.
James flicked his short tail and dropped the fox meat on the ground so everyone could share it.
The moment the meat touched the ground, Zack—who had been staring at it with drool practically falling out of his mouth—ran over immediately.
He rubbed against James in an exaggerated way, copying Mom's behavior.
Meat! I want meat!
James pushed him away with his paw.
"Relax, you idiot. Stop acting like that ."
Zack took that as permission.
Without wasting a second, he bit down on the fox's tail and pulled hard.
Rip.
Half the tail tore off instantly.
James froze.
"My fox-tail pillow!"
That soft fluffy tail had looked perfect for a warm nest decoration.
And Zack had just destroyed it in one bite.
Unforgivable.
Zack, however, seemed to think it was a fun toy. He started tearing the tail apart while jumping around and chasing the drifting fur.
James walked over and smacked him with his paw.
Zack yelped loudly.
But James wasn't done.
He pounced on his brother and pinned him to the ground before giving him a proper beating.
Zoe, who had originally planned to sneak over and grab some meat too, immediately stopped moving when she saw what was happening.
Her fur stood on end.
Big brother is terrifying…
Mom and Dad never interfered with fights between their cubs.
Besides, James always controlled his strength. Most of the time he just wanted to remind his siblings who the boss was.
Zack eventually ran over to their parents and tried to complain.
But Mom and Dad were busy searching for prey.
When Zack kept bothering them, one of them casually pushed him aside.
He rolled across the ground like a furry bowling ball.
Feeling completely ignored by everyone, Zack sat down and refused to move.
He puffed up his cheeks and sulked.
But the moment he noticed Mom and Dad walking away without stopping…
He panicked and ran after them again.
At that moment Dad suddenly let out a low call.
Only then did James notice that they had left the dense forest.
In front of them stretched a wide river-delta plain covered in tall grass and scattered trees.
It was the perfect habitat for herbivores.
"So there's a place like this inside our territory…"
James looked around with interest.
"What lives here?"
The answer appeared quickly.
A herd of mammoths.
Columbian mammoths gathered together across the plain, calmly feeding on vegetation.
James stared at them in awe.
"So these are the giants of the North American Ice Age… Mammoths."
The most eye-catching feature was their enormous tusks.
Each pair curved in a spiral shape and stretched nearly five meters long.
Compared to those tusks, the saber teeth of a saber-toothed tiger suddenly seemed much less impressive.
James glanced at Mom and Dad.
"Wait… they're not thinking about hunting those things, right?"
The idea alone made him uneasy.
An adult Columbian mammoth could stand four meters tall and weigh more than ten tons.
Compared to that, a saber-toothed tiger was tiny.
The difference was like a lightweight boxer facing a heavyweight champion.
Fortunately, Mom and Dad only watched the herd from a distance.
Saber-toothed tigers might occasionally attack young mammoths, but hunting a healthy adult was almost impossible without a large group.
And baby mammoths were always protected in the center of the herd.
Predators rarely got the chance.
There was also another problem.
Mammoths were known to hold grudges.
If predators killed one of their young, the herd might return later looking for revenge.
After observing for a while, Mom and Dad decided to move on.
They continued leading the cubs deeper into the river delta.
A while later, a thunderous sound suddenly echoed across the plain.
The ground trembled.
James climbed onto a small hill and looked toward the sound.
Then he saw them.
A massive herd of wild horses charging across the grassland in a long line.
Dust rose into the sky behind them like a moving storm.
The thunder of their hooves shook the earth.
James stared at the scene in shock.
"So this… is what a real stampede looks like."