James reached the slopes of Mount Elbert. The reluctance of the departure had been replaced by a hardened resolve. He was looking forward, not back.
This wasn't a permanent goodbye; he told himself he would find them again one day. But he couldn't be sure if their next meeting would be as family or as rivals.
He shook the thought away. The future was unpredictable. His priority now was to arm himself for the life of a lone king. Survival was the only thing that mattered.
"Open Status Panel."
A new day had arrived. Upon waking, James immediately checked his progress.
---
--- STATUS ---
[Name]: James
[Species]: Smilodon fatalis (Male)
[Age]: 1 Year
[Smilodon Gene Level]: Lv2 (0/100)
[Strength]: 86 (+)
[Agility]: 80 (+)
[Physique]: 84 (+)
[Gene Points]: 35
[Integrated Genes]: Flat-headed Peccary, Clouded Leopard, Giant Hyena, Shark, American Alligator
[Reinforced Parts]: Skin Hardness (Lv1), Tail (Lv1)
[Added Abilities]: Bite Force (Lv1), Tooth Regeneration (Lv1), Immunity (Lv1)
---
James's primary attributes were now closing in on the physical peak of a natural adult Smilodon. This realization filled him with a surge of confidence and drive for the life ahead.
"ROAR!!"
He cleared his throat, the sound vibrating through his new den, before stepping out into the crisp mountain air.
He quickly discovered that Mount Elbert was a "Wolf Mountain" in every sense of the word. During the day, the forest seemed quiet, but once night fell, the rhythmic howling of packs saturated the ridges. Both Dire Wolves and Gray Wolves inhabited these slopes, locked in a fierce competition for the same ecological niche. In contrast, large solitary predators like the Smilodon were a rare sight here.
James moved through the timber with practiced silence. Being a lone hunter meant he had to maintain a state of total, unblinking vigilance.
WHOOOO—
A damp, heavy wind swept across the mountain, making the ancient trees groan and sway. Through the shifting grass, James spotted his first target of the day.
Ahead stood a solitary Shrub-ox.
However, James's true target wasn't the ox itself, but the pack of Gray Wolves currently encircling it. Perhaps it was the easy street lifestyle provided by the American Cheetah's previous generosity, but James had developed a taste for letting others do the hard work. Why hunt when you can just wait for them to tire each other out and then third-party them?
"A-OOO~~"
A pack of six Gray Wolves was pushing the Shrub-ox to its limit. The bovid had been separated from its herd and was now fleeing in a blind panic.
Despite its size, the ox was losing ground. The smaller wolves were faster and possessed superior endurance. The chase lasted less than five hundred meters before the lead wolf saw its opening. It launched itself forward with precision.
The wolf's claws latched onto the ox's rump. It dug in, using its momentum to try and swing its weight onto the animal's back. The Shrub-ox stumbled, but its massive frame carried it forward, the wolf still clinging to its hide. In a desperate attempt to anchor itself, the wolf buried its teeth into the ox's left thigh.
"MOOOO~~"
The ox let out a pained, guttural bellow. In a flash of instinctive defense, it delivered a heavy kick—a buck that landed flush against the wolf's soft underbelly.
The impact sent the wolf spiraling into the dirt. At only a tenth of the ox's weight, the wolf was shattered by the blow, wheezing in the dust as its life flickered.
But the rest of the pack didn't flinch. If anything, the sight of blood made them more feral. They launched a relentless wave of attacks, one after another. They hung from its haunches, tore at its belly, and nipped at its hamstrings.
As the number of wolves clinging to its body increased, so did the blood loss. The Shrub-ox tried to keep running, but its individual strength had hit a wall. Under the collective weight of the pack, it finally buckled, slamming into the ground in a cloud of dust.
The wolves erupted in excitement, swarming the downed beast to begin the visceral work of the kill. They tore at the throat and ripped into the abdomen, exposing the steaming organs. Several minutes passed before the ox's legs gave one final, symbolic twitch and went still.
"Impressive. Truly impressive."
Watching from the shadows, James almost felt like applauding. Unlike the lightning-strike Blitzkrieg of the cheetah, the wolves relied on grim, relentless coordination. It was a terrifyingly effective system. With this pack mentality, they could bring down giants like Long-horned Bison or even a Ground Sloth.
The wolves began to feast immediately. They followed the rigid hierarchy of the pack: the Alpha ate first while the others waited their turn, despite their obvious hunger. The Shrub-ox was massive; there was more than enough for everyone to hit their limit.
As the wolves buried their muzzles in the carcass, James knew his window had opened.
SWISH!
Still as a statue one moment, a blur of motion the next. James exploded from the brush at full tilt. As he ran, his claws slid out from his paw pads with a faint, metallic rasp.
THUD THUD THUD...
The sudden, heavy drumbeat of approaching paws alerted the pack. They looked up, horrified to find a massive Smilodon bearing down on them.
A standard Gray Wolf averaged about 50kg. James now outweighed them by nearly three times. But it wasn't just the mass that froze them—it was the aura. James carried the cold, distilled killing intent of a creature that had survived a dozen life-and-death wars. He moved with the terrifying majesty of a true king.
"A-OOO!"
The wolves shrieked in alarm. James was already on top of them.
The Shrub-ox had been won with their blood and sweat, but their resolve to defend it vanished the moment the Alpha was targeted.
"ROAR!!"
James reached the Alpha in a heartbeat. The wolf king, still mid-swallow, had no time to react. James slammed into him, pinning him to the earth, and delivered a swift, crushing bite to the spine.
The Alpha's eyes went wide, filled with a sudden, confused void. Before he could process the invasion, his world went black. He died instantly, his jaw still hanging open.