Hunting in the sun-scorched savanna demanded more than just muscle—it required patience, instincts, and keen eyes.
Amid the shimmering heat, a cluster of small herbivores grazed quietly between patches of tall grass and scattered acacia. Among them: a family of Thomson's gazelles, nimble and alert.
Leon had planned to follow behind his lion father and mother on their hunt, but midway, he veered off alone.
He had spotted a rare opportunity—a small herd of gazelles, including juveniles. Vulnerable. Distracted.
Unlike the real-world prides of his old life, this lion pride kept both adult males and females working in harmony. He even saw a cub adopted by the pride and was treated like kin. And now, Leon wanted to prove he was more than a mouth to feed. He wanted to hunt.
"This'll do," Leon crouched low, his golden body vanishing beneath the dry brush.
The gazelle herd consisted of about nine members, all focused on nibbling at hidden sprouts beneath the dust.
"Scan them," Leon ordered silently.
A faint shimmer of system light flickered across his vision.
Species: Thomson's Gazelle (Male)
Level: 3
Vitality: 310
Endurance: 25
Strength: 9
Defense: 11
Speed: 56
Species: Thomson's Gazelle (Female)
Level: 2
Vitality: 270
Endurance: 18
Strength: 6
Defense: 9
Speed: 50
Leon's gaze landed on the dominant male—sleek, lean, fast.
That speed explained why the older lions hadn't wasted their strength chasing these creatures. Too much energy, too little meat. Not worth it.
But Leon wasn't like them. His system allowed precise energy recovery through food, and his own speed stat was already rivaling the alpha gazelle.
He just needed to strike fast, decisively, and conserve endurance. One clean kill and he'd be fed and grow stronger.
He dropped low, belly to earth, inching forward in the dirt and brittle grass. The herd twitched. Ears flicked. Heads lifted. But Paul, with fur the same gold as the earth, was nearly invisible in stillness.
"Thirty meters. One jump... two bounces... a final pounce," he calculated.
He circled to a thorn bush, finding the only cover that would let him launch unseen.
"Target the leader. Break the herd."
He tensed his haunches. The gazelles relaxed. One juvenile began playfully nudging its sibling.
Then he struck.
A blur of tawny muscle and raw power streaked forward, flattening the space between predator and prey in seconds.
The male gazelle's head jerked up—but too late.
"RAAHH!" Paul roared as he lunged.
The gazelle bolted—but Leon's speed was 60, just a notch higher, and the distance too short.
He leapt mid-run, muscles coiled like steel cables, claws out.
CRACK!
The weight of his young but enhanced body slammed into the gazelle's neck. The beast folded under the impact, spine snapping, hooves kicking in the dust.
No time to savor. He turned immediately.
The others had scattered, hooves thundering.
But the young ones stumbled, confused and frightened.
Leon gave no quarter.
He swept forward, toppling one with a blow to the flank, then pounced on another, snapping its ribs with a crushing bite.
Half an hour later...
The savanna was painted in signs of carnage—trampled grass, streaks of blood, twitching corpses. The hunt had been brutal and short.
Leon stood panting over the bodies.
Six gazelles taken.
One dominant male.
One adult female.
Four juveniles.
He licked his maw, his heart still pounding, his body aching with drained endurance.
But the rewards came swiftly.
As he sank his teeth into the adult male's flank, the system chimed:
"Ding! You've consumed a gazelle. +1 Evolution Point."
"+0.8 Evolution Points."
"+0.6..."
He ate fast and methodically, devouring the alpha male and one juvenile before the alerts dropped to 0.1.
His stomach felt full. His mind felt satisfied.
He had hunted alone. And won.
Dragging the remaining carcasses between his small jaws, Leon began to trudge back toward the pride's den beneath the shaded rocks.
But far across the ridge, a distant shimmer caught the eye of an unknown observer—a drone camera, silently capturing every moment.
And elsewhere, a woman's voice spoke from inside a climate-controlled safari vehicle.
"Hmm... what's this? A lion cub hunting that efficiently—solo?" She zoomed in through binoculars, her lips curving.
"Such form… such force. That little guy might just grow into a king far sooner than expected."
She laughed softly.
"But where'd you come from, golden cub?"