A huge male saber-toothed tiger walked toward the cave, carrying the bloody body of a young pronghorn antelope in his jaws.
Zack and Zoe ran forward excitedly, circling around the prey.
Watching their reaction, James quickly understood.
This powerful male predator—Was their father Reed.
Only then did James realize where his father had been all day.
Reed had been hunting.
The half-eaten juvenile pronghorn lying on the cave floor was the result of that hunt.
Looking at the prey, James felt slightly puzzled.
In his previous life, he had watched plenty of wildlife documentaries. From what he remembered, most modern tigers were solitary animals.
After mating, the male usually left. The female tiger raised the cubs alone.
But here, things seemed different.
Reed clearly lived with the family and even brought food back for them.
"So saber-toothed tigers might have raised their young differently from modern tigers," James thought.
It was an interesting discovery.
Inside the cave, Reed dropped the pronghorn carcass onto the ground.
The smell of fresh blood quickly spread through the air.
James examined the body carefully.
Two deep puncture wounds marked the pronghorn's neck. They had clearly pierced the animal's throat.
Other than those fatal wounds, the body showed almost no damage.
It looked like the prey had been killed instantly.
Those wounds were almost certainly made by Reed's saber teeth.
The long fangs of the saber-toothed tiger were legendary among prehistoric predators. Exactly how they were used during hunts had always been a subject of debate.
James suddenly felt curious.
"If I get the chance, I want to see how Rosa and Reed actually hunt."
For now, though, he had something more immediate to deal with.
Food.
At just over three months old, the cubs were still nursing, but they were already old enough to begin eating meat.
Of course, they weren't strong enough to tear flesh on their own yet.
That job belonged to Rosa.
Zack and Zoe immediately stared at their mother, waiting eagerly.
But to James's surprise, Rosa tore off a small piece of meat and placed it in front of him first.
He blinked.
Apparently, being the largest cub had its advantages.
In many human families, the youngest child often received the most attention.
But in the animal world, stronger offspring usually received more care.
Survival was never guaranteed.
Out of several cubs born in a litter, many would die during the first year—whether from disease, hunger, or predators.
Investing more effort into the strongest cub increased the chances that at least one would survive.
The logic was simple.
Still, as Rosa placed the piece of meat in front of him, James hesitated.
It was raw meat.
Fresh and Bloody.
Even though his body was now that of a predator, his human instincts still resisted the idea.
Rosa tilted her head slightly, clearly confused.
Was something wrong with the food?
Before James could decide—
Zack suddenly leaned forward, trying to snatch the meat.
James reacted instantly.
He pushed his brother aside.
If nothing else, he couldn't let Zack take it.
Taking a deep breath, he stretched his neck forward and bit into the meat.
The taste surprised him.
It was far better than he expected.
After chewing a few times, he swallowed the piece of meat completely.
It was… delicious.
His body seemed to welcome the food instinctively.
At that moment, a familiar mechanical voice sounded in his mind.
[System Notification]
Gene sample acquired: Pronghorn Antelope
Gene Points +0.1
James paused.
"So eating prey gives gene points…"
The answer came much more easily than he expected.
Rosa continued tearing pieces of meat from the carcass and feeding them to him one by one.
This time, James didn't hesitate.
He accepted each piece eagerly.
[System Notification]
Gene sample acquired: Pronghorn Antelope
Gene Points +0.1
[System Notification]
Gene sample acquired: Pronghorn Antelope
Gene Points +0.1
[System Notification]
Gene sample acquired: Pronghorn Antelope
Gene Points +0.1
The notifications continued as he ate.
Eventually, after several pieces of meat—
[System Notification]
Daily Gene Point limit reached.
Current Gene Points: 1
James stopped eating.
His stomach felt completely full anyway.
Rosa then turned her attention to the other cubs. Zack and Zoe eagerly accepted the food she tore from the carcass.
Only after the three cubs were full did Rosa begin eating the remaining prey herself.
James watched quietly.
Then—
CRACK.
Rosa bit down on the pronghorn's leg.
The bone shattered instantly.
The entire limb disappeared into her mouth in seconds.
Within moments, the remaining meat vanished rapidly as she devoured the carcass.
The display of strength was terrifying.
Meanwhile, Reed had already settled down near the cave wall.
After a full day of hunting, he quickly fell asleep.
Deep rumbling snores soon echoed through the cave.
Like most large predators, saber-toothed tigers spent a large portion of their lives resting. Hunting consumed enormous energy, so they often slept more than ten hours a day.
Rosa, now full, also lay down again.
Zack and Zoe curled up beside her warm body, quickly drifting into sleep.
The cave slowly grew quiet.
Watching his new family resting together, James felt a strange sense of calm.
Then he found a comfortable spot beside Rosa and leaned against her thick fur.
The warmth surrounding him felt surprisingly comforting.
For the first time since arriving in this prehistoric world, he felt completely safe.
His eyelids grew heavy.
Within moments, sleep claimed him.
But before his consciousness faded completely—
James had one final thought.
He now knew how to earn Gene Points.
Which meant only one thing.
If he wanted to grow stronger in this brutal Ice Age—
He would have to eat… a lot more prey.