Leon, nestled against the warmth of his mother's belly, dozed off under the weight of rich lioness milk and the quiet hum of system prompts echoing in his mind.
It was in the nature of young mammals—lion cubs no exception—to sleep often and grow fast.
…
One month later, inside the den.
"Grrr…"
A soft, uncertain growl vibrated near Leon's ear.
Blinking his amber eyes, Leon turned his head lazily to find a curious little lioness cub staring at him—his sister. Her small frame trembled slightly with surprise as she took in the sight of her brother.
She'd been born only minutes after Leon, their births nearly back-to-back.
But now, barely a moon's turn later, Leon towered over her.
She blinked again, dazed, unable to process how her sibling, once the same size, had grown so absurdly fast. Her brother, once just another cub, now resembled a six-month-old adolescent lion.
Leon gave her a slow blink and gently brushed his massive paw across her head, a subtle gesture of fondness. He understood the questions swirling behind her gaze.
It wasn't just her. Their mother, the lioness who nursed them, and their father, the formidable male who ruled the territory, had all begun to observe Leon with wariness and awe.
If they hadn't watched him grow day after day, they might have mistaken him for an intruding young rogue, not a newborn of their own pride.
In truth, Leon's rate of growth had been nothing short of terrifying.
Much of it was thanks to the 10 Potential Stimulants the system had gifted him upon awakening in this new body.
By his third day of life, Leon was already wobbling around on his own four legs.
By the tenth day, he was chewing on chunks of meat brought back by his mother instead of nursing.
By the twentieth, he was already larger than his sister and had outgrown a half-year-old male cub from another pride.
Now, thirty days since his birth, Leon's body stretched over a meter from head to tail, standing nearly half a meter tall at the shoulder—a size approaching that of a one-year-old adolescent lion.
Name: Leonidas(Leon)
Species: Lion (Mutated)
Level: 3 (Next: 80 Evolution Points)
Vitality: 300
Endurance: 30
Strength: 30
Defense: 30
Speed: 60
Evolution Points: 8
In a single month, Leon had risen to Level 3.
His stats were shockingly balanced, unlike the uneven traits typical in wild lions. Each time he leveled, the system boosted every attribute by 10 points and granted him 100 points to his Vitality, the measure of internal energy and survivability.
But beyond that, he also received 10 freely assignable points at each level—an extraordinary benefit granted by the early nutrient boosters.
To any normal beast, this extra allocation was nothing short of divine.
At the same level, Leon's power would exceed his peers by more than 20%—a gap vast enough to mean life or death in the wild.
Leon invested every single extra point into one thing: Speed.
In the unforgiving bushlands, raw strength was useful, but speed? Speed was survival. With enough speed, you could strike before the enemy noticed—or escape before their claws closed around your neck.
And already, Leon had grown faster than even his mother. At times, she seemed genuinely surprised by how quickly he could dart from one side of the den to the other.
Just then, a deep, rumbling roar cut through his thoughts.
Leon's ears twitched. He looked up sharply. That was his father's voice.
Over the past month, Leon had begun interpreting the various vocalizations of the pride. This particular rumble was a hunting call—his father was rallying the pride for a hunt.
The pride hunted daily, but prey was growing harder to find. The drought had stripped the savannah bare, and even the zebra herds were thinning.
The pride rarely risked tangling with elephants, rhinos, or hippos—creatures too dangerous to bring down without major casualties.
Today, the situation must've been desperate. Even Leon's mother, who usually stayed behind to watch the cubs, rose to her feet and joined the hunting party.
Before leaving, she rubbed her broad muzzle against Leon's and gave his sister a soft grunt. A farewell, but also a command.
Protect her.
Leon flicked his ears and nodded instinctively. He understood.
His father, too, gave a long, steady look to the older cub staying behind with them—an adolescent female, nearly a year old. She'd become the de facto babysitter and now received a few quick roars of instruction before the adults slipped out into the golden grass.
There were eight full-grown lions in their pride. All of them left today.
That left only five cubs in the den.
Among them was Leon. His sister. The older cousin. A shy male cub who avoided the others. And a strange orphaned cub the pride had taken in weeks ago—larger than Leon's sister, but still unable to match Leon's overwhelming presence.
The others watched Leon quietly, respectfully. Even at their young age, they understood dominance.
With the adults gone and hunger creeping into his gut, Leon made a decision.
He would hunt. Alone.
Not just for pride, but because his appetite had grown massive. The meat portions brought back no longer satisfied him, and he suspected his parents had begun sacrificing their own meals to keep him fed.
The guilt twisted inside him.
More than that, the system urged him forward. Devouring Evolution required battle, bloodshed, and experience.
He couldn't rely on others forever.
Leon turned toward his sister and cousin, gave a sharp, decisive growl.
"Grrrowl!"
The older cousin tried to stop him, releasing a protesting snarl.
Leon didn't wait.
He slipped out of the den, his large paws silent over dry soil, leaving behind confused cubs and one wide-eyed lioness sister watching him disappear.
…
The savannah was harsh today. The wind was dry, brittle. The grass crunched underfoot like bones.
Even with his thick fur, Leon felt the sun's merciless glare roasting his back.
"Harsh heat detected. Vitality -1."
"Dehydration risk is increasing. Stamina depletion doubled. Advise caution."
The system's cool voice whispered warnings in his mind, but Leon bared his teeth against the heat.
One paw in front of the other.
The time for comfort was over.
It was time to taste blood.