The sun bled gold across the savannah, painting long shadows behind the scattered acacia trees. Dust drifted through the air like fine ash, stirred by the wind and paws alike. The pride rested in the shade of their usual tree, but Kraven was wide awake.
His awakening hadn't dulled with time.
Every moment since he named himself, the world seemed more vivid. Sounds felt sharper. The chirp of birds, the distant growl of a hyena, the crunch of beetles underfoot—all of it layered into a world that was suddenly... alive.
And dangerous.
Name: Kraven
Age: 0 (CUB)
Group: Dawn Pride
Tier: 1 (Awakened)
The system was always there now, hovering just beneath thought. He could reach for it like flexing a muscle. And with that awareness came hunger—not the kind in his belly, but the kind in his spirit.
The hunger to grow.
Kraven didn't stray far from the pride, but he wandered enough to be alone. Behind him, his brothers tumbled in the dirt, wrestling for dominance they didn't yet understand. Bran was clearly trying to be the "alpha" cub, but he lacked subtlety. Tavi followed him around like a shadow, while Mika and Finn were more cautious.
Leo was sleeping. Again.
Kraven padded up a small slope, tail flicking. The wind carried a new scent. Something small. Something fast.
He crouched low.
A ground squirrel.
It twitched its nose near a bush, digging. Kraven focused, eyes narrowing, and the system responded.
Name: Ground Squirrel
Age: 2
Group: —
Tier: 0
He lunged.
His paws struck dirt as the squirrel bolted. Kraven snarled in frustration, giving chase for several seconds before it vanished into its burrow. He stood there, panting, tail twitching with annoyance.
Too slow.
He still had a cub's body, after all.
But even in failure, he learned. The world had rules—rules he could now see. He returned to the pride more aware than before.
That evening, the pride moved.
Not far, but far enough to remind Kraven that survival meant mobility. The lionesses rose as one, shepherding the cubs forward with gentle nudges and sharp glares. Vardus brought up the rear, moving like a shadow of power, silent but present.
They stopped near a shallow watering hole just as the sky turned lavender. The land pulsed with heat, but the animals came anyway. Zebras, gazelles, warthogs—all driven by thirst. The lionesses watched them but made no move.
Not yet.
Kraven stayed close to Mika as the pride settled. He watched the prey animals with new eyes. He activated the system's observation on each one he could.
Name: Zebra
Tier: 1
Name: Gazelle
Tier: 0
Name: Warthog
Tier: 1
He furrowed his brows.
Tier 1. Like him.
They looked weak, prey-like. But so was he, in body. His advantage wasn't muscle. It was insight.
He turned toward the lionesses again.
Name: Lira — Tier: 2
Name: Saela — Tier: 2
Name: Vessa — Tier: 2
All Tier 2.
And then, his father.
Name: Vardus — Tier: 3 (Alpha)
That title stood out to him more now.
Alpha.
It wasn't just a role. It was recognized by the system. A title. That meant it had meaning beyond biology. It had power, perhaps privileges. A magical rule layered over the natural one.
Kraven began to form a theory.
This wasn't just a world with lions. This was a world with structure, hidden beneath tooth and claw. A world with levels. Tiers. Titles.
And rules.
Later that night, the stars emerged like silver dust scattered across black silk. The cubs dozed, their tiny forms curled together for warmth. Kraven lay at the edge of the sleeping pile, staring up at the sky.
Something pulsed inside him.
He reached inward.
Tier: 1 — Awakened
XP: 12/100
XP. Experience. His suspicion was confirmed.
He could level up.
Somehow, in some way, this world functioned like a game—or perhaps a divine system that governed life through unseen metrics. But how did he gain experience? From observing? From surviving?
From naming himself?
And what came next?
He stared into the stars as if the answers were written there.
In the following days, Kraven watched everything.
He watched the way lionesses cooperated during the hunt—silent signals, flank positioning, ambush tactics. He studied how Vardus never participated in most hunts, yet all lions deferred to him. He noticed how younger cubs avoided older ones. How Vessa, the darker lioness, was respected slightly more than the others.
And how some prey animals were avoided—particularly the wildebeests.
Name: Wildebeest
Tier: 2
Too dangerous for a casual hunt. They had power. Strength in numbers.
Kraven cataloged it all.
And with each observation, the system sometimes chimed softly.
XP +1
XP +2
XP +1
Slow. But steady.
A week passed.
Kraven was stronger. Not just in body—though he was growing rapidly—but in mind. He understood more now.
This wasn't Earth.
This was a world wrapped in primal beauty and quiet sorcery.
There were no cities. No humans. No signs of civilization. The law here wasn't written in ink, but in blood and dust and dominance. It was the law of predators and prey. Of tiers and pride.
And he was a part of it.
Not just as a cub… but as something more.
He looked to the horizon and made a silent vow.
I will rise.
Not as a human. Not even as a lion.
But as a force that bends the rules. A beast with a mind. A predator with purpose.
And with the system as his guide…
He would become more than just another cub in the pride.
He would become a legend.