Reborn as a Sabertooth Tiger: Gene Evolution System Chapter 87 86: The Genetic Threshold

Jas didn't rush into the gene fusion imdiately. Instead, he shadowed Mom and Dad as they conducted a sweep of their new kingdom.

The Xenosmilus pair hadn't vanished; they had rely retreated to the eastern flank of the territory, clinging to roughly half of the land. A thicket of dense brush served as the makeshift border. Jas's family claid the resource-rich western side, while the grieving Xenosmilus pair took the east. For the rivals, this retreat was likely a temporary survival tactic. It wouldn't be long before they tried to reclaim what they had lost.

Along the way, Dad and Mom marked the landscape with a violent intensity. They sprayed urine, rubbed scent glands against the listone, and stood on their hind legs to rake deep gouges into the bark of ancient trees. They were thodically erasing every trace of the previous owners. Once the periter was secured, they scouted for a suitable den.

Night fell.

While the rest of the family slept, Jas retreated to a dark corner of the cave and summoned the system interface.

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[DING! Spending 100 Gene Points. Comncing Gene Replication.]

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This ti, the process was grueling. Unlike the quick sage ti of previous upgrades, this was a total biological overhaul. A searing, molten heat surged through his veins, vibrating through his muscles and bones as if his entire fra were being broken down and reforged in a furnace.

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[DING! Integration complete. Xenosmilus genes rged. Smilodon Gene Level increased!]

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By the ti the heat dissipated, Jas's eyelids felt like lead. Exhaustion hit him, and he slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep before he could even check the results.

When he finally opened his eyes, the sun was already dipping toward the horizon, painting the cave walls in a bloody orange hue.

"I slept that long..."

He hauled himself up, his head still swimming. The hangover from this particular upgrade was heavy. He imdiately perford a self-diagnostic.

To the naked eye, the change was subtle, but to Jas, it was profound. He felt denser. His fra had expanded; his body length now hit 180cm, and his weight had officially crested the 150kg mark. This single upgrade had essentially hyper-accelerated two months of natural physical developnt into a single night.

The system panel reflected the new reality:

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--- STATUS ---

[Na]: Jas

[Species]: Smilodon fatalis (Male)

[Age]: 1 Year

[Smilodon Gene Level]: Lv2 (0/100)

[Strength]: 82 ( )

[Agility]: 77 ( )

[Physique]: 80 ( )

[Gene Points]: 30

[Integrated Genes]: Flat-headed Peccary, Clouded Leopard, Giant Hyena, Shark, Arican Alligator

[Reinforced Parts]: Skin Hardness (Lv1), Tail (Lv1)

[Added Abilities]: Bite Force (Lv1), Tooth Regeneration (Lv1), Immunity (Lv1)

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"A new category... Smilodon Gene Level. System, what does Lv2 signify?"

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[Lv2 Smilodon Genes an the Host's attribute caps are now double those of a standard Smilodon. Your maximum physical potential has been heightened.]

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Jas felt a jolt of pure adrenaline. Double the attributes?

This wasn't just incrental growth. If he maxed out his Strength, Agility, and Physique at twice the natural peak of his species, he wouldn't just be an apex predator—he would be a monster. At full potential, he could likely dismantle four or five adult Smilodons simultaneously. He would outclass even the Arican Lion. On this continent, only the Giant Short-Faced Bear would remain a credible threat.

And this was only Lv2. What happened at Lv3 or Lv4?

"To level up further, I need more genes from the Machairodontinae subfamily."

Jas calculated his options. In Pleistocene North Arica, his choices were limited. Xenosmilus was here, but Dinofelis was a ghost on the verge of extinction.

Homotherium and the massive Smilodon populator were the real prizes, but they dominated South Arica.

'I'll have to head south eventually." It was a long journey, but the promise of breaking the limits of his species made it a necessity.

The family had claid the Stag-moose carcass originally hunted by the Xenosmilus. Waking up famished, Jas tore through nearly 30kg of at in a single sitting, his appetite now rivaling that of his parents.

As he finished his al, he felt a heavy, unsettling gaze on him. He looked up to find Dad watching him. Dad had stopped eating, his eyes fixed on Jas with a strange, brooding intensity. He was huffing, his breath rhythmic and heavy, his tail twitching with an agitation Jas didn't recognize.

The hair on the back of Jas's neck stood up.

"What's the problem? Did I eat too much?"

He looked down and realized he had drifted into Dad's pri feeding spot. In their family, hierarchy was everything at the kill. Dad and Mom always took the choice organs and the best cuts. Usually, Jas was careful to wait his turn or stay in his lane. Zack and Zoe had already learned the hard way that encroaching on Dad's al earned a swift, painful lesson.

Today, in his post-upgrade hunger, Jas had forgotten.

"ROAR—"

Dad stood up, a low-frequency vibration rumbling in his chest. It was a sound of warning and challenge.

Jas didn't want a civil war. He dipped his head and backed away, yielding the spot. Dad's eyes lingered on him for a mont longer—a sharp, asuring look—before he settled back down to finish the at.

Zack and Zoe were oblivious, still greedily stripping bone nearby. But Mom was silent. She watched Jas with an expression that seed to carry a heavy weight. Jas looked at her, and in that mont, he understood the unwritten law of the wild.

He was no longer a cub. He was a competitor. His ti in this den was running out.