Reincarnated As A Lion In Another World

More than a day later.

Kael stared at a distant mountain that could be easily spotted from where he was standing through the tree canopies.

The mountain was not one of those extremely large types that reached the skies and touched the clouds, but it was high enough.

Kael’s nose was about to make him go crazy, he could smell the presence of multiple foreign creatures that he had never scented before.

All the strange scents were pointing him in the direction of the mountain, and the closer they got, the stronger the scents became.

Among these scents, he could perceive one that was very similar to a lioness but was also very different. He guessed that this was the scent of the mysterious lioness that they would soon meet.

But the other scents got him puzzled. Did this mean that the mountain was occupied by not just the lioness but other animals? If so then it would be harder to handle.

At this time, Zabita came and dropped an average-sized white rabbit in front of Kael. A part of the rabbit’s white coat was drenched in blood and its spine was snapped into two which made the whole body look twisted.

Soon after the rabbit was placed on the ground, a golden portal opened and a tendril shot out of it to grab the rabbit.

Kael sighed when he saw this, he was helpless. Ever since he dropped that referral-type mission on the Primordial Record, he had been getting sick once in a while.

This was the twentieth rabbit that they had killed today as a reward for the mission. This meant that some lion somewhere was adding lions to the Primordial Record and receiving these rabbits as a reward.

Kael could instantly tell by the identity marks that these were just cubs. Lion cubs didn’t know better and would add their identity marks to the Primordial Record after a simple nudge.

After this, Kael had to erase the mission, it just wasn’t efficient. Even though it was a bit embarrassing for him to close it so soon, this method wasn’t sustainable for him in the long run.

The referral program was a good idea but the reward system wasn’t sustainable. He had to think of a way to provide incentives, without it crippling him economically.

Kael could only put this issue at the back of his mind for now, not all problems had to be solved immediately, there was no rush.

He refocused on the mountain ahead. The two foxes were tired, they had been walking all day and all night without rest.

Physically they were okay as Karlnhaf allowed them to hunt some small animals to eat along with the lionesses, but mentally, they wanted to sleep.

Even the lionesses were also seeking a moment of shut-eye.

Kael did this intentionally, it was so that they would be even more eager to reach their new den, for that is the only time they would be able to sleep peacefully.

Alas, the mountain was farther than they anticipated. The short legs of the foxes and their perspective of how far the mountain was got them very confused, thinking it may not be as far as they thought.

After resting for a couple of hours, they hit the road again, more energized and ready for possible violence.

A day later and after leaving a trail of animal carcasses behind, they finally arrived at the foot of the mountain.

A colossal amount of scents hit their nose like a food truck, making them aware that this mountain was home to more than one creature in this forest.

Kael followed the familiar smell of a lioness and went to the right side of the mountain, the rest followed.

Soon enough, they saw a cave entrance, big and wide enough for four average lions to enter at the same time side by side.

Kael did not dare enter into this cave, the smell of the lioness was coming from within and it was getting closer.

He could tell that the owner of this cave was coming out through the faint steps he began hearing. He heard the sound of hard claws scraping the stone ground as well as the low threatening growl that was getting louder.

Kael subconsciously took a step back as he felt the aura. The two foxes had already gone far away, hiding behind a tree, but they chose to watch what would happen instead of just running away. They were curious to a fault.

Out of the darkness of the cave, came a ridiculously large lioness. Kael’s mouth hung down as he was flabbergasted to the core.

It was one thing to see and experience it through the memories of the Primordial lions, it was a completely different feeling to see it face to face.

Kael himself was close to two meters long, head and body combined, and way over a meter tall, paws to shoulder. He was already as big as an adult male lion and was still getting bigger. It was estimated that by the end of his fourth year, he would be absolutely massive compared to other lions, probably as big as his father.

But this lioness before him was even bigger than the Hot Lion Pride leader. Her fur was brownish yellow, like most lions.

Her paws were so wide that Kael feared they would cover his whole face easily, she towered over by a head and more.

She didn’t have any eye-catching muscular visuals but the strength in those pillar-like limbs could not be mistaken.

Across her body were sparse tattoos, all in different styles and colors. There was even a glowing blue tattoo on her head that was shaped like a magic circle.

Her growls were loud, but her face didn’t seem like she was trying to be violent or anything similar, rather her growls were just unnaturally loud.

Seeing the lion pride in front of her, the tattooed lioness didn’t stop walking, she got closer and closer.

The eyes of Katari and the other lionesses widened in surprise as they began to comprehend how big this lioness was compared to them.

The lionesses’ eyes, Kael could see it, contained an alarmingly high level of intelligence. The way she looked at them was not the same way the other savage beasts looked at them.

Her eyes were…judging.

Katari stepped forward to stand in front of Kael as she growled and bared her teeth.

The tattooed lioness stopped in her tracks, confusion coming over her face as she tilted her head. "Did I misjudge?"

Her voice resounded in the minds of everyone present, surprising them all, especially Priya who felt there was something wrong in the way she spoke.

The tattooed lioness had a voice that brimmed with confidence. She looked at each of their figures, including the hiding foxes, with a scrutinizing gaze.

Then, her sharp eyes rested on Kael, the confusion she felt got deeper as she ignored Katari’s warning growls and continued stepping forward.

Kael didn’t move, he calmly awaited the inevitable. He could escape if he wanted to, but he was very interested in this lioness.

The aura coming from the lioness implied that she was very dangerous, but the way she behaved suggested that she had no intention of fighting.

Eidel and Ruda could no longer reign in their anxiety, their bodies lit up as they immediately opened their mouths to launch elemental attacks at the lioness.

The tattooed lioness didn’t make any move to dodge, she didn’t even give a first glance at the incoming bolt of electricity and ball of fire. Her eyes were still on Kael.

When the two elemental attacks came close to her, they hit a transparent blue force field that revealed itself the moment it was touched.

The tattooed lioness was unscathed, her steps did not slow down one bit. She looked like she couldn’t care even if all of them attacked her at the same time.

"Stand down," Kael commanded, it was futile to try to prove anything at this point. This lioness was stronger than them, by a lot.

Eventually, the lioness stopped in front of Kael. She tilted her head, observing the golden fur of Kael.

"I have never seen someone like you before. Intriguing." She said, the lionesses just looked on with different thoughts in their head.

"You must be a Magus Lion, it’s nice to meet you," Kael exchanges greetings with her, not forgetting to dampen his emotions as much as possible.

"Magus Lion? How do you know?" She asked with one of her eyebrows raised comically. To see a lioness show so much facial expression made Kael feel like he was talking to a human again.

"I’m quite knowledgeable about things like that," Kael smiled. His reply seems to earn him the interest of the tattooed lioness the more.

"We shall see. Anyways, I’ve been expecting you," She lightly commented as she walked around Kael, trying to observe him from every angle.

"You have?" Kael asked, a bit surprised. He was a bit intimidated by her large form being so close and walking around him like he was some exotic animal in a zoo.

"Yes, my runes have long detected your presence. Come, come, you all look very tired." She said before turning away and walking back to her cave.

Kael looked at the lionesses who were equally confused. This tattooed lioness was definitely not simple.

After some thought, he decided to follow her in. The Ol-mytee lionesses also followed Kael’s lead.

"If I may ask, do you have a name?" Kael asked, with some form of expectation in his eyes.

The tattooed lioness paused her movement for a second, a glimpse of excitement passed through her facial expression before it quickly returned to normal.

"Yes, my name is N’bayé. Do you also have a name?" N’bayé asked.

Kael nodded, "Yes, my name is Kael. Kael Ol-mytee."