The male lion was curled up on the ground.
It was scared.
Scared enough that it didn’t dare provoke Daniel again.
Its teeth were still aching faintly from the earlier encounter.
It had a wife. It had cubs. Life was good.
Its pride was thriving, its position secure, and it had absolutely no intention of dying today.
If acting cowardly for a while could convince this strange creature to leave it alone, then so be it.
Survival came first.
A lion’s life was long. Lowering its head once wasn’t the end of the world. As long as it survived this disaster, it would still be the king of the jungle afterward.
And besides, was a king admitting defeat really cowardice?
No...
This was a strategic retreat.
His revenge could wait ten years if necessary.
"Daniel, make it stand up already. I want to ride it. I can’t climb on if it keeps lying down," Carol said as soon as she landed.
"Alright."
Daniel walked over and nudged the lion with his foot.
"Get up."
The lion was bewildered.
’Why won’t this creature leave me alone?’
’I’ve already abandoned my dignity as a lion. I’m lying here like a giant housecat. Why are you still kicking me?’
Seeing no response, Daniel kicked it again.
"Get up."
The lion remained motionless.
It had already made up its mind.
’Fine. Bully me if you want. I won’t resist. Eventually you’ll get bored and leave.’
When it wasn’t hungry, it often amused itself by harassing smaller animals.
The reactions of those animals back then were exactly the same as its own now.
Seeing that the lion refused to move, Daniel crouched down, grabbed the loose skin at the back of its neck, and hauled it upright.
The moment he let go, the stupid lion immediately flopped back onto the ground.
Carol burst out laughing.
Daniel’s expression darkened.
"This lion is really making things hard..." he muttered.
This time, he smacked the lion lightly on the head before pulling it up again.
After several rounds of lifting, collapsing, lifting, and collapsing, the lion finally gave up and stood obediently.
"There..."
Daniel stepped back.
"Go ahead. It shouldn’t resist anymore."
Carol didn’t seem afraid in the slightest.
She climbed right onto the lion’s back.
The instant she sat down, the lion nearly buckled at the knees again.
The short-haired creature was already terrifying enough.
This long-haired one had to be even worse.
But after Daniel glanced at it, the lion immediately froze.
It didn’t dare move.
’They’re not planning to do something terrible to me, are they?’
The lion trembled inwardly.
’These creatures are horrifying.’
’If I ever see them again, I’ll run as far away as possible!’
A psychological scar had already formed in the lion’s heart.
After surviving this encounter with Daniel, it would spend the rest of its life fleeing whenever it saw humans, dragging its entire pride away with it.
"Go on, run!" Carol shouted, patting its backside.
This time, the lion understood immediately.
It started trotting forward with quick little steps.
Honestly, if one ignored the woman sitting on its back, it looked quite majestic.
Its muscles rolled beneath its golden fur, and its stride carried the natural authority of a king.
Unfortunately, Carol completely ruined the effect.
After playing with the lion for a while, she quickly lost interest.
The ride was uncomfortable.
Its spine dug into her backside, and every step jostled her around.
It wasn’t fun.
So she mercifully released the lion from its role as a giant housecat.
"Let’s go find other animals to play with," Carol said.
Daniel naturally had no objections.
Ignoring the lion, which immediately collapsed back onto the ground the moment Carol got off, he grabbed Carol and took off running.
Ever since carrying her earlier, he had realized something.
Holding Carol under one arm was much easier than carrying her on his back.
The lion lifted its head.
The two terrifying creatures were gone.
Even so, it didn’t dare stand up right away.
It cautiously glanced around in every direction, checking over and over.
Only after confirming they had truly left did it slowly climb to its feet.
It shook the dust from its mane.
Then it straightened its posture, puffed out its chest, and let out a thunderous roar.
A king’s dignity had to be maintained.
After determining the direction of its pride, it began jogging back.
It desperately needed some comfort from the lionesses.
That experience had been absolutely terrifying.
Even though it was eager to return, once it got within about five hundred meters of the pride, it deliberately slowed down.
Its pace became calm and leisurely.
A king must never appear flustered.
The aura of the Lion King could not be lost.
...
For the rest of the afternoon, Daniel led Carol around the savanna causing trouble for just about every animal they could find.
Rhinos.
Buffalo.
Zebras.
Giraffes.
Basically, if Carol happened to think of an animal, she’d drag Daniel over so they could bother it.
Before long, evening began settling over the grasslands.
The two of them sat beneath a lone acacia tree, watching the sunset spread across the African savanna.
The ancient continent of Africa stood unchanged through countless ages.
The setting sun carried great masses of crimson clouds across the horizon as it sank toward the earth.
Darkening cloudbanks stretched across the sky while a brilliant line of light separated sky and land.
The scene was vast and majestic.
It looked like an endless chase between fire and shadow, one that had continued since the dawn of time and still showed no sign of ending.
On the savanna, miracles of life unfolded every moment.
Predators hunted.
Prey fled.
Birth and death intertwined beneath the red glow of the sunset.
Daniel and Carol found themselves completely captivated.
"So beautiful..." Carol murmured.
The sight had genuinely stunned her.
"It really is...."
Daniel nodded.
For once, they agreed completely on something.
After watching quietly for a while, Carol’s stomach began to growl.
"What are we eating tonight?" she asked.
Daniel didn’t answer immediately.
His original plan had been simple.
Come to Africa.
Find Wakanda.
Done.
The problem was that he still hadn’t found it.
Even while spending the afternoon accompanying Carol on her animal-bothering adventure, he hadn’t stopped searching.
His super vision had been sweeping across vast stretches of land the entire time.
He just hadn’t found anything yet.
"Wait a second."
Suddenly, Daniel noticed something.
"I’ll be right back."
Dusk was feeding time for predators.
Several dozen miles away, a leopard was in the middle of chasing down an antelope.
Daniel decided to borrow a little meat from this spotted feline creature.
A few moments later, he returned carrying an antelope hind leg over one shoulder.
By now, Carol was no longer surprised by anything Daniel did.
After witnessing all of his strange abilities throughout the day, she had become somewhat numb to them.
"Let’s eat this," Daniel said with a grin. "We’ll roast it."
"You know how to barbecue?" Carol asked skeptically.
"Of course. There are plenty of things I’m good at."
Daniel answered confidently.
In his previous life, he’d occasionally messed around with grilling.
Roasting meat couldn’t be that different from barbecue, right?
Probably.
Maybe.
Hopefully.
Daniel handed the antelope leg to Carol before disappearing again.
Two minutes later, he returned carrying an armful of dry wood.
"Do we have fire?" Carol asked.
"That’s easy."
Would Superman ever have trouble making fire?
His eyes weren’t only for shooting lasers.
Carefully controlling his strength, Daniel focused his gaze.
A faint red glow flashed across his eyes.
The pile of wood instantly ignited.
"Whoa!"
Even after seeing countless abilities throughout the day, Carol still jumped in surprise.
"Your eyes..."
"Just a small ability," Daniel said casually.
"A small ability?" Carol stared at him.
"Didn’t you say you’re only fifty-fifty against Captain America? Does Captain America have this many weird powers too?"
She still hadn’t let that go.
Everything Daniel had shown today looked far stronger than Captain America.
"Who said I’m not fifty-fifty with Captain America?" Daniel protested.
"Do you know what Captain America’s real superpower is?"
"The serum?"
"No."
Daniel shook his head seriously.
"That’s only his surface level ability."
"His true power is fifty-fifty."
"...What?"
"No matter who he fights, it’s always fifty-fifty."
Carol stared at him.
"..."
For a long moment, she was speechless.
"What other powers do you have?"
She had reached a conclusion.
Daniel was full of nonsense.
"Super brain, super vision, super hearing, super..."
Daniel launched into a lengthy list.
Carol immediately regretted asking.
"..."
She didn’t even want to respond anymore.
Once the fire was burning steadily, Daniel cleaned up the meat and started roasting it.
He gathered a few wild herbs and spices nearby and rubbed them onto the surface.
There was no oil, no fancy preparation, and no proper seasoning.
Before long, the meat was cooked.
Carol took a bite.
The taste wasn’t great.
It was edible, but barely.
While they were eating, Daniel continued scanning the horizon through his super vision.
Then, at last... he found it.
Far in the distance, hidden behind layers of camouflage and advanced technology, he finally located the nation he had been searching for.
Wakanda.
A smile slowly spread across his face.
In a low voice that only he could hear, he said.
"Wakanda..."
"I’m coming."
More extra Chapters if we reach 1000 stones.
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