Evalyne received a notification after some hours of seeing Basil recuperating. He finally got some achievements. With this, she could help him get better somehow, but still not enough for big purchases.

The Specimen "Basil" got [The Survivor] Achievement Be alive after having lost more than 80% of your life with the possibility of full recovery. As the Owner of Basil, you are being awarded 1500 Asther units for use. The Specimen "Basil" got [Crystal Eater] Achievement Be capable of eating through the hardness of some crystals and digest them. As the Owner of Basil, you are being awarded 250 Asther units for use.

From a relay in the machine, a faint line of pale white Asther traversed the area towards the hand of Evalyne. She was euphoric for having once again some more energy in her body. She was frail without it, so she needed to have a supply circulating in her.

"Perfect, with this, I could buy some necessities for Basil. Something for his endurance could work. No, it won't work; he needs to get the Metamorphosis first. Damn, I have to be patient. His intelligence will keep him alive, but there is a limit to what that beast-level logistic can do."

Basil felt weak but still moved through the fungal forest. He had to eat something more protein-based. The mushrooms satiated the hunger but not what Basil needed. If he could see his status as Evalyne did, he could see his Toxic energy is 15%. And that of the quantities of moss and mushrooms he ate in his way. All while recuperating from the battle with the Big crystal.

His leg still hurt when he put it against the ground. But it was getting better step by step. His curiosity, this time, drove him again to the river. But this time wanted to see if there was something to eat inside the water.

He was not aquatic by any means but felt capable of at least catching something by the shores. When he visited it the first time, he only saw an arm of the wide river. It was calmer than the central one. That's why the majority of the beasts chose to drink from here. Again, by the shores, there were the purple lizards. But he saw them in more detail; they had fins with gray points and three eyes in their heads.

The eye in the center got a lustrous membrane covering it. The other two maintained themselves closed most of the time for some reason. Basil's best answer in his brain is that they opened all their eyes when in danger—or hunting for prey in the vicinity.

He noted a congregation around one of them. It had holes in the belly of its body, with blood and innards getting out with each heavy breath of the dying creature. Basil asked himself. What kind of predator could cause those kinds of injuries? And with all its brethren around. He didn't know, but the situation gave him an idea, perchance he could get some meat from it. He crept around the group guarding the bleeding lizard and waited.

"What will they do with the deceased? Would they eat it or abandon it?" His questions got answered after the lizard gave its last breath. No one from its brother killed him to end its suffering, but their spawn began to feast on its flesh. They were paler than their parents, almost gray. If that is how they looked, Basil could pretend to be one of their young.

Argaranth Purple Lizard-like creatures that, in time, kill their old or let them die to nourish their young with their bodies' nutrients. These species are unique to the Scylla-X45 ecosystem. While entirely harmless when not provoked, a group could get triggered by hostile behavior against one of their members, causing them to attack together. Their primary source of food is Orklath, a rock-covered Mollusk found in underground rivers.

Evalyne looked at what Basil was trying to do. The little guy was more creative than she thought. Either way, it was a bold move to pretend to be one of their brood.

She was still preoccupied because if he failed, she failed. In Primal Adaptation, you could receive energy for the achievements of your creature. The problem is, you can't leave with that energy unless they or the many you have, survived for at least a year.

For the Limited, a year was nothing in their lifespans. Instead, for these creatures, a year was a lifetime of death and life experiences. Most remained until the bitter end with their animals. The others took what they gained and bailed to start anew in another season. She was not the latter option this time. She needed an ample supply of Asther to advance, which discourages her because of how long she had been in the first tier.

Yes, she was immortal, technically speaking, of course. This place takes most of the things you had when you are reaching ascension. As a way to limit you, hence the title, even your immortality is gone.

If you remained in the lesser tiers, you could suffer from degradation in your soul and body, or more direct, you become old and finally die. She had at least five years in the first tier, which made her mad. Her decisions weren't always good ones, and she had paid the price many times now because of this.

"What are you doing, Basil?"

The little guy was sneaking past one parent and safely got on the corpse where the young were feasting. Basil measure is at least fifteen centimeters long. The exact size as the others, and that got him in. He smelled the chunks of flesh that were being tossed around by his energetic "cousins." Not a single one took him into account.

He directed to where the head was. If he could eat the eyes, he could get that membrane to see underwater. He didn't have that ability and could be helpful in other situations.

He climbed the corpse and began to bite the eyes of the Argaranth. It had a white liquid inside, and he didn't like the taste, still ate it without contemplation. He looked at what else he could eat, the scales were weak more like flimsy nails, but he got none in comparison. So, it was better than nothing.

He ate as many as he could, the others were still eating the belly, and they were at least fifteen of them. That was a lot of meat, and the parents were dozing or looking in another direction. They didn't seem to care.

Basil got near the mouth, and the putrefaction odor invaded his tiny nostrils. He took a tooth and tried to munch it. It was harder, more than the crystals. That was weird; "these creatures ate objects harder than the Turquoise thingies?"

He didn't care in the end. He kept eating the teeth until his instincts told him it was enough. He took a look at those frills at the top. It could be helpful if he learned to swim; he munched those too.

The last things he could get from the thing were its muscles and bones. The innards got eaten by the little ones. Basil was almost rolling by the things he ate. Even for his metabolism, this was strange to him. The things he ate were getting absorbed by his body rapidly. And his Gems felt heavier. They were like swirling vortexes. He knew this was natural because this was his species and his body, so "this was normal for him."

Either way, he looked for where the more substantial muscles and bones were. And the legs were the obvious choice. He munched the fibrous muscles to the bone until almost bursting for eating so much. All the others were full before he started biting the leg. All the creatures in his surroundings were asleep or in another place.

Basil was very slow with all he ate but still managed to get out of the zone without getting unwanted attention. He climbed one of the mushrooms and hid below the hat of the fungus to avoid recognition. Or until the digestion does its work. What he didn't know is that an invisible mini drone was observing him. And the video was being transmitted for all the Limited in the betting area, including Evalyne in her suite.

"He is a sneaky one, I admit." — Mentioned a corporeal shadow with many eyes in its body.

"He is weak. That's what it is." — Said a kind of red Minotaur creature with bone spikes protruding from its back.

"Being weak physically doesn't mean he is entirely defenseless." —Voiced a floating wisp with orbs rotating around it, each of a different color.

"I did not bring you all to my chamber to criticize my betting creature." — Uttered Mardok.

"Then why did you bring us here, Mardok?" — Continued the Shadow with many eyes.

"I want to help it grow, Moraeus."

"That is difficult, and you could lose a lot of energy if he dies." —Mentioned the Wisp.

"That is possible, yes, but his true potential is almost limitless, I sensed it when I was near his soul Orb, and you know of souls Dusanog, surrounding yourself in them, as they give you your powers."

"Either way, why do you think a Weakling like that has potential?" — Asked the Minotaur.

"I am sure you looked at it eating?"

"Like if I couldn't saw him. He is one of the more voracious in all the bets." —Uttered the Minotaur.

"Exactly Bik, he is. Almost like one of our kind, the one who is in the nine Tier of this place. And if the news is accurate, around the First layer of the Tenth tier of the Stromata."

"You don't mean...?" —Said Dusanog.

"That is correct. So, will you help the lizard? If my hunch is right, he could help us get out of these lower tiers quicker than we think."

Each of the room's entities looked at each other with greed as a silent agreement got made.

"We will." — Voiced all in unison.

Mardok had a bright blue smile on his face.