The package is delivered.

Evalyne looked at the notification, then at Basil eating and getting changed by the reagents she bought. The herbs were a bunch capable of awakening some of the duller senses like Energy-sight or touch. The little rocks are a catalyst for every type of concoction. Hence, they become more stable, but if eaten raw, they can make the individual capable of absorbing any reagent properties at the cost of severe pain; that's why Basil was in agony in those moments. Lastly, the Heart's piece of a Lesser Ethorgal.

A beast with blood so potent it can awaken the inner Bloodline of any creature. For Basil, this meant the awakening of all the nerves of the body. In the end, everything cost 11000 Asther units in total, in short everything Evalyne had.

Now you could be saying, "Not even one of these items seen to be related to getting a better intelligence for the lizard," and you could be correct. Still, just for a moment, you see, an awakened beast is more capable of getting self-conscious, put that together with Basil's oddness and curiosity for everything, and you have the formula for the mind of a toddler.

That mind itself was beginning to show in the reptile but too slow for the area he is currently in, which is the consequence of having some entities controlling part of your path.

Basil was hunting a yellow Worm again, knowing these creatures are idiotic in their patterns, and it was easy for him to get a decent meal. The spasms of a worm dying in his jaw were the best sign for an accomplished hunt. He dragged the body to a bit of a hole he made in one of the giant mushrooms and began to eat his prize with delight.

Basil was again looking at the fuzzy lines in his surroundings and asking, "What are those thingies?" he could see them everywhere, they were of different colors, but they were always in the same object. The Mushrooms had a murky green mist in them, the floor and the moss had a tint of light green and a dark gray, the vines were a light green. He thought the more impressive ones were other creatures' colors, as the worm had the murky green and a white one.

He tried to observe himself or at least at one of his claws. There was a white color, and the difference is that he could see tiny dots of the murky green and the turquoise the floaty rock had before he ate it. "What is that?" it was attractive to Basil how all these colors could be in the same things all the time.

"What colors can he see in other objects? And should he have them all in his skin?" Maybe, he could get them if he ate more things with the same color; the easiest one to get was the murky green. The mushrooms could give him that one. After eating the worm, he waited to digest it; he even ate the thing's teeth. Basil could get better teeth from other creatures, so he left nothing behind.

After some time, Basil climbed the mushroom to the top, where the colors were potent. He began to eat the fungus hat, trying to add two plus two at his basic logic. The problem is that the mushroom was utterly toxic there. The shock and the paralysis that it gave him were lessons enough not to repeat the process. Still, strangely, the toxins were less severe after repeating the process in another mushroom just for his curiosity and stupidity.

After a day of eating toxins, feeling ultra-dizzy, and emptying his bowels many times, he finally could eat one of the tops of the mushrooms without feeling awful. He looked at his claws and saw with his new vision a lot of the dark dots. Maybe he achieved something by eating all of that, but what?

The specimen "Basil" got recent Achievements.

[Voracious Eater]

[Gross Eater]

[Observer]

[Problem Seeker]

You will receive a total of 3750 Energy units for the achievements your Creature has obtained. Use it wisely.

Evalyne looked with shock at how the little guy would put himself at risk to find an answer to whatever picked his interest. At least regeneration was working in the tissues of his stomach and other nerves, or by now, he could be a petrified lizard with all the paralyzing poison he ingested from the fungal trees.

These actions granted him some achievements, peculiar ones for most creatures on the planet, but achievements nonetheless. Evalyne looked at his latest report.

Specimen Name

Basil

Specimen Species

Core Gekkonidae

Lifeforce

91/100 [Intoxicated]

Stamina

122/160

Energy

200/200

Abilities

-Energy Absorption [Tier 2] [Layer 10] [!NEW! Up from Layer 5]

-Energy Control [Tier 0] [Layer 4]

-Energy Sight [Tier 4] [Layer 3] [!NEW!]

-Voracity [Tier 1] [Layer 5] [!NEW! Up from Tier 0]

-Adaptability [Tier 3 potential of 8] [Layer 2] [¡NEW! Up from Layer 1]

-Metamorphosis [More Biomass with traits required] [A new Tab made for physical changes is available]

-Ire [0%/100% For activation]

Physical Statistics

-Strength [Tier 0] [Layer 10] [!NEW! Up from Layer 2]

-Agility [Tier 2] [Layer 1] [!NEW! Up from Tier 1]

-Intelligence [Tier 2 potential of 7] [Layer 10] [!NEW! Up from Layer 3]

-Endurance [Tier 2] [Layer 1] [!NEW! Up from Tier 1]

-Energy Accumulation [Tier 1] [Layer 10] [!NEW! evolved from Energy]

Traits

-Bloodthirsty

-Curious

-Survivalist [From Perfectionist]

-Omnivore [!NEW!] (Capable of eating any physical matter with the host strength in the mandibles and teeth as a limiter)

Metamorphosis Traits

-Regeneration [Tier 2] [Layer 8] [!NEW! Up from Layer 7] (Can repair nerves, tissues, and also delicate but simpler organs in a prolonged time)

-Simple Scales [Tier 2] [Layer 8] (Weak hardness and durability)

-Fat and Nutrient Storage [No Tier] [Limited by the body of the host] (Inborn)

-Toxin and Poisons Resistance [Obtaining]

Energies

-Pure [100%] (Natural one)

-Toxic [95%] (Digesting energy, needs more samples to attain control)

-Water [23%] (Digesting energy, needs more samples to attain control)

"Wow, he ate a ridiculous amount of toxins to reach that level, and he is almost at the point where he can begin the process of controlling it in his body. Maybe trusting Mardok was the best choice. For now, he looks fine but needs some rest to cure that intoxication. He ate so much; it got up by one layer."

"I should wait for more Asther. That way, I can give him something better."

"Yes, you should — Aggreed Mardok on one of the screens."

"Don't appear like that. You Bark face."

"It's just a video, Evalyne."

"If you say so, What do you think of his actions?"

"I think that our plan is working, not like I would have imagined, but still."

"He is resting now. I suppose he will go out again and finish his hypothesis. It is a smart move, idiotic and vicious, but it works."

"Give him some credit. For starters, nothing means precisely that, and by now, his brain should be trying to analyze everything with new eyes."

"Ok, I get it. Basil is waking up now. It looks like he will go to the river; maybe he is thirsty?"

"If you consume that quantity of poison, even I would drink a lake."

"Wait. What is that thing?"

"What thing?"

"There. Something is hanging in one of the Vines, and Basil is near that."

"Dammit. That's Oruleth' Ihema ."

Basil was going to the river. He was confident today after eating the worm that he could win against something a little stronger than it, but not what it was about to attack him. From one of the mushroom hats, a tentacle was getting slowly to the floor behind Basil. He didn't sense something. Hence, he continued his walk, more tentacles were cleaving on the floor silently, and Basil, just for curiosity, looked behind him. There it was, the first real danger he found in this place, looking right at him.

Basil began to run towards the base of the fungi. Multiple tentacles pierced where he stood. The gecko didn't want to die and couldn't even dream of beating that thing. Basil decided to escape, but the cavern was not an option, maybe the river with the lizards could become a safe area if he reached it, but the Ihema was faster and was blocking his way every time Basil tried to get near that zone.

He pushed forward to whatever direction could help him lose it, "maybe this forest was the worst place to be an open area could be better, perhaps?" his reasoning was working for him, and like that, he made a choice. Basil pushed forward to a zone with fewer mushrooms in the vicinity.

The Ihema was still tracking him, and with every opportunity, it attacked Basil, giving him some gashes on his back, tearing his scales to make him bleed. The lizard didn't give up and pushed towards a place with moss and rocks. The Ihema knew that terrain was not advantageous but still followed; its prey would be weak before escaping this forest.

The gecko ran but felt something going through him. A tentacle pierced a part of his torso and made him lose blood rapidly. The thing didn't want to let go. The point of the tentacle was serrated, and tried to drag him back into the forest.

Basil looked around for something, anything that could help him. There were many holes on the ground. He could escape in one but didn't know the risk of doing something like that. By now, he did not care. He bit the thing where he could, making the Ihema scream in pain. Basil did not lose time, and, with many tentacles trying to grab him, he jumped in the aperture to the darkness below.