Basil woke up feeling groggy. The dim blue light coming from the exit illuminated his little cavern. He didn't know how much time he was asleep but got up nonetheless. As he was hungry again, he searched for the piece of meat he at least got from the worm. Basil tore at it with delight until the gecko left nothing of it.

The dizziness disappeared after resting for a while. Basil got to the entrance to look for any dangers lurking around. There was none for the moment.

Basil went towards one of the giant mushrooms and climbed to the top to scout the area. Huge vines were hanging from the ceiling, some crystals of different colors as well. He didn't know why, but some shiny things got his attention. Sadly they were too far away for him to reach.

The mushrooms and Vines illuminated everything in blue and purple, but Basil didn't care for that. He heard beasts battling in the mushroom forests and instantly knew he needed to avoid those. The reptile knew what the non-threatening things would be in comparison to the tentacled mass. The gecko needed to be stronger if he wanted to eat that creature. Or at least to defend himself from it.

The cavern from where he was born would work as a base in the meantime. There were objects he could take from the vicinity to make it more comfortable. But now, his interest was in the sounds of water hitting a rock, and that meant goodbye parched mouth.

He began to go towards what he understood was an underground river. Basil remained hidden behind the mushrooms, rocks, and other things he found on the road. None of those things got his attention, but he still bit some chunks from the mushrooms and the moss; they felt weird in his mouth. The gems in his body tinted murky green again with the things he ate, but they were gone in minutes, disappearing for the usual pale white.

After a while, he found the river but didn't get to it immediately. He noticed some creatures lurking around, so he wanted to prepare for them.

On the area surrounding the river's start, turquoise crystals were deep into the ground on both sides. Far away, there was some odd beast with six legs and a long snout that worked as a mouth as well. Perhaps some edibles needed a long mouth to reach them.

In the vicinity were some purple-ish lizards too. They didn't attack the six-legged nor approached them. Basil didn't know if there was a pact of non-aggression in this place or they didn't need to fight.

The little guy reached for the waters and quenched his thirst with evident pleasure. Or, well, the joy a little gecko could manifest in its face. After that, he started looking at the Turquoise Crystals with interest, as the other animals didn't seem interested in them. Could he eat them? He looked for the ones he could fit in his mouth, and with a surprising crunch, he achieved eating the mineral. It tasted fresh in his mouth, and with a new appetite, he began munching more of the same.

After eating five more or less, he felt a rumbling below his feet. A Bigger crystal started floating in the air. Water began rotating around it at high speeds, and a high-pitched noise got out of the creature. Basil felt that he made a mistake.

[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Penrose-dreieck.svg/526px-Penrose-dreieck.svg.png]

In the suite of Evalyne, she was seeing what Basil was getting into, and she couldn't help taking her hands to her head. She was almost pulling her violet hair.

"Basil, what have you done!? I knew his curiosity could provide opportunities and also problems. What I didn't expect is for him to disturb an area guarded by an early Golemite. OK, let's breathe... maybe it's not so bad. Perhaps he can escape with agility-. And now he is being tossed around by water jets. Ok, ok, maybe he can get out of this in some way, I think."

Evalyne was seeing Basil trying to evade the water streams the Golemite was shooting at him. And almost to no avail. Basil's heart was pounding in his chest from the exertion and the panic. He didn't know what to do, he got beat with water, and he didn't like it.

The lizard was starting to get furious, and his sight was becoming red in anger. In a burst of fury, he sprinted towards the floating crystal. As he was getting near, he saw a rock that could work as a jumping point.

"Bloodthirsty is taking effect on him. that is an advantage, but with costs. I hope his intelligence makes him capable of reasoning, but what is he trying to do? I can see he is evading the water jets better than before, but why is he trying to reach the core of the golemite?"

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Basil was sprinting towards the rock to jump at the end of it. With momentum, he latched himself at the side of the core and started biting at it with fury in his eyes.

"This lizard is crazy, and I can’t believe it. Basil is trying to eat the core."

The core was getting shattered after each bit. Its control over the water diminished with chunks the golemite lost. It still managed to hit various water streams at Basil. But not enough to kill it on time, the big rock fell to the ground with a thud. And above it was Basil with bruises and many cuts caused by the water jets.

Tiredness was palpable in the little creature, but he has not finished yet. He ate the thing, his metabolism was quick, and almost everything consumed transformed into energy. Basil left nothing of the Golemite, but he still had to get to safety. Other creatures might see him as a meal in his state.

"He has to get out of there now, come on Basil, be wise, and run to the cavern" — "Now!"

The gecko felt shouted at by a Lady made of energy and entered in a panic. Without losing time, he started running to his base. Red blood covered him, and his body hurt a lot, but he needed to escape out of there. He didn't know if there were more of those giant floaty crystals around. So, he better move. One of his hind legs got injured in the fight, meaning he couldn't move faster anymore, and the way home was long. He needed to be careful.

Evalyne looked at how the little reptile was struggling to get home. He hid in the mushrooms when he sensed danger nearby and was always on the spot. Some creatures were lurking in the areas for easy food. There was even some kind of bat that had one of the yellow worms in its claws. With all the dangers stalking the site, he still reached the cavern. Luckily there was no predator inside or around his home; he got to the end and fell asleep behind the capsule.

"...That was too fucking close. I will need to send Basil something that gives a regeneration ability at this pace. Unless he finds it firsts in one of the beasts running amok, let's see his vitals for now."

Specimen Name Basil Specimen Species Core Gekkonidae Lifeforce 8/50 [Critical] Stamina 5/80 [Critical] Energy 90/100

"That is not good. I hope abilities had increased a little. It is not easy upgrading the Tier of skills or powers. Unless you have the affinity, but for him, those are everything. His weakness lies in the first days after he is born. I guess those crystals he ate gave him something."

Abilities

-Energy Absorption [Tier 2] [Layer 5] [¡NEW! Up from Layer 1]

-Energy Control [Tier 0] [Layer 3]

-Voracity [Tier 0] [Layer 8] [¡NEW! Up from Layer 1]

-Adaptability [Tier 3 potential of 8] [Layer 1]

-Metamorphosis [Beginning of manifestation]

-Ire [¡NEW!]

Physical Stats

-Strength [Tier 0] [Layer 2]

-Agility [Tier 1] [Layer 6]

-Intelligence [Tier 2 potential of 7] [Layer 3]

-Endurance [Tier 1] [Layer 1]

-Energy [Tier 1] [Layer 8] Traits

-Bloodthirsty

-Curious

-Survivalist [From Perfectionist] Energies

-Pure [100%] (Natural one)

-Toxic [9%] (Digesting energy, needs more samples to attain control)

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

"I see. I get the Energy abilities because I have them. The Ire one must be why he got so aggressive. It sure was born from the Bloodthirsty trait. The water-energy could have been helpful if he activated it early. No matter. He is alive at least, and that's good. If he survives the night, the system should grant an accomplishment for being in that state."

"Basil is, by definition, a newborn. But I am surprised he survived that battle even won it. Intelligence must have helped him in the ordeal." — Evalyne touched her face in thought. — "I was lucky to have taken those traits from that corrupted soul. Now what I don't understand is the Voracity ability, first time seeing it. What does it do?"

Voracity Permits the specimen to keep eating after it is satisfied. It's also a native ability to Core Gekkonidae to help them get physical characteristics from other creatures at better tiers.

"Oh, so that's why he keeps eating, is a powerful ability with time; that's why he is so weak at the start. Well, the manifestation of metamorphosis is getting close; with it, he can upgrade his body. It's only a matter of patience and that he finds things to eat that have benefits."