The Great Beastiary (Evolution/Survival)

In this world, there is a thing called the Great Beastiary. It is not a book or a place. It is a force that writes everyone's value into their skin. Every creature is born with a crest somewhere on their body.  The color tells your rank, the shape tells your purpose, and if your crest is cracked or brown or barely there, the Beastiary has decided you are not important. You exist to die so that someone else's story can move forward. This is how most people live.  They are born, they are ranked, and they are told what they are worth. The ones at the bottom get sold or worked or thrown away. Lemony Xaphan Pamon has a brown, cracked crest. He is a Pale-Mantle Manul, which is a fancy way of saying a small cat with too much fur. His parents traded him for a box of lemons when he was a baby.  That is where his name comes from.  He has been a slave for seventeen years.  Things that slaves do, like scrub floors, carry things, and obviously, being unable to talk back because there is no point. I am a lemon, he thinks sometimes. Squeezed until there is nothing left but the rind. One night he sees something he should not.  Two figures arguing in the dark outside the Pamon mansion. One is the master's son and the other is a stranger. The next morning the son is dead and Lemony is the only one awake late enough to blame. The master does not hesitate.  Ten years of scrubbing his floors and carrying his things and Lemony is handed over to the national force like a broken tool. They do not put him in a cell.  They put him in a Beastwar Portal. These portals are scattered across the Ouroboros Continent.  Inside them are ancient creatures that cannot be killed.  The continent does not try anymore.  Instead they feed the portals these criminals, debtors, the unwanted, or eve anyone innocent with a low enough rank.  They toss them in so the beasts have something to eat. Lemony stands at the edge of the portal. The air smells like snow and old blood. This is it, he thinks. This is what they meant when they said I was nothing. He steps through. --- What to Expect: · A depressed but reliable main character.· An animal-only world with cool character designs.· A world that assigns everyone's value.· Evolution! Charles Darwin type of evolution!· Can be scientific at most times.· Visiting different realms with ancient beasts.· Creative fight scenes with creative abilities.· Elden Ring type boss battles.· No harem. Warnings: The novel has a depressed main character, but he slowly finds his meaning, so if that interests you, read this. Also, Lemony isn't special. He just tries to survive every time. --- Schedule: Chapters publish Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Cover: I don't have one yet. If you're interested in making me one, reach out on Discord. Discord: mr.friesmanTikTok: mr.friesman