After the last death by imitating a drowning stone, Kivas had grasped the mechanic of his torch quite a bit.
On the last five runs, while there was more uncovered option that he could choose, Kivas would always aim to get a good amount of [Blight Expansion] first and foremost.
The highest amount of [Blight Expansion] stacks that he achieved was 4, which makes his radius of perception 7 meters from the torch. The greater the vision, the better survivability! And only when he felt safe enough he had the confidence to try new options and the boons' wacky effect on his body.
This resulted in him uncovering some certainty about how the purple orbs work.
Just like a game, Kivas would get one boon or upgrade from the purple orb everytime he achieved a milestone. But instead of an experience bar that he needs to fill, it was something far more intricate.
So far, Kivas had ensured that of two kinds of milestones he could achieve.
The first factor was Discovery.
Everytime Kivas stumbled upon a place or an object with noticeable value and story behind it, Kivas would acquire a purple orb and sometimes two depending on the value of the findings. It wasn't limited to objects and places. It could also be achieved by solving a mystery or grasping a hidden message in a ruin.
It works quite perfectly for him, especially since Kivas was brimming with nothing but curiosity about the world that he got thrown into.
The second factor was Survival.
Maybe it was because of how unfair it was to only have a three meters range of perception in an unfair world filled with mystery and danger, Kivas would be automatically granted a purple orb if he survived for 2 hours and 22 minutes. However, it seemed like the countdown increased because in one of the last five runs, Kivas had survived for at least 5 hours and he didn't get any purple orbs that weren't acquired from Discovery.
'Alright, so this will be my eight run!'
Grasping the stem of the torch, Kivas plunged himself into another randomized location of the new world.
Kivas was actually unsure if all of the seven locations he was spawned before was that of the same world. Then again, such a fact would only be revealed with time and his cycle of death and revival.
And the biome for this time would be…
Another cave?
'Grey floor surface that is cold and hard as a rock, check!' Kivas swiped the floor with his lower finger. 'And I see no moisture whatsoever.'
Kivas leaped about the new environment with caution. If there were anything to be cautious at, it would be the clapping of his rear against the floor every time he landed after a leap.
One would notice the echoing sound that he created within the cave, but due to his exposure to limited perception in both sight, sound, and touch, Kivas forgot some fundamental things about how things work.
One could say that he was lucky enough to not get another instant death.
'Hmm, is this what I think it is?'
Kivas found a minecart and a track.
'While the surface is dusty, there seemed to be a clear sign of it being recently used.'
And just as Kivas thought it was, an entity shoved down a bag of coal into the cart. Kivas watched as the entity poured another more.
The entity was a reanimated skeleton.
The skeleton noticed the fragile little tadpole blob on the ground near his minecart. He then waved before pushing the minecart into somewhere else, deliberately disappearing from Kivas' range of perception.
'Well, ain't they gentle and polite.'
Kivas realized the merit of being an elderly, except for the fact that his current appearance barely exudes any sign of elderly.
A golden light shone from the torch. Along with the wind chime, an orbiting purple orb was birthed from the flame.
At that moment, Kivas wondered a little, on whether he gained the orb after discovering a walking skeleton, or being waved by a walking skeleton.
Just like usual, Kivas prioritized the [Blight Expansion], adding another meter to his range of perception.
'The symbol for the unknown boon is that of a sword coated in flaming curves, AAAAAAA- I really want that but a flaming sword is as useful as a pile of rock if I can't even see anything 4 meters from here!!'
Continuing the pursuit of Discovery, Kivas tracked down the track of the track. Or in its layman's term, walking along the side of the iron rail until he eventually finds something other than a rock and a different kind of rock.
He thought whoever lies at the end of the track should be a kind and reasonable person if their underlings were more polite than the youngster of his earliest version of life.
'There is a moving skeleton, I can imagine that there is a rich and humble necromancer orc sitting on a throne of bones as he watches his obedient servants digging the mine for him.' His front surface of the body mellowed until he realized how skewered his vision could be. 'Wait, won't that just make the necromancer orc a tyrant??'
Then again, it was not testified that the skeleton had any kind of soul, nor it would be an enslaved human who was forced on a contract to work after death.
'That might leave me a nightmare.'
Kivas somehow forgot that he had the experience of an active duty soldier. He might not remember it, but the fact that he had less fear of everything within the darkness beyond his field of perception, maybe he still had his soul of a soldier after all.
'Oh, another reanimated skeleton.' He thought, as if he was walking in a park. 'They are surprisingly docile, huh.'
More like Kivas didn't pose much of a threat.
After a while, he saw a group of skeletons lining up. He approached much further until the whole view appeared within the illumination of the torch. It seemed like there was a leader instructing them, a leader that was bigger and stronger.