'Sometimes, I really don't understand how things came to be.'
Kivas was already on his 10th run. He didn't want to talk about what happened on the 9th run, but nothing important happened at that time nor would there be a new unlocked boon within that run.
Regardless of reason, Kivas wanted to remove the memory of his 9th run out of his very soul.
And as of now, he was zooming from hill to hill at the top speed of a car.
Or to put it simply, he had become a car.
-Boon of Constitution-
[Unique Variant: Four Wheeled Movement System]
-Why did animals not evolve into having wheels? Why did mother nature possess no perfectly level surfaces? As if everything's meant to impede the evolution of wheels. Be worry not! As thou possess the highest peak of evolution. So unleash the beast! Take up a couple notches and enjoy the thrill!-
'I couldn't believe that I've become a convertible.'
As of current progress, Kivas had already acquired four purple orbs. One assigned to the new and weird boon, and the other three were allocated to the [Blight Expansion], giving him a 6 meters range of perception in total.
'Just how the hell did these wheels work!? I can accelerate them but they are literally attached to my side! There is no engine whatsoever, it is just pure, unadulterated wheels!' Kivas writhed in confusion as he tried to come up with the science behind this upgrade. 'This is where [Tautology] will be extremely useful, I need another non-hostile organism that I can talk to now!'
Although Kivas must admit, not having two lower claws was kinda annoying. Then again, like how it usually was, Kivas adapted to the new bodily mechanic just fine. The fact that Kivas was basically driving with only 6 meters of perception was as dangerous as driving in the night with no lights though.
'Huh, is this just me or is it that something has been following me?'
Unknown to Kivas, there was actually a bus-sized earth fish that was swallowing everything in its path. And that very same monster was catching up to Kivas as the moment we speak.
That oversized fish had been unleashing an ears piercing scream anytime its throat wasn't dry due to not meeting with any water. Of course, because the fish was still out of range, its notorious cry would never be heard by its prey.
And with every moment that passed by, the fish was getting more and more desperate.
If Kivas were to suddenly stop, he would be immediately chomped by the fish.
'Maybe I should stop and check the surroundings first.'
If the stalker was a lion or something that prefers to be out of their prey's sight as much as they could, trying to see their surroundings might intimidate them.
But it was not the case for this one.
'WHAT IN THE ACTUAL WORLD-'
And he died.
Continuing with gusto, Kivas started his 11th run.
This time, he was spawned in some sort of abandoned cottage.
'UOOOH! UOOH!'
There was food and everything that a medieval fantasy house could be looking for. Some of the devices seemed to operate using those so-called magic, but as Kivas didn't really know how exactly those magic work, he just went back in and out of the rooms to explore something familiar to him.
'Ah, I got a purple orb.'
Just as he grabbed his purple orb into dust, one of the two options seemed to have piqued his mind.
The first option was the usual [Blight Expansion] while the other [???] had a symbol of that of a doll or a child wearing a japanese traditional clothing, a kimono, and a rather thick one at that.
'Huh, does this mean that I will be turned into a child???'
Skepticism aside, Kivas' curiosity had subconsciously urged him to choose the unknown boon. Later that he found, the boon of his choosing was not the Boon of Constitution.
-Boon of Youkai-
-Class: Normal Variant-
[Zashiki-warashi: The Housekeeper Parlor Child]
-Gods of Fortune, Protective Spirits. The Zashiki-warashi comes in many different names. Families with whom this spirit dwells become prosperous. They are mischievous, yet playful and kind enough to help with the maintenance of the house they dwell in, but only they are capable of sighting. White zashiki-warashi is a sign of good things to hum, and the sight of a red one is a sign that a zashiki-warashi would leave the family, leading to bad things to come-
The ball of light hurled to the floor in front of him. From there, a small typhon of light was created, as a frowning child with straight short black hair and red kimono slowly emerged from below.
'... The dress is red.' Kivas felt like he knew where this would be going. 'I'm gonna die again, aren't I?'
The Zashiki-warashi bowed with both hands hidden inside her kimono sleeves. She then glared at Kivas in a serious manner, as if she was trying to say something but couldn't.
But just like how Kivas was able to understand the intent of other monsters, the intent of the Zashiki-warashi became clearer and clearer as both of them glared at each other.
The message that Zashiki-warashi intended to convey was, "Thee daw, both of us art going to kicketh the bucket!"
Kivas then began to notice something.
This cottage had food and most of its weird appliances looked like new. Even the wooden floor and the wall seemed like it had just been abandoned not a moment ago.
For such a clean and maintained house to have none of its dwellers inside, one could either think that all of them had gone somewhere for a family event, or there could be a disaster that would soon befall every person in the area.