6 Chapter 6

Falling from a dozen meters had no impact on Konlan. He didn't even bother to grab hold a branch to halt his descent, all that was required was a slight bend of his knees to absorb the impact. 

Despite his messy, twig and leaf covered, appearance from the fall, Konlan's lips were turned upwards in a maniacal grin. 

"It's back." He whispered with clenched fists. 

[ 7 days have passed since the last draw. Would you like to draw a multiversal character card? Note: as you have not met any key characters, the rarity of the card drawn remains [ White ]. To increase the rarity of the card drawn, please interact with characters central to the plot. ] 

Konlan's enhanced IQ swiftly digested and analyzed the new information. 

Firstly, he now knew that he would be given a new opportunity to draw a character card every seven days. Secondly, interacting with characters like Geralt of Rivia and Yennefer of Vengerberg would increase the rarity of the card drawn. 

One question burned in his mind. 

"What rarity is Captain America?" He pondered deeply. 

[ Note: Captain America is a [ Blue ] card. ] 

Not expecting a reply, Konlan's mouth opened wide with shock.  Immediately he tried asking the voice a variety of other questions. 

"Do you have a name?" 

"Status?" 

"What is your purpose?" 

He received no response. 

The prospect of a companion, even if it was one that only existed in his head, greatly excited him. He was disappointed to discover that this was not the case. 

'Draw.' 

This time the blue panel responded. 

[ A multiversal character Card is being drawn.

Summary: you have escaped from the nameless slums and ventured out into the vast wilderness. You have hunted various wild beasts and slain a group of nekkers. The rarity of your card has been raised to [ Green ]. ] 

Konlan waited with bated anxious breath for the familiar realm of surging darkness that had scarred him once before. To his surprise, it never came. 

[ The character card has been drawn. The character drawn is: Troll ( Mythology ). Abilities gained: extreme strength, limb regeneration, nature's touch, acidic blood, thick skin, enhanced digestive system. Note: Integration will no longer cause the host to lose consciousness. ] 

In front of him the blue panel displayed a huge and ugly green humanoid. The being's stature was gigantic, exceeding 8 foot. It's facial features resembled that of a misshapen clay sculpture and it's torso was as thick as a tree trunk. 

While inspecting the huge creature and reading through the list of new abilities, Konlan was also thinking about the classification of rarity. 

The troll was a large creature from various mythologies and fantasy worlds. The species depicted on the character card originated from the failed book of a hopeful author. 

While it's appearance was menacing and it's raw strength was only slightly less than that of the famous Captain America, who's rarity exceeded it by a full grade; the troll was in fact countless times weaker than Steve Rodgers. 

Towering over mortal men in size granted the troll incredible strength, it's muscles were hundreds of times larger than its brain. However the troll had glaring weaknesses that even an ordinary person could exploit. 

Their terrible eyesight meant that they relied on smell to perceive their prey. A team of experienced hunters armed with bows and spears could defeat a fully grown troll with relative ease. Their useless, yet tennis-ball sized eyes were giant targets for an archer's arrows. 

[ Would you like to integrate with the character card? ] 

"Integrate." Konlan said resolutely. 

Like before the panel collapsed into shards of blue light. These shards gathered in mid air to form a fluid like ball that slowly floated towards Konlan's head. 

Unlike last time where he had lost consciousness, Konlan now remained conscious through the integration process. 

The whole process lasted less than a few minutes and Konlan experienced no odd sensations other than a pleasant tingling in his chest. 

Unbeknownst to him, the structure of his heart and internal organs had changed completely. Trolls had incredibly large bodies and a proportionally massive volume of blood. Konlan's heart now resembled that of a troll with knotted green and black muscles that contracted with enough force to shatter rocks. 

  A troll's highly corrosive blood meant that they had no need for organs such as the kidney or liver; their stomachs contained digestive juices powerful enough to dissolve metal. It was for this reason that a troll's diet could vary from tree bark and venomous insects to literal pieces of rock. 

Konlan's stomach expanded again and again and his blood took on a sickly greenish hue. Were a blade to slice through his leather like skin, the blood that dripped out would spit and hiss as it hit the earth. 

Each integration was akin to an entirely new round of evolution, transforming Konlan's body into a strange tapestry of biological perfection. 

Konlan was entirely unaware of this process, but even if he knew it would make no difference. 

His fate was tied to the blue panel, without it he was nothing. He was that nameless rat struggling to survive in the slums. Even if one day he no longer resembled a human being; he would not stray from the path he had chosen. 

"I can finally leave this fucking place." Konlan said. 

After recent events Konlan had no intention to go back to sleep.

Integrating with the troll had reduced his need for rest to an even more inhuman level. His strength had also received a small boost and to his delight, his skin was now thick enough to shrug off arrows. 

However the significant increase to his defense was not what delighted him the most.

Trolls spoke with their teeth and their fists, their intelligence didn't exceed that of a 5 year old's. These bloodthirsty giants would chase a human for dozens of miles and gleefully tear them limb from limb. To the humankind in the world that they originated in, trolls were a scourge that could not be killed. How could you eradicate a being that could survive off of the very dirt it walked on. 

But to the spirit of the wilderness, troll's were a loyal guardian who would willingly lay down their lives to beat back human invaders and maintain the health of the forests. 

It was for this reason that trolls held a unique ability described as [ Nature's touch ]. Wherever a troll wandered, nature would celebrate its prescence. 

[ Nature's touch ] was the first ability that could be influenced by Konlan's actions. The wild spirits in this world currently viewed him with immense fondness, the winds would whisper directions to him for wherever he wanted to go and the rustling trees would inform him of any dangers present nearby. 

To his surprise Konlan discovered that his favour with the spirits was already unusually large, even before receiving [ Nature's touch ]. It took him a few moments of communicating with the breeze to work out why. 

'The nekkers.' 

Nekkers were foul beings that sucked away the vitality of the forests. Their nests could extend for several kilometers and their very existence brought with them a sickening corruption. 

His act of slaying a dozen nekkers had earned him the favour of the wild spirits. 

Konlan made a serious mental note that he had to avoid excessively damaging any places where nature reigned. Doing so would cause the spirits to dislike and potentially even despise him.

Ingrained in the troll's memories was the knowledge not to anger the spirits. Nature protected them from harm and in turn they served it dutifully. If they did not do their duties, the world itself would seek to claim their lives. 

Sudden rockslides, jackals and leopards unnaturally aligning forces to slaughter trolls who broke the pact; these were the consequences of nature's ire. 

From this seemingly ordinary ability, Konlan felt a grave sense of potential threat. 

"I can consider the dangers later. For now, I just need to focus on getting out of this place." Konlan mumbled. 

The cold night winds rustled through the branches and sent animals nestling tighter into their nests. To Konlan it held a different meaning. 

"People." 

In the darkness Konlan's brown eyes glinted defiantly. Flecks of green were scattered through his irises.

Steadily and surely his footsteps lead him north.