Chapter1
Alric woke up groggy and hungover as he always was. This was not surprising it would be more concerning to him if he woke up clearheaded. He rolled over and groaned with his eyes still closed. The cold hard floor of his apartment…he slapped the very hard and cold surface he was lying on, that wasn't his hard wood floor. Alric's eyes flew open, it was dark, but he could still see a stalagmite covered ceiling sitting stubbornly above him. Alric glared at what should have been the dingy drywall of his ratty apartment. The sound of dripping water off the cave roof which, as stone tends to do, refused to budge despite how hard Alric glared at it.
Shit, did I pass out in a cave? How did I even find a cave…My man cave of solitude notwithstanding. He chuckled to himself. "Hehe…"
The sound of his laugh sounded off in Alric's rapidly clearing head, deep and guttural. He quickly put off the strange quality of his voice to the fact he just woke up. Shambling to his feet he was surprised to find his body felt no ill effects for having presumably slept on stone all night. In fact, he felt rather good. He stretched as best he could in the dark his hand accidentally smacking into the side of the cave.
Crack!
The sound was oddly similar to a bowling ball hitting the perfect strike. Alric pulled his hand back in shock. He looked over in time to see a plate sized chunk of stone, and a few other fragments flake off the wall. His hand felt fine. It hadn't felt like hitting a rock at all, far to weak and brittle. He quickly raised his hand to his eyes to check to see if the pain simply hadn't hit him yet. A massive palm with three fingers shaped like baking pins waved up in front of his face. Alric, now completely awake and focused, stared at both his strange new hands.
They were covered in a thick leathery skin that seemed grey or navy, but he couldn't be sure in the dark… His racing thoughts caught on that thought. His mind felt desperate for anything it could understand compared to the impossibility of his current bodily predicament. He could see. He couldn't see much color or great clarity, but what he assumed was simply diffused daylight in the cave was far too ambient. His eyes shot around to find the mouth of the cave. A ring of a velvety black night sky some ways in the distance put any doubt of his newly gained night vision to rest.
Alric took deep heavy breaths just now noticing how fast his breathing had become. "Okay, okay…" He said aloud again his voice was deep and rough. He felt his throat with his hands. He found it covered in thick, rough skin. He patted his chest and stomach feeling similar leathery skin stretched tight over dense muscle and sinew. He was shirtless and his pants were gone.
Wow that definitely wasn't that big before.
His legs were similarly thick and muscular. He patted his thigh and heard a deep hollow thump. He felt his face, or at least tried to, he had difficulty getting his hands close enough to feel his face properly. His arms were too thick and long to maneuver well. His fingers probed upwards towards his face. He could feel his chin was nearly gone. His jaw protruded outward and upward. His nose was large and flat, and his forehead sloped back sharply. Alric paused and took a deep breath in. The smell of damp stone and earth filled his nostrils. His nostrils flared instinctively taking in more air.
"First, establish what you know Alric." He tried talking to himself, desperate for any bit of comfort or normality the habit could provide.
"I'm not in Kansas anymore! And, I've been turned into something distinctly not human." That could be fine I've read hundreds of reincarnation stories…If I'm smart about this and find out what my golden finger is I can play overpowered protagonist. I start walking towards the open night. So, I need to check everything a normal Isekai would have. System! Store! Gatcha! Stats! Hmm no luck. Let's try verbal.
"System!" Alric tried the same combinations out loud to no effect. No worries yet it usually takes a while to figure out one's cheat. I just need to stay calm and stay alive.
Alric finally exited the cave into a massive forest. It was beautiful, a cast expanse of vibrant life. The moonlight painting the trees in silver. Alric felt a faint breeze on his face. This world is either a sword and magic fantasy world or I'm somewhere uninhabited by humans. I need to figure out what manner of beast I am. I hear water close by I can use it's reflection to figure it out. A deep breath in told Alric that the sent of water and damp moss was stronger on his left.
Alric could guess by what he could see of himself he wasn't anything close to human anymore. In fact, many of the fairer races were right out. God! I hope I'm not a goblin. Anything else. I'll take anything else. Even in stories where goblins get super powerful abilities, they still live ruthless and hated by all. Well, being a goblin does come with certain lewd stereotypes I wouldn't entirely hate…
Alric stumbled over the riverbank and straight into the water. The icy river plunging against his stony hide snapped Alric out of his daydreams of beautiful naïve priestess. Alric remained stunned as the cold water rushed past him on his hands and knees. The water glistening with moonlight reflected his face back to him. It was bad. Not goblin bad, but still ugly. The face was still clearly his, but it looked slightly devolved like evolution decided to pump primal and brutish to eleven. He had also lost his hair. The small tusks and muscles on the being looking back at Alric gave him his answer; he was a troll. He recognized this rendition of bridge dweller or in this case cave dweller.
I'm a Cave Troll. A troll from Middle-earth. That's actually… kind of awesome. Good defense and plenty of brute strength. Of course, they were usually balanced by their low intelligence and rock bottom charisma, but I have the intelligence of a human. Although this mug isn't exactly charming.
Alric grinned down at his reflection. His smile seemed slightly savage. No wonder the trees seemed a little smaller. I'm probably over ten feet tall. It's no dragon or demon lord but I could have gotten worse. Does this mean I'm in Middle-earth or did I just get the body but not the setting? Probably not.
Alric's thoughts were cut off by a piercing howl sounding through the forest far, far too close.
Alric snapped his head up. Scrambling to his feet he saw them; emerging from the woods like the growling wraiths was a pack of wolves. Alric stumbled back in fear at the sight of their hungry eyes and snarling fangs. There were at least twenty of the giant wolves prowling toward him. Keep it together Alric. You're a massive troll now, you'll be fine.
Alric readied himself as best he could, making sure his stance was wide and firm. He didn't want to be dragged down or knocked over. The wolves were spreading out to his sides.
Damn I really shouldn't have made so much noise in an unknown forest at night! So much for Human intelligence.
The wolves at the front snapped and lunged at him but stayed just out of reach. While the front was threatening, the rest had nearly surrounded him. The tactic was simple and effective. Harass and split the prey's attention until it is worn down. The only problem was Alric wasn't defenseless prey or foolish enough to let this become a fight of attrition.
Just as Alric thought about bum rushing the nearest wolf a weight slammed into the back of his knee. A wolf tried to find purchase on his skin as it bit down on his leg. While the bite hurt a little the thick skin and dense muscles were hard and extremely tough. It was almost as if the wolf was pinching him instead of gnawing on his flesh. Alric just smirked as he reached behind him. "My turn!"
Without looking his massive hand grabbed the wolf by the neck and lifted the shocked predator from his leg. Before Alric could squeeze down on the yelping canines neck the rest of the wolves rushed in. Spurred on by their packmates' cries and the belief he was distracted they rushed in like a wave. Snapping maws and red eyes closing in on him in a flash. Unfortunately for the eager woodland creatures Alric was not unprepared. He swung the body of the wolf he held like a flail. It crashed into the approaching wolves in front of him smacking them away with meaty thwacks and snarls turning to whimpers. The impromptu weapon was less pleased than Alric with the results. Its neck had snapped killing it quite thoroughly. This is amazing. If this is what fighting is like I get why people love it. Pure adrenaline rush.
Alric felt as three more wolves crashed into him from behind. Their efforts were just as futile as their first attempts. Alric, now far more comfortable in his stone hide, made a split-second decision and abruptly sat on them. If it works for pandas why not a troll. His full weight plummeted down, and his rear end made its best impression of a meteor. The impact was devastating as he shook the ground as he thudded into a brand-new indent. Unfortunately, he had underestimated the wolves' reactions and hadn't managed to catch a single combatant in his ridiculous move. Luckily, they posed little danger to him and had even retreated slightly due to the impact. If they had any means of doing damage to him this could have easily been a lethal mistake. A fact the wolves made abundantly apparent to him as his head came far lower. He had scarcely landed when the wolves were on him once more but now, they lunged up to latch jaws on his thick neck, and one even bit his cheek.
The damage was superficial, but the pain and shock sent Alric into a slight panic. With blood beginning to slowly trickle down Alric launched himself to his feet. He swung his massive arms fast and wild. The wolves thrown off were unable to react in time as the troll went on a rampage smashing and crushing several wolves quickly. The wolves now down to less than half their pack vanished back into the woods at speed. Alric was left staring dumbly as his foe retreated. What was I expecting this is survival not some honor duel to the death. Hell, I could probably have disengaged the pack after the first few kills or even scared them off. Is the new body messing with me? Am I usually this violent?
While Alric would love to blame his new instincts, he knew it was simply a strange mix of fear and excitement in his new strength that led to the fight escalating. Still, he had fought and won and a part of him reveled in the sheer pleasure of being so dominant and brutally powerful in the fight. It almost feels like I'm some victorious warrior protecting the tribe; an ancient caveman. There had been no finesse or complicated exchange just two parties deciding survival through the basest test of strength and violence. He knew that humans had made up for their lack of physical might with technique and tools. Imagine how strong I can become if I combine trollish strength with human fighting. I could learn to wield massive swords with the same speed and precision a man swung theirs. Or become an undying behemoth covered in massive armor plate.
He shrugged off his delusions of grand battles and undying glory. He was barely better than a standard troll when it came to fighting, relying nearly entirely on his natural advantages, and if the races of this world reacted to him as he suspected; he would likely not be changing that anytime soon.
Taking a whiff of the surprisingly appetizing scent of blood Alric quickly gathered the dozen wolves he killed. After gathering up the bodies he held one up. He knew as a troll he could eat it raw and whole like a predator or cooked. I don't exactly know how to cook this into a stew or even have anything to skin it with so…when in Rome.
*Bite*
Alric took a tentative bite at some of the more exposed meat. It tasted amazing! A rich mix of gamey venison and sweet flavors burst in his mouth. The meat was lean and very chewy due to the lithe' nature of the animals. Even the heavy taste of blood was rather pleasant to his new pallet. With his reservations gone Alric quickly took a massive bite out of the side of the wolf. He didn't even realize he had bitten through the bones until he was chewing them alongside his new bite. The bones crunched apart easily adding a nice texture and a buttery flavor with the mixture of marrow. The first wolf was quickly devoured, and the five after that. After eating enough meat, Alric had a thought, weren't trolls omnivorous. A quick look at the plants nearby had him sampling a handful of plant matter such as cattails and dandelions. The taste wasn't bad but not amazing and the amount was pathetic. He would have to graze all day to survive on grasses.
For the time being, a hunter I will be.
Feeling quite content after the feast Alric moved downstream. He quickly found a section where it slowed and curved creating much deeper waters. There shouldn't be crocs here…or anything similar. Having decided that anything that could fit in the small pool probably wouldn't be to much of a threat he began bathing. The cool water felt wonderful as he washed the stickie remnants of blood off. I wonder if it's normal to find this so normal. I'm washing off blood of the animals I just killed after being Isekaied. I know lots of people would be freaking out…then again most people freak out if they see where their meat comes from. That does leave me wondering though how I'll deal with humans? Tonight it was just animals, but it won't stay that way. I'll meet others. Should I go full batman no kill rule? Or even abandon the standards of humans. I am a troll now. I feel like I owe very little allegiance to my past race…Though a balance might be for the best. I'll try not to kill good people but won't refuse to kill when I must.
As he sat in the pool a strange unease began to settle into the pit of his stomach. It felt like his whole body was warning him. Alric looked around, his massive body turning with the motion of his thick neck. He saw no predators, the increasing light showing nothing…"Shit!"
The dawn was fast approaching as the sky quickly brightened. The deep dark already lightening to a dark blue hue. Alric put as much speed and grace as he could coax in his new form as he raced back to his cave. He looked like a charging hippo: big, wet, and faster than it should be. I don't much fancy being turned to stone.
He snagged his remaining meat as he passed. He scooped the carcasses up as he rushed. He was racing the dawn, the cave he woke in now a much needed haven from the approaching light.