The Plot Changes Again

"Just as I thought, a troll!"

"There's only one here, though. There should be two more."

"But from what I remember, trolls are supposed to be afraid of sunlight. They basically never appear during the day."

"Why is one here in the forest now, stealing the Company's horses?"

"Is it because it's raining?"

"Or is there some other reason?"

The moment Morgan caught sight of the towering troll in the distance, all sorts of questions flashed through his mind.

He wasn't being paranoid.

After all, the world in his memories was only a movie.

Morgan was living in the real Middle-earth now.

Anything could happen in the real world.

How could a movie that lasted only a few hours portray events spanning months, years, or even decades?

If he believed everything he remembered from the movies without question,

then sooner or later, Morgan would surely die because of that so-called "plot experience."

Morgan had always been cautious. How could he not be concerned?

Just like last night's ambush, and the troll appearing in today's downpour.

Neither had appeared in the story he remembered.

They were both "unexpected."

"Quick, over there!"

The Dwarves beside him called out, and the group hurried toward the troll.

Morgan didn't dwell on it and immediately followed.

As they neared the troll, Morgan took the longbow off his back and drew an arrow.

Bofur charged forward with his short hammer, only to see a huge dead tree trunk sweep toward him with a whoosh.

He hurriedly rolled to one side, accidentally getting a mouthful of mud.

"Ptooey, ptooey."

"Damn it, what kind of monster is this?"

"Watch out!"

"We don't know either."

"We can't get near it at all. Is Morgan here?"

Fili nimbly dodged the troll's attacks while constantly taunting it.

"I'm here!"

Morgan shouted. As his words fell, the bowstring drawn taut in his hands gave a dull twang.

"Whoosh!"

An arrow shot from Morgan's hand toward the troll in the distance.

The next second—

"Aaagh!"

The troll let out a piercing scream.

The arrow had plunged into its bald, hairless head.

"Aaagh!"

The troll cried out in pain. Its other hand immediately released the pony it had been holding, and it grabbed the arrow in its head and yanked it out.

Seeing the bloodied arrow, the troll turned toward Morgan and bellowed, "Damn human!"

"I'll eat you alive!"

Ignoring the horse that had fallen to the ground and escaped, and the other Dwarves, the wounded troll roared and charged straight at Morgan.

"Idiot!"

Morgan sneered. The bowstring in his hands gave another dull twang.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow flew.

"Aaagh!"

Another piercing scream rang out.

This time, Morgan's arrow struck the troll's comically tiny, turned-up nose on its bald head.

Watching the troll tremble in pain as it reached for the arrow in its nose, Morgan pursed his lips. He'd meant to shoot it in the eye.

"Damn human! Damn you!"

The troll cried out in pain again and again.

It was about to charge at Morgan once more,

but then it heard a commotion from behind.

Morgan looked up and saw that all the Dwarves from the temporary camp had caught up.

Then the sight that disappointed Morgan unfolded.

The troll looked at the Dwarves charging from behind, then at Morgan. It immediately lost its nerve, turned around, and ran.

"Trying to run?"

Morgan wouldn't let it get away.

A chance this good wouldn't come again if it escaped.

"Hey, big guy! I'm over here!"

Morgan quickly ran forward and shouted, keeping his longbow at the ready.

He raised it and fired another arrow.

"Aaagh!"

The troll cried out in pain again.

This arrow struck the back of its bald head.

The troll seemed to sense the danger.

It stopped shouting threats and didn't even pull the arrow from the back of its head. It simply lowered its head and ran deeper into the forest.

The troll was huge, and each stride covered a great distance. It wasn't slow, either.

It easily pulled away from the Dwarves.

Morgan was faster. His agility had been enhanced to LV2, and he could now move at more than twice his former speed.

But seeing the troll focused only on escaping, Morgan wanted to swear.

The monster's hide was so tough that unless he hit a vital spot like its eye, even turning it into a pincushion wouldn't kill it.

If he couldn't kill the troll, he could forget about the treasure and Elven Sword hidden in its cave.

Morgan didn't hesitate and gave chase.

"Morgan."

At that moment, Thorin Oakenshield's voice came from nearby.

Morgan stopped and looked toward the Dwarf prince surrounded by the others.

"Don't chase it. We've already driven it away. There's no need to risk going after it."

Thorin Oakenshield shook his head as he spoke.

"But we've already wounded it. What if it comes back?"

Morgan knew Thorin Oakenshield had a point.

A monster that large was powerful and hard to kill.

If the Company rushed after it, someone could easily get hurt.

But Morgan didn't want to give up just like that.

He had no way to tell them about the treasure and Elven Sword hidden in the troll's cave.

"Don't worry. We won't stay here long."

"We'll leave as soon as the rain stops."

As Thorin Oakenshield finished speaking,

Morgan thought, Just as I expected—the plot has changed again.

But could this rain really last all day?

Morgan looked up at the sky. The downpour continued.

"Oh no, look over there!"

Fili suddenly called out.

Everyone looked in the direction Fili was pointing.

In the pouring rain, the huge troll that had just fled in panic appeared again.

This time, though, there wasn't just one. There were three.

The enormous troll in front, with an arrow still stuck in its nose like a scallion in a pig's snout, led the way.

Two taller, stronger trolls followed behind it, each wielding a thicker tree trunk.

They had obviously come for revenge.

"Now it won't be easy for us to leave, even if we want to,"

Bilbo said quietly.

Morgan couldn't agree more.

"Kili, catch!"

Thorin Oakenshield's expression changed. He quickly tossed the longbow and arrows he'd brought for Kili over to him.

"Everyone else, split into pairs. Don't engage them head-on. Focus on distracting and tying them up."

"The rest is up to Morgan and Kili."

Thorin Oakenshield reacted quickly. As soon as he saw the three trolls, he knew a fight was unavoidable.

"Think you can do it?"

After giving his orders, Thorin Oakenshield looked at Morgan and asked.

"Of course!"

Morgan grinned, baring his white teeth.

"Quick, quick!"

"Spread out!"

Thorin Oakenshield shouted, and the Dwarves immediately scattered.

Morgan and Kili each held a longbow and took position behind the others, ready to seize an opening.

The battle was about to begin.