BigToad

Alex Mercer was a legendary thief known for his audacious heists and cunning skills. However, his criminal streak comes to an abrupt halt when he is finally apprehended and sentenced to prison.

In the midst of his imprisonment, a revolutionary virtual reality massively multiplayer online role-playing game (VRMMORPG) is launched, called Eternal Realms, captivating the attention of the entire world. The prison authorities, seeking to introduce recreational activities for the inmates, decide to allow select prisoners to participate in the game as a means of passing the time.

Eager to escape the monotony of prison life, Alex eagerly takes up the opportunity to join the immersive virtual world. To his surprise, he discovers that his notoriety as a master thief has caught the attention of players within the game. They started offering him IRL means to reduce his prison sentence in an exchange on a daring quest to retrieve valuable treasures scattered throughout the virtual realm.

With a hidden class known as the "Shadow Hunter," Alex possesses unique skills and abilities that make him an invaluable asset to the players seeking rare and precious items. As he delves deeper into the virtual world, he finds himself entangled in a complex web of alliances, rivalries, and dangerous quests that blur the line between the game and reality.

As the stakes rise, Alex must navigate treacherous dungeons, confront formidable adversaries, and outwit both in-game challenges and real-world dangers. Along the way, he forms unexpected alliances and confronts his own inner demons, questioning the choices that led him down a path of crime.
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For anyone wondering about the romance, it will take a long time as this is not the focus of the book.

MMORPG: Shadow Hunter

The entrance to the cave was quite big, but a troll was standing right in front of it, not allowing anyone to enter without being noticed by it. Alex and his group tried to look for another way to enter the cave, and they did find a smaller entrance, one that did not fit a troll. This other entrance was at the back part of the cave.

"Why is this entrance here?" Alex asked. It looked like an entrance for humans, which was useless considering the size of the trolls. There was no way they would use such a small entrance.

"Maybe this cave was once used by humans? There are plenty of mines in this part of the kingdom," ChangeGlassesYearly said. Alex nodded in agreement. "What you said makes sense. This place probably got abandoned for some reason, and the trolls decided to take it as their home."

That whole area had few humans and basically no farms or other types of buildings around it. So, the trolls were 'safe' there, away from the humans who could kill them.

Human Soup?