“I’m not a coward,” Banst announced to no one in particular as he stood there shivering in the dark woods, though the day was quite warm. Fear had taken hold of the Weakest Adventurer. The Solo Trial had officially commenced. “Armor, stop my trembling.” His soul-bound armor closed in on his body, halting his shaking.

Though a mere masking of his fear, the stability his armor granted provided much-needed comfort.

Never had Banst quested alone. In fact, he needed help with killing simple goblins. Was it a fool’s errand to take on this trial just to escape a murderous noble’s clutches? To escape a wolf, he may have jumped into a lion’s den.

Sleep had been the first action he attempted on arrival, choosing to huddle at the base of a tree. First light came to find Banst had been awake all night, nervousness and paranoia about his surroundings refusing him rest.

A crumpled parchment unfurled as Banst looked at the quest description on it—Fenwick had been kind enough to pass him the parchment before Banst departed. A village in the countryside was losing its children to this wood. Once a place where children played, this forest now swallowed any child entering its confines, none had yet to be found.

There was no known creature in this part of the Kingdom of Marlinen that could present such a danger. Some suspected a witch to have made this place her home, while others thought it to be goblins migrating into the area. Regardless, the Adventurers Guild was called to send out a low-rank team to investigate, which had now transformed into a Solo Trial for Banst.

“I’m not a coward,” Banst reiterated, clenching his teeth to prevent them from clattering together. “The day will be gone by the time I get moving.” A heavy breath went in and out of his mouth. “Armor, help me begin my search for the monster that terrorizes this ‘Halbit’ village!”

If he couldn’t get himself to move, at least his armor could. As if he were a puppet, the armor moved Banst’s body, frozen in fear, through the wood.

“What do I have to worry about?” Banst assured himself, crunching through dead leaves on the forest floor. “It’s probably just wolves that had been run out of their home forest by monsters and ended up here.”

The worst part of this wood was the shadows that clung heavily to each corner, its canopy dense enough to block most of the sun from reaching the soil below. The dark abode of this forest tugged at Banst’s resolve every moment he treaded through it. Every dancing shadow caused him to flinch, and every sound of breaking twigs nearby was a possible sign of the monster he hunted.

“Show yourself, monster,” Banst muttered, eyes wide open and observing his surroundings closely. Another sound heightened his alertness. Though his own jumpiness had begun to annoy him, his instincts proved correct—something was nearby.

“Who are you to speak to me like that?” a crackly, tiny voice demanded.

“Who goes there?!” Banst shouted, wresting control from his soul-bound armor and spinning around with his sword unsheathed. “Show yourself!”

Atop a looming branch, a stout creature landed. It had bile-colored, leathery skin and ears that stretched upward like a bat's. Oddly, a small blue cape adorned its figure, and even odder were the color of its eyes—completely black and glowing ever so slightly.

“Black eyes…?” Banst mumbled, recalling the black-eyed goblins from the border defense quest. Rumors surrounded the black-eyed goblins, but Banst couldn’t recall specifics as the guild administration council had prohibited all discussion of the quest.

“You, lowly human,” the creature said in a regal manner, “will call me Hakon the Great, ruler of the gremlins!”

Banst’s brow furrowed. “Hakon the Great? Like the conqueror?” There had been a warlord by that name, a known folk hero in these parts.

The creature, known as Hakon and actually a gremlin, gleamed with excitement in its deep-black eyes when the word "conqueror" was mentioned.

“Yes, human!” It pointed at itself with a sharp-toothed smile. “I am a conqueror!” It then put its hands upon its hips, striking a heroic pose, with its blue cape accentuating the gesture.

Gremlins didn’t speak. That much was known. Stranger still, the way this gremlin was acting seemed child-like. Banst couldn’t help but think this gremlin somehow learned to act like this from watching human children.

“Tell me, Hakon the Great,” Banst inquired, immediately getting the gremlin’s attention using its grand title, “Have you by chance stumbled upon any lost children in this wood?”

Hakon’s small, bulbous head nodded up and down, its long bat-like ears whipping along with the movement. “Yes! I have one now in the Gremlin Capital!”

“You have one?”

“Yes! I will eat it soon!”

Banst’s expression darkened. “Did you say you eat children?”

Nodding again, Hakon replied with a devious smirk, “I eat lots of children.”

Banst had found it. He had found the monster behind the disappearance of the children from Halbit village.

“Armor,” Banst commanded, his eyes locked onto the smiling gremlin, “Kill this monster.” He had expected the monster to be a threat, but it turned out to be a talking gremlin, a species related to goblins but considerably weaker.

“Your wish is my command,” his armor responded and carried Banst’s body forward with agility, wielding the sword with skill as it appeared in front of the gremlin to strike it down.

However, a shadow suddenly descended upon Banst from above, and feeling as if he were hit by a bull, he was sent hurtling backward, sliding in the damp soil. When Banst reoriented himself, the attacker came into his view. Defending the gremlin, Hakon, was a grotesque-looking man that stood on all fours like an animal, his skin bulky and rotting, maggots falling from open wounds. Dead yellow eyes stared at the world with a blank stare.

“A ghoul?” Banst worried. Ghouls lived in the Fallen Grounds, cursed areas like battlefields or were servants to those who practiced dark arts. It didn’t make sense for such a thing to show itself here, where life was full and abundant.

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Hakon leapt up to ride the man’s back. “My majestic steed!” the gremlin roared. It pointed a long, nailed finger at Banst. A sudden burst of black energy shot from its finger. A loud smack echoed as Banst was hit. Fright traveled through him as he witnessed his armor beginning to rust where the black energy had struck.

The gremlin knew necromantic arts.

Another black ball coalesced around Hakon’s finger, sending Banst diving away to dodge. “Kill that thing,” Banst ordered his armor in panic, fearing for his life.

He was carried with the armor’s skill to lock into combat with the ghoul and gremlin. His sword moved like a silvery light as he clashed against the ghoul. Clanging rang as if he were striking at a boulder. Despite its rotted exterior, the ghoul’s skin was nearly impenetrable. The ghoul’s thick forearm crashed into Banst, dazing him in tandem with a necromantic blast from the gremlin’s finger.

Fear grew within Banst, unsure if he would live through this Solo Trial. Regret flooded in next. Strangely, the ghoul seemed just as afraid as Banst. Its decaying expression held a message Banst could not understand.

Banst’s armor managed to skillfully spin his body around the ghoul, then flipped into the air. In the midst of the spin, the armor lashed out with the sword, landing a blow on the gremlin rider.

Hakon gasped as it clasped its hands upon its neck, where it had been struck. A line appeared there, oozing black blood. Now it too shared in Banst’s fear; its life was threatened. Never had the gremlin been challenged to this extent, not after gaining the ability to create a ghoul from a dead corpse.

“Black blood…?” Banst murmured.

“Curse you, ugly human!” Hakon spat, clutching its bleeding throat. “I am Hakon the Great—conqueror and ruler of gremlins.” Tilting its head back, the gremlin let out a harsh noise, reminiscent of a choking crow.

Banst's armor didn’t let up, continuing in a relentless exchange of blows with the ghoul — its exterior as tough as a blacksmith's anvil, its swings wielding the force of a kicking horse. Spittle erupted from Banst’s mouth whenever struck, and his armor crumpled where the ghoul managed to land any attack. There was a clear skill difference, Banst’s armor outperforming the ghoul, but the ghoul possessed the advantage of both greater power and impenetrable flesh.

Just when Banst believed things couldn't get worse, a horde of other gremlins came running out of the shadows, responding to their ruler’s call. Their cat-like eyes were fixed entirely on Banst, claws splayed out and ready to rake his flesh, while their mouths eagerly awaited to taste him after the kill.

Banst immediately noticed the difference between Hakon and its kin. Hakon was larger by a head and had a sturdier frame. It mirrored the situation with the black-eyed goblins, who were also stronger than the other goblins in the same way.

There would be no investigating the mystery behind Hakon and why it had necromantic powers or why it was so different from the other gremlins. Banst needed to run. Too many monsters had gathered and would overwhelm him, regardless of his tireless soul-bound armor.

“I won’t die here,” Banst promised, eyeing Hakon warily. “Take me away, armor.” Gremlins slid off the sleek armor as they tried to stop his escape and accomplished nothing. Shrubbery shook and rustled as Banst burst through the undergrowth, disappearing into the wood, its dark shadows aiding in hiding him away.

“After him!” screamed Hakon. “I am your ruler! Go get that human!” Its kin did as they were told. Though not entirely mindless, they were far too simple to be dependable. That would be remedied soon enough.

Dark sparks of magic grew on the gremlin’s hand on command. It had once been a weak, insignificant thing like the rest of its kind. If not for the hooded figure, it would not have gained this power and the ability to think and speak.

Taking over this forest had been the first step in its plan. One day, it would be a true conqueror. Its long-nailed hand brushed its blue cape lovingly. All would bow before Hakon the Great!

Three unassuming clumps of dirt were built up in a field of sparse grass and dry soil. They stood like three pimples on a forest clearing without much space. Yet, here was where the ruler of the forest’s gremlins held court — burrows beneath each dirt mound that led to the home where the gremlins were raised, now called “Gremlin Capital.”

Within the darkness of the burrows, glowing worms provided just enough light to see another’s face. Sorrowful sobs filled the dirt refuge.

“Silence!” Hakon roared, hands on its waist, striking a heroic pose again.

In a fetal position, a small, dirt-matted human boy lay on the ground, tears rolling down his grimy cheeks. At the gremlin ruler’s harsh voice, he immediately clamped both of his small hands over his mouth, silencing himself.

The boy’s name was named Mido, a recently kidnapped child from Halbit.

Hakon grinned at the power it held over this child. The gremlin ruler could hardly believe it had once feared such creatures—these human children. Its blue cape fluttered as it flapped it around. The cape had once belonged to a child who had often played in this forest. Not only did Hakon take the child’s cape, but it also adopted the child’s way of speaking. That child had dared to hit the gremlin ruler’s head with a wooden sword, declaring it a demon.

Hakon clenched its sharp teeth at the memory. Oh, how it had been embarrassed and felt powerless under the child’s onslaught. To almost die at the hands of a human babe—a travesty of nature! Injustice! Black light grew upon Hakon’s blotchy hands. If it weren’t for the hooded figure that had given the gremlin ruler these dark gifts, it would’ve had to live with the shame of being a child’s victim.

Now, it killed all children, for the crime of daring to have made it feel inferior. Once it had gathered enough power, Hakon would lead its force of gremlins down to the village of Halbit and kill every single child that lived there. No longer would they laugh at it. No longer would those babes cry and be annoying.

They would die and become food for the gremlins, like the other children had!

Mido whimpered, prompting Hakon to be thrown into a fit of rage, agitated by remembering being battered by the child in the blue cape. A loud yelp, like a struck dog, came from Mido’s mouth as Hakon kicked the child in the ribs.

Hakon screamed, “I told you to be quiet, human child! I hate you! I hate you children! Quiet when I say quiet!”

Huddled in the shadows of the burrow, the ghoul sat watching, its expression drawn as if it wanted to say something. Such a cramped space left it crouching at all times. Yet, its discomfort was the last thing on its mind as it watched Hakon abuse the child.

Meanwhile, Mido remained fixed upon the ghoul sitting there, desperation clinging to his child face. A dash of blood smeared his nose as Hakon slapped him with the back of a long-nailed hand.

“Stop staring at my steed! It’s mine! Not yours—mine!” Hakon hissed. It struck its heroic pose again, as if displaying dominance. “I am Hakon the Great!”

***

Banst fell over a cliff, a rather short drop, but still landed hard on the rough ground with a hefty grunt. Above, like rain, numerous gremlins fell after him, their tiny sharp teeth exposed as their mouths opened to bite into him. Dirt flung as Banst rolled to evade what felt like an endless onslaught of bites, eager to tear into his flesh.

Blood seeped from Banst’s wounds, soaking his clothes, dripping from his mouth and nose. His iron armor was cheap and left parts of his body defenseless and exposed. Also, these gremlins weren’t normal. A slight aura of black light covered their forms, and their muscles protruded from their mottled skin as if they were apes rather than mere gremlins.

“Armor,” Banst commanded, exhaustion setting in, “It’s up to you now. Try to keep me safe!” Control was shared between Banst and his armor. If Banst found it slower to give a command than to use the armor himself to hide or jump somewhere, he would do so. Now that he had grown weary, the armor would be the sole driver.

However, a sight sent Banst reeling. His sword was missing. In the midst of the chaos of running and hiding, Banst’s weapon had been lost. Growls brought Banst back to the situation at hand, with gremlins charging toward him. Without his weapon, even if his armor had the skill of a Deer-Ranked noble Adventurer, there wasn’t much fist-fighting monsters would do.

A Solo Trial indeed. Its reputation for danger and the risk of death was well warranted. Banst had made a devastating mistake coming here.

But just when the Weakest Adventurer thought things couldn’t get any worse, there came a rumbling with a heavy landing, a slight tremor able to be felt through the dirt. Bulky and wielding mass in its body greater than Banst, the ghoul had appeared, its dead yellow eyes focused on Banst.

Ghoul behind him, gremlins ahead. There was no escape. Banst began to say his prayers, hoping his deceased parents were ready to meet him soon.