Chapter 106: First Trial

The Boy would quickly get his preparations made, attaining himself numerous books from a local library within the city, fifty books in total, guiding the new heroes, as well as his friends, to a separate location. The book that Harvard was checking was "The Legend of GWOG the Gallant, Chapter 12: The Clean Menace." Solomon would still hold a bit of a grimace to the books, all of which seemed to be the tales of GWOG himself, most of which was of an enemy with the same outlandish design as the hero himself. Stolas would be following along quickly, trying to read a few words in the book to see what else he has missed. Zazel merely kept an eye on the heroes, where one of them, the Knight, would yawn to himself, acting as he was bored, despite being a few meters off. "So where's our first mission 'hero'? Are we seriously just gonna follow that Oaf's life and repeat his blunders?" He would ask, raising an eyebrow in a snobbish manner once more. Harvard merely ignored his words, holding a massive grin under his book.

"You'll see, He's Juuuuuuuust up ahead right about...." Harvard would state, pausing himself as he would see the sign of the very enemy, the first Trial: A Man with nothing but a white cloak and a soap-like aesthetic, wielding metallic gloves that shine amidst the crudely drawn sun, wearing a large hat as well to cover himself in the shade, sharing the same colors as his robes. "...Here! This will be our first opponent. We'll be in two teams: My team, which are my friends, and your team, with your friends. We each send one person in to fight the enemy. First to three, wins! Sounds fun? I'll even let you take the first fight if you're feeling confident." Harvard would finish, having a cocky smirk, hearing most of the group laugh as they'd hear such an offer.

"SERIOUSLY!? THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING!? Too easy! Hey! You there! Hell are you supposed to be?" The Knight demanded, to which the Man answered.

"I am Lye, the Soap Maker! It is most unwise to challenge me a-" The Man answered, before a crude laugh was heard from the Knight, almost as if he sounded like a donkey.

"THE SOAP MAKER!? YOU MEAN YOUR WHOLE MAGIC IS SOAP!?!? THAT'S COMPLETELY USELESS!! ITS CHILD'S PLAY, EVEN!! PHILIP, GO HANDLE THIS WRETCH!! A Freebie JUST for you!!" The Knight Ordered, to which the Spearmen charged in, trying to land the first and possibly last lethal blow. He clutches his spear by the hilt on one hand, and the lower end on the other, taking quick aim and lunging forward to stab Lye right into his chest. The Soap Maker, meanwhile, simply held his gauntlets up to catch the spear, casting his magic threw it, with red bubbles scattering everywhere amidst the open, grassy area. "Pfft. Just mere bubbles. What a useless magic trick. You could've honestly picked us a better fight than thi-" his words would be interrupted by a sound. A Frightened sound. A sound that catches the Knight's attention as the magic did its work: the Bubbles being within the spear, quickly sliding through its shaft, before reaching and swarming the man's hands, scattering into his arms and chest.

Harvard merely kept a wide grin as he was aware of what happened next. "I'm sorry, Mr. Knight.....were you underestimating him?" He'd ask, before turning towards Lye. "Excuse me! Mr. Lye! Could you tell us in detail how your magic works, pretty please?"

"Oh! Certainly, young boy! You seemed to be aware of my skills as a Soap Maker, so for that, I shall indulge in your curiosity." The Soap Maker would state, almost being complimented as if he was given faith from the boy, clearing his throat before answering his question. "BEHOLD, MY SOAP MAGIC! A Cleanliness spell that infects the pores and sends its bubbles, no matter the size and shape, all to ensure a satisfied clean. Of course....This is ANY size we're talking about." The man stated before the bubbles began to pile up, slowly expanding the body into a spherical shape, screaming and panicking as it tried to reach out to his allies. Lye merely approached the spearman and used a mere finger, which within an instant.

Pop!

The Body simply disappeared, the limbs and head merely slamming amongst the earth, the wound bleeding out from the stumps. Everyone but Harvard was mortified by this sight, including Harvard's own friends. "Alright! My turn!" He would say, before lunging himself forward, having the arms try to strike at the Soap Maker. Once again, the man would reach out and grab ahold of the arms, yet the boy merely anticipated such an attempt. He'd cast a spell within the arms, allowing the bubbles to invade and take it over, separating himself from the metallic appendages so that he would be spared. When Lye would try to take back the spell and let go, such a spell Harvard casted would be his undoing: A Virus spell, which quickly invaded the mans insides and softening him, making him like paper, watching his body flop down, hands first, to ensure maximum effect. Lye was flabbergasted at this display, before the boy showcased a card to explain himself: A Card depicting a virus made out of paper. "One Spell is all it took. Plus with the whole Soap gimmick, since its technically water, you pretty much screwed yourself the second you casted your magic!" The boy would give a smile as the man's legs began to give way, his body slowly failing him. 

"I...I.....I Yield.....Please....Ha-" Lye would state, before Harvard would interrupt by simply de-casting the spell entirely, healing the man almost instantly.

"Already ahead of you! I ain't gonna try to kill yah! As for you, Mr. Knight, That's 1-0 on our end!" The Card Magician would state, seemingly aware of the plot regarding this specific encounter. The boys would take the book and see what was in the pages, recognizing that such a method was indeed the very method he lost to, where GWOG successfully baited Lye with a weapon to infect his very bubbles. The Knight, meanwhile, got his angered expression arise once more at such a stomp, grinding his own teeth and raising his voice out of pure fury.

"NEXT FIGHT!" He'd demand. Sure enough, Harvard would comply, allowing one of his friends to make the next pick.

The first trial was done.