"You are allowed to whatever weapons you possess, but are limited to only three for this fight." Boofessor continued. "This challenge is the shortest, lasting only ten minutes. If you survive, you complete the challenge. If you can somehow pull off the impossible and defeat Boohemoth, you complete the challenge. However, if Boohemoth defeats you, you fail. Is this clear?"
"Yes." Red nodded.
"What are your weapons of choice, Red?" Boofessor asked.
"My hammer, my boots and my Inkbrush." Red answered.
"Hmm, some very fine choices." Boofessor agreed. "Let me remind you this battle involves strategy as much as it involves power. It involves looking for a window of attack, and capitalizing on it. It involves pinpointing your opponent's weak point as quick as possible, and knowing your own limits. This is as much a battle of minds as a battle of strength. Are you ready?"
"Yes, I am!" Red nodded.
"Step into the ring, please." Boofessor led him to the ring. "It is a large ring, approximately 6 metres by 6 metres, and includes four wood fixtures in the corners for cover. Good luck, you may need it."
"Thanks." Red nodded.
"Entering the ring… in the green corner, the travelling thrasher, the Red Yoshi!" Boofessor announced to the large crowd. The crowd applauded for Red. "And in the red corner…10-season champion, the Boohemoth!" An extremely large Boo with two large boxing gloves emerged from the ground. His smile was crooked and deranged, and lacked teeth. His eyes were beady, and his white form was scarred. "10 minutes on the clock.. Battle BEGIN!"
The Boohemoth let out a cackle, before he disappeared into the ground, and re-emerged in front of Red, landing a devastating punch right off the bat. Red flew into the ropes. "Wow! That's power!" Red struggled to his feet, and drew his hammer. 'He dealt some considerable damage, even though my skin is iron-tough.' Red realized, "I'd better be careful." The Boohemoth dashed forward, and delivered a strong punch that Red was able to block with his hammer. The Boohemoth took a notable amount of time to return to his fighting stance. 'There's a weakness! I can get him after he punches!' Red figured. The Boohemoth unleashed another punch, one that Red evaded this time. He landed a Power Smash on the Boohemoth that barely even scratched him. The Boohemoth laughed, and grabbed Red. He threw Red over his head, into a wooden fixture, collapsing it.
'Boy, that was a whopper.' Red climbed to his feet. 'I need a new strategy.' The Boohemoth had disappeared! Red looked around at where he could be. He checked his watch. 'Five more minutes,' he mouthed. Suddenly, the Boohemoth emerged behind, and landed a devastating punch to Red's back, that sent him flying. 'I didn't even see him coming!' Red realized, as he spit out some blood. 'I need to track him somehow.' Red thought. 'That's it!' He activated his Inkbrush. He inked the area around him. 'Now, since he emerges from the ground, I'll be able to see him coming!' Red waited for the Boohemoth to emerge. The Boohemoth emerged, covered in ink. "There he is!" Red spun and jumped to avoid being hit by another punch. He converted that jump into an axe-kick, landing a clean Shrink Stomp kick to the Boohemoth, lowering his attack power. 'Now I gotcha!' Red bounced back into the air, and dive-bombed right on top of the Boohemoth. He readied his hammer and unleashed a destructive Power Smash on the unprepared Boohemoth. Red leapt to the side, to get a glance at the Boohemoth.
"That's ten minutes!" Boofessor called. "Red completed the challenge! Now let's see if the Boohemoth survived. The dust subsided and the Boohemoth lay there, defeated. "Red wins! He's the first person to defeat the Boohemoth!"
"Whew!" Red sighed. "That was a good fight, I feel stronger already!"
"You are!" Boofessor showed Red his interactive clipboard. "See? Your attack power as increased 25% on all your weapons and attacks!"
"Nice!" Red nodded. "What's next?"
"That's all!" Boofessor announced. "You completed all your tasks! You boosted defense with the iron bath, mobility and movement speed with the treadmill, and the ability to take hits, use powerful attacks with less energy and offensive power in the battle with the Boohemoth."
"Congratulations, Red." Lady Bow congratulated. "You have completed the test, meaning the only thing left for you to do is to defeat Octo Grubba. We will set out to defeat him at first light tomorrow."
"Wait, WE?" Red asked, confused.
"Yes, I will aid you in this task. I have to play some role in my people's resistance to the X-Nauts." Lady Bow explained.
"That sounds fine to me!" Red nodded.
"Come, Red!" Bootler announced. "Tonight, we celebrate. You will join us in a celebration in the Boo bar in the mansion. Every night, we go there to unwind and exchange stories with good folk."
"Sounds great!" Red nodded.
"Thanks for buying, Lady Bow." Red thanked, as they returned from visiting the badge-man who was travelling through the area. "I got some great badges there. I got a Jump and Hammer Charge, a Fire Shield and a Lucky Day."
"No problem, Red." Lady Bow dismissed. "Some of those stories you told were pretty neat. Like the one where you and the team fought off the Octarians in Glitzville. That seemed to please Bootler's old friends."
"Well, you guys have treated me so nice since I got here." Red explained. "I can't wait to head out to the Gusty Gulch and give Octo Grubba a beating."
"We're counting on you, Red." Lady Bow reminded him. "Get some rest, you're gonna need it."
"Thanks." Red walked to a room. "See you at first light!"
"Red! RED!" Bootler shook Red. "First light! Lady Bow is waiting!"
"Gosh, you're right!" Red jumped up. "Let's go!" Red ran down the stairs and out the door. He ran outside to see Lady Bow waiting with a large group of Boos, who would probably spectate.
"Good sleep?" Lady Bow asked.
"Yeah, great!" Red nodded. "I wasn't the slightest bit scared sleeping here."
"Good." Lady Bow nodded. "Follow me, we're heading out to Gusty Gulch right now."
"Wait!" Red realized. "My hammer! Where is it?"
"Hey, Red!" Boofessor emerged from the ground. "Forgot to give you this. I added a bit of range to the hammer. I added this chain and spike ball on the opposite end, along with a spear end. In case you're in danger, you can poke the opponent if they get to close."
"Cool!" Red gave it a swing. "Wow, it's pretty light!"
"Light, but deadly." Boofessor warned. "Just because a weapon is heavy doesn't make it powerful. With enough force, I figure a feather could topple a skyscraper," the elderly Boo philosophized. "Also, I meant to give you this!" He strapped a light metal guard onto Red's right forearm. It was silver, and had an electronic shell symbol on it. "Here's your shell. I redesigned it a bit. It can now activate a shield as hard as your shell was. It can activate any size you request. Just remember to yell, "SHELL!" first and then whatever sizes you want: Small, Normal, Large, Extra Large or Shellsize. Shellsize will allow you to curl up like you used to be able to, and perform shell shots and stuff."
Red strapped it on. "Neat! Anything else I need to know?"
"Ah, yes!" Boofessor remembered. "You can only use three shields before having to reload it. To reload it, press down on the shell symbol and flip the interior disk to the opposite side. After you do that, you're ready to defend! And finally, you can close shields by pressing this Boo symbol on the opposite side. After you do that, you can throw the unrequired shield at enemies like a boomerang, except it won't come back. Let's see, that's it, I think. Ah, yes! Good luck!"
"Thanks, Boofessor!" Red nodded. "This'll come in handy, for sure!" He turned to Lady Bow, "Let's go! Onward to Gusty Gulch!"
The duo walked toward Gusty Gulch, followed by a large group of Boos who wanted to watch. On the way there, they passed a large windmill which was being fixed by some worker Boos. After they passed the windmill, they entered Gusty Gulch. There were a few houses, where Boos hide inside. At the far end of the town stood Octolings and a supersized Octo Grubba.
"My oh my, what do we have here?" Octo Grubba's voice boomed as he looked over the group. "Looks like a group eager to die! I'm feeling rather hungry, so who's breakfast first?"
Red walked the front of the group with Lady Bow. "You're not laying a hand on any of these Boos!" Red yelled.
"What do we have here? I know that voice, is that Red Yoshi?" Octo Grubba asked. "What's the matter, boy? You catch a cold or something? Gee, you were pretty ugly before, but that new coat of paint there improved you! What happened, someone steal your identity or something?" Grubba and the Octolings laughed.
"How do you know?" Lady Bow ordered.
"I put that sucker up to it!" Octo Grubba laughed.
"What's his name, Grubba?" Red demanded.
"Why, I can't tell you that!" Octo Grubba laughed. "Then it wouldn't be a secret, boy! I know you're after his name, so why'd I tell you?"
"That's it. Enough talk, Grubba." Red ordered. "Hand them over."
"Hand what over?" Octo Grubba asked.
"The Crystal Stars. That ass-of-the-world probably gave them to you by now, so hand them over." Red motioned.
"Why'd I have the Crystal Stars?" Grubba gave the Octolings a confused look. "How could he give them to me? Your team thinks he's you, so they follow him like stench on a pig! But know that I know he has them, maybe a trip to Twilight Town is an order now." Grubba sneakily grinned.
"You're not going anywhere!" Red stood firm as Octo Grubba approached.
"OH, so that's how this is going, eh?" Octo Grubba figured. "I'll stomp all over you and then present Sir Grodus with the Crystal Stars he desires. Prepare to die, you identity less fool!"
"I may not have a body, but I've learned more than enough to take you down!" Red convinced.
"Really, now? You're an ant talking to a lion!" Grubba laughed. "There's no way you alone can beat me!"
"He's not alone!" A voice cried out from the back of the crowd. A Swooper flew forward.
"Sir Swoop?" Red realized.
"Thought that was you, Red!" Sir Swoop flew to the front. "What happened?"
"Octo Grubba put this guy up to stealing my identity," Red explained, "What about you? Homecoming?"
"I wish!" Sir Swoop sighed. "This Octo-freak and his slimy underlings here have been nothing but a pain, so we're gonna clean their clock!" He turned to a dark cloud of Swoopers. "Right, guys?" The cloud let out a battle cry.
Red nodded, and turned to Octo Grubba. "There's still time to walk away. Feeling lucky?" Red asked.
"I am!" Octo Grubba laughed. "Let's play, Slick."
