Suddenly, two Large Gobballs and six red Piwis rushed out of the rustling bush and lunged towards Kryse. An ambush! Shit! Kryse hefted up his shield and blocked the tackle of one of the Large Gobballs...or at least he tried to block it that is. Kryse had underestimated the strength and power of the Large Gobball. The Large Gobball smashed through Kryse's shield, breaking it into pieces , but it didn't stop there. The Large Gobball continued boring through and finally it crashed into Kryse's left arm. Kryse flew back and skidded on the ground, his left arm obviously broken with splinters of the shield embedded in it. The young Masqueraider grunted in pain as he checked his arm to see exactly how serious the injury was...yep...his arm was shattered. Not to mention it's swelling at an incredible pace. He reached over and stingingly pulled out each of the large splinters. As for the smaller ones, well, that needed to wait until after the battle.

Kryse scrambled to his feet just in time to dodge the second Large Gobball. He swung his sword at the big monster only to have his attack parried by the monster's horns. Damn it! One of the red Piwis dashed towards him and kicked. Its sharp talons slashed at his throat. Kryse jerked his head to the side and avoided a fatal cut. Kryse switched to his Reinforcement mask and knocked the monsters back in order to gain some breathing room. The young Masqueraider decided that he could not take on all eight of these monsters at the same time...not to mention, he did not want to run away after suffering from such humiliation. The only thing left to do now...was to try his best to separate them - divide and conquer.

Kryse approached a stunned red Piwi and switched his Reinforcement mask with his Bling mask. Grabbing the bird monster by the feet, he teleported to a Large Gobball and smashed the Piwi into the Large Gobball. Both monsters took some damage from the collision. Kryse brought the Piwi up and smashed the Piwi down again and again. After a few more times, the monsters regained their senses. Finishing this, Kryse pierced the bruised and weak red Piwi into the Large Gobball's horns. One down...Kryse switched back into his Reinforcement mask and swiped at the battered Large Gobball with the red Piwi still stuck on its horns, sending it flying. Then, the young Masqueraider stood there and waited for the other six monsters to converge to his position. Kryse casually switched from his Reinforcement mask to his Martelo mask and prepared a battle stance. Right as the Large Gobball approached within range, Kryse heel-kicked the lumbering monster in the head. The huge beast staggered a bit before collapsing. Though alive, the monster was panting for air and squinting in pain. Quickly Kryse used Martelo once again, landing multiple hits to the five Piwis. Then, the young Masqueraider immediately switched to his Picada mask and kicked out his leg at each of the collapsed Piwis at point blank range. With each kick, an air-type spear shot forth and pierced through each Piwi. Before long, five bloodied bodies lay on the ground, blood gushing out of each body forming a blood puddle and mixing with the other puddles of blood.

A loud roar erupted as a Large Gobball charged towards him. Kryse switched on his Coward mask and dodged the tackle...barely. As he was about to retaliate with a kick, a thudding pain pierced his entire body. The second Large Gobball had avoided his detection and rammed into his back. With a scream, Kryse fell onto the floor. A warm, wet sensation flowed down his sides. Oh Sadida...he's been pierced. Kryse cringed as he stood up, making sure to keep both Large Gobballs within sight. With his Coward mask on, as long as these two Large Gobballs are within his line of sight, he will be able to dodge any of their attacks. The young Masqueraider reached into his bag and grabbed his Martelo mask. He needed to finish this quickly and Martelo was his most powerful skill. As Kryse tried to move about, he winced in pain. His legs weren't responding. He's got to make his last stand here. It was now or never.

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"Come on!" Kryse roared, trying to provoke the two Large Gobballs into attacking first...and he succeeded.

The Large Gobball on the left growled with anger and charged towards Kryse. As soon as it entered his range, Kryse unleashed a flurry of Martelo kicks. The young Masqueraider grunted with pain afterwards as he collapsed on both knees. Fortunately, the Large Gobball was dead, dents displayed all over his head. Kryse gasped for air as he eyed the other Large Gobball. He could sense its anger. With an intense roar, the Large Gobball rushed forward, horns piercing through the sunlight.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Kryse cursed as he watched the fast approaching monster with horns raring and teeth baring.

Kryse limped to the side and kicked at the Large Gobball. However, the momentum of the fierce charge pushed him off balance. As he fell to the ground, he winced again. His ribs were broken, there was a gaping wound on his back, and now he even twisted his ankle while trying to kick that monster. Is he...is he going to die? No! He can't die just yet! But what can he do? Think Kryse! Think!...That's it! Kryse reached into his bag and brought out his Bling mask. Just as the Large Gobball lunged towards him again, he swapped his current mask with the Bling mask and teleported behind the monster. After lashing out a swift kick, he teleported again. As the monster turned around in anger to where Kryse was supposed to be, another swift kick smashed into its back. The monster turned around again only to receive another kick. After a few kicks later, the monster learned...it learned that it shouldn't turn around after the next kick because it believed that the young Masqueraider will appear before him. However, that was what Kryse was waiting for. Seeing the Large Gobball waiting and looking around for him to appear, the young Masqueraider switched his Bling mask with his Reinforcement mask. Slowly and carefully as to not make a sound, Kryse aimed his right foot at that Large Gobball's ass and kicked as hard as he can.

The pitiful Large Gobball yelped in pain before it landed on the ground stunned. With a sigh of fatigue, Kryse limped towards the collapsed monster and switched his Reinforcement mask with his Martelo mask. He was feeling a bit drowsy...the fight had taken a huge toll on his body. Suddenly, the Large Gobball moved. Holy Mother of Sadida! That scared the shit out of him. He immediately started stomping on the Large Gobball's head. Whew! Is it dead? Nope it's still moving.

*STOMP!* *STOMP!* *STOMP!*

After a few more stomps, the Large Gobball finally breathed its last. Kryse collapsed on the floor, his eyes blurry and heavy with tiredness. Slowly, he closed his eyes...he just needed to sleep for a bit...just for a bit.... NO! He shouldn't fall asleep! Kryse rubbed his tired eyes awake before struggling to sit up. He reached into his bag and rummaged around carefully...where did he put it? Where was that vial of water from the Fountain of Youth? Kryse had figured that it will come in handy especially when he was nowhere near the two fountains. So, Kryse had filled up five vials just in case of situations like these. Finally finding one, Kryse uncorked the vial and gulped down the refreshing liquid. A cold shudder spread throughout his body as he felt his wounds healing and his fatigue washing away.

After a few minutes, Kryse got up. Although there were still some pain and his wound on his back still hadn't fully healed, Kryse decided to head towards the first Fountain of Youth and take a dip in it. After all, according to master Struk'tohr Nhin, one must be healthy and prepared for the next battle. Kryse made his way towards the Fountain of Youth outside the entrance of the village. When he passed by his master, Struk'tohr Nhin waved and asked if he had accomplished his training, in which Kryse shook his head and said he was working on it. Afterwards, Kryse continued on heading towards the Fountain of Youth. Upon arrivial, he undressed and slid in to bathe. After just sitting there for a few minutes and enjoying the refreshingly warm water, his entire body healed of all of the wounds and his strength regained quickly...truly a miracle indeed. With his body rejuvenated, Kryse exited the Fountain of Youth and continued onwards to his destination. He needed to find Shaa Kwira before sunset.