Aiden's fist crashed into the Guardian's face at full speed.
A normal punch should've done nothing.
But with invincibility active, all recoil vanished—
and momentum hit like a falling meteor.
B O O M.
The entire chamber shook.
The Guardian's head snapped backward, its single eye flickering.
Aiden hit the ground hard, rolled, and sprinted before his brain caught up.
[Invincibility Remaining: 2.4 seconds]
The Guardian roared—soundwaves rippled the air.
Aiden ignored the pain and leapt onto its arm, using the bony ridges as steps.
[1.8 seconds]
He reached its shoulder and drove his elbow into the area near the eye, forcing the creature to lurch sideways.
[1.1 seconds]
One more hit.
One more shot.
Aiden grabbed onto the Guardian's horn-like protrusion, swung himself above its face, and brought both heels down on its eye.
CRACK.
The eye shattered like glass.
The Guardian screamed—
the ground split beneath it.
[Invincibility Remaining: 0.3 seconds]
Aiden jumped off its collapsing head—
And invincibility ended.
He fell without protection.
He hit the floor and skidded, ribs screaming, sparks flaring in his vision. But he forced himself up.
The Guardian staggered, covering its ruined eye with all four arms. Blood—thick, black, tar-like—poured down its face.
Aiden didn't wait.
He bolted toward a cluster of roots at the chamber's far end, hoping for an exit.
The System pinged.
[WARNING]
Guardian enraged.]
"Oh, fantastic."
The creature roared—every bone in Aiden's body vibrated from the sound alone. The guardian charged blindly, smashing everything in its path.
Aiden dove behind thick roots, panting.
"That thing's not dying," he muttered.
[Correct.
Floor 2 Guardians cannot be killed by current candidate ranking.]
"So what do I do?!"
A pause.
Then:
[Survive.]
The Guardian tore through an entire wall of roots like wet paper.
The chamber was collapsing.
Aiden sprinted again.
BOOM.
Another slam behind him.
Aiden didn't turn around—he'd freeze if he saw it.
The System chimed:
[Exit Detected]
Aiden's eyes snapped toward a thin crack of light between two spiraled roots.
A small opening.
Barely enough for someone thin to slip through.
He ran toward it—
A shadow swallowed the ground in front of him.
The Guardian leapt.
Its body filled the entire tunnel.
Aiden skidded to a stop, trapped between the monster and the wall of roots.
The beast landed so hard the floor collapsed, forming a widening hole that threatened to swallow both of them.
Aiden had seconds.
He spotted something glinting in the debris—
A metal gauntlet, cracked but intact, glowing faintly.
A student's item.
Someone dropped it here.
He grabbed it without thinking.
[Item Obtained: UNKNOWN GAUNTLET (Damaged)]
[Effect: ???]
The Guardian lunged again.
Aiden shoved his arm into the gauntlet and raised it.
The metal sparked—symbols igniting across its surface.
Aiden felt energy surge up his arm, wild and unstable.
The System flashed red:
[WARNING]
Gauntlet synchronization incomplete.
Risk of limb destruction: 87%]
Aiden gritted his teeth.
"Better than dying!"
He punched.
The gauntlet exploded with light.
A wave of force smashed into the Guardian's chest, sending the massive creature stumbling back into the collapsing floor.
Aiden didn't wait.
He dove toward the narrow exit, squeezed through the twisting roots, and dropped into another tunnel—
Just as the chamber behind him collapsed entirely.
Silence.
Aiden lay on the ground, chest heaving, the gauntlet smoking on his hand.
The System broke the silence:
[FLOOR 2: SURVIVAL TIME — 3 minutes 41 seconds]
[RESULT: ACCEPTABLE]
Aiden coughed out a laugh.
"Acceptable? I almost died twelve times!"
Then—
A faint voice echoed through the tunnel.
"Aiden…? Is that you…?"
His blood ran cold.
He knew that voice.
He hadn't heard it since the academy entrance gate.
Elara.