Wind roared past Aiden as he plummeted through the shaft of twisting roots.
The darkness swallowed everything.
He couldn't see the bottom.
He couldn't see his hands.
He just kept falling.
[FALL VELOCITY INCREASING]
[IMPACT PROBABILITY: 99%]
"Then slow me down!" Aiden yelled.
[ERROR]
System functions limited on Floor 2.]
Of course.
Of course it would say that now.
A violent yank stopped his descent.
Aiden gasped—
A thick vine had shot out from the wall and wrapped around his ankle, suspending him upside-down like bait.
He dangled in total darkness.
Drip.
Drip.
Liquid touched his face again.
Aiden wiped it.
Not water.
Warm.
Metallic.
Blood.
Then… a sound below him.
Not footsteps.
Breathing.
Deep.
Wet.
Animal.
Aiden tensed.
He forced one shaky word out:
"Hello?"
The breathing stopped instantly.
Then—
A massive crimson eye opened in the dark beneath him.
One.
Just one.
It stared straight at him.
Aiden's heart hammered.
The System whispered.
[WARNING
Unclassified Entity Detected]
Another notification popped up immediately:
[Rank Assessment Failed]
[Power Level: OUTSIDE MEASUREMENT]
Aiden froze.
If the System itself couldn't measure it…
He shouldn't even be here.
The creature moved.
Aiden felt the air shift.
A huge shape stepped closer, its outline faintly visible now—
Too large.
Too… wrong.
Four arms.
A hunched back covered in bone-like plating.
And a hole where its mouth should be.
The "mouth" shifted, stretching open vertically like a flower of teeth.
Aiden's stomach dropped.
"Nope. Nope. Nope— System, cut the vine! Now!"
[CONFIRMED]
The vine around his ankle snapped.
Aiden fell—straight toward the monster's open maw.
He screamed, twisting his body midair. His fingers scraped along the creature's bony plating. He barely caught a ridge and swung himself to the side as the maw slammed shut inches from him.
The shockwave from its bite cracked the roots around the chamber.
"What is this thing?!"
[ENTITY IDENTIFICATION FAILED]
[Floor 2 Guardian — provisional title]
The Guardian turned toward him again, its single red eye brightening.
Then a new notification blinked:
[SIDE QUEST TRIGGERED]
Survive 30 Seconds
Reward: Unknown
Failure: DEATH]
Aiden sprinted along the curved wall of roots.
30 seconds.
The Guardian lunged.
Its massive hand slammed the ground where Aiden stood a moment ago, splintering roots like brittle bones. Aiden rolled under its body, grabbed a broken piece of root, and jammed it into the Guardian's leg.
It didn't even react.
20 seconds.
The air whooshed behind him—the Guardian's tail, spiked and barbed, sliced through the space where Aiden's head had been.
He ducked, heart pounding in his throat.
14 seconds.
The creature roared.
The sound wasn't a roar—it was a vibration.
The roots trembled.
Aiden's ears rang violently.
9 seconds.
Aiden staggered, vision blurring.
The Guardian lifted one of its massive arms, ready to crush him.
6 seconds.
Aiden jumped toward a cluster of hanging roots, grabbed one, and swung himself upward as the Guardian's strike smashed the floor, sending debris flying.
3 seconds.
The Guardian looked up.
Its eye glowed.
2 seconds.
Aiden's grip slipped.
1 second—
[QUEST COMPLETE]
[REWARD: TEMPORARY INVINCIBILITY — 3 seconds]
Aiden fell—straight toward the Guardian.
The System whispered only one thing:
[Use it well.]
Aiden twisted his body, raising his fist as he plummeted like a missile toward the monster's face.
With three seconds where he couldn't die.