The cavern opening loomed before them, a massive chamber hollowed out of the surrounding stone. Alexander paused at the entrance, holding up a closed fist—the signal to halt. In the silence, they could hear it: a low rumble that seemed to come from the earth itself.

  "This is it," he whispered, the sound barely carrying to his teammates. "Remember the pn. Spread out, maintain sight lines to all tunnel entrances. If the ground starts vibrating beneath you, move immediately."

  The team members nodded, their faces tense but focused. The hours of preparation had brought them to this moment, but now theory would meet reality. Alexander couldn't shake the feeling that whatever intelligence they'd gathered, it wouldn't be enough.

  They moved into the cavern, spreading out in the formation they'd practiced. The chamber was roughly circur, with at least seven different tunnel openings branching off at various heights. The floor was oddly smooth in pces, almost polished.

  "Those are its resting spots," Riva murmured, pointing to the smooth depressions. "It coils there between hunts."

  Valeria had positioned herself on a raised rock formation that gave her a good view of most of the chamber. "Movement in tunnel three," she called quietly, the designation matching their hastily drawn map.

  Alexander felt it before he saw anything—a subtle vibration through the soles of his boots. He was already moving when the rumble intensified, rolling to his right as the ground where he'd stood erupted in a shower of rock and dirt.

  The Tunnel Serpent burst from beneath the earth in a fluid, explosive motion. It was even rger than Alexander had anticipated—at least thirty feet of muscur, scaled body with a circumference that could easily engulf a human torso. Its scales gleamed with an iridescent green sheen, and its eyes glowed with an unnatural yellow light.

  "Positions!" Alexander called, drawing his weapon as the serpent's massive head swiveled toward him, forked tongue flicking out to taste the air.

  The guardian didn't move like a normal snake. Just as the retreating pyers had described, it seemed to pulse forward, using the tunnel walls and floor to push itself with extraordinary speed. It struck at Alexander with frightening precision, but he was ready, using the dodge timing they'd practiced to roll beneath the attack.

  "Pattern confirmed!" he shouted as he came up in a defensive stance. "Two-second warning from ground vibration to strike!"

  The serpent disappeared into another tunnel entrance, leaving them in momentary quiet. The team regrouped quickly, adjusting positions based on their first encounter.

  "It's faster than we calcuted," Elijah said, his voice tight with tension. "And the vibration signal is shorter when it's already underground."

  Alexander nodded grimly. "Adjust timing. One second warning if it's already beneath us."

  They had barely repositioned when the rumbling began again. This time it came from near Riva's position. She leapt away as the ground erupted, but the serpent seemed to anticipate her movement, its massive head changing direction mid-strike.

  Riva screamed as the serpent's body caught her leg, coiling around it in a blur of motion. The constriction pressure was immediate and brutal.

  "Distraction pattern!" Alexander shouted, charging toward the serpent's head while Valeria fired a series of shots at its eyes.

  The combination worked—the serpent released Riva to defend against the new threats, disappearing back into a tunnel as quickly as it had emerged. Elijah rushed to Riva's side, his hands already glowing with healing energy.

  "Femur fracture, muscle damage," he muttered, working quickly. "I can stabilize it, but she won't have full mobility."

  Riva gritted her teeth against the pain. "I can still fight. Just need a minute."

  The ground began to rumble again, this time in multiple pces at once.

  "It's learning," Alexander realized with a chill. "Creating false signals to confuse us."

  When the serpent emerged this time, it burst from a completely different location than any of the vibrations had indicated. Only Alexander's instincts saved him as he threw himself sideways, the massive jaws snapping shut where he had stood a heartbeat before.

  He rolled to his feet, sshing at the serpent's scales as it passed. His bde found a gap between the armored ptes, drawing a spray of dark fluid. The serpent hissed in pain, its body whipping around with surprising agility for something so rge.

  "Weak points confirmed!" Alexander called out. "Lateral strikes between scale sections!"

  As the battle continued, a pattern began to emerge from the chaos. The serpent could only remain above ground for short periods before retreating into its tunnel network. Each emergence was preceded by the distinctive rumbling, though they now understood it could create false signals.

  "It's a three-tunnel rotation," Valeria called after the fifth emergence. "Tunnels two, five, then three!"

  Alexander saw it too. Despite its attempts at misdirection, the guardian was following a predictable pattern in its actual attack points. They quickly repositioned to capitalize on this insight.

  When the rumbling began again, they were ready. The serpent burst from tunnel two exactly as predicted, and the team was positioned perfectly. Valeria's shots struck near its eyes, causing it to rear back in pain. Alexander and Riva, moving with practiced coordination despite her injury, attacked from both sides, their bdes finding the vulnerable seams between its scales.

  The guardian thrashed violently, its massive body smming into the cavern walls with enough force to dislodge rocks from the ceiling. One particurly rge stone struck Valeria's shoulder, knocking her from her position.

  "Valeria down!" Elijah called, already moving toward her.

  Alexander felt fatigue burning in his muscles. They'd been fighting for what seemed like hours, nding strikes where they could, but the serpent's endurance seemed limitless. Doubt began to creep in—perhaps they weren't ready for this guardian after all. He could see the same uncertainty reflected in his teammates' faces.

  "We need to end this now," he muttered, studying the chamber with fresh eyes. "It's not random—it's using the chamber design to its advantage."

  He quickly outlined a new approach. Instead of spreading out, they would position themselves to funnel the serpent toward a specific part of the chamber where the ceiling was lowest and several stactites hung precariously.

  When the serpent emerged next, they were ready. Valeria, now recovered, fired not at the creature but at the stactites above its path. The stone spears crashed down, momentarily pinning part of the serpent's length. It thrashed wildly, but the team pressed their advantage, concentrating their attacks on a single section of its body.

  With a sound like tearing fabric, their bdes finally penetrated the armored scales, exposing vulnerable flesh beneath. The serpent emitted a high-pitched shriek that echoed painfully through the chamber. It made one final, desperate lunge toward Alexander, but its movements were sluggish now, the coordination lost.

  Alexander met the strike head-on, timing his dodge perfectly before driving his bde deep into the soft underside of the serpent's jaw. The guardian convulsed, its massive body thrashing in death throes before finally going still, yellow eyes dimming to a dull amber.

  Silence fell over the chamber, broken only by the team's heavy breathing.

  "Is it... is it dead?" Riva asked, leaning heavily on her makeshift staff, her injured leg barely supporting her weight.

  Alexander approached the serpent's head cautiously, weapon still ready. He prodded the massive form, but it remained motionless. Only then did he lower his guard.

  "It's done," he confirmed, the tension draining from his shoulders.

  Elijah moved among them, healing their injuries as best he could. Riva's leg would need more time to fully recover, but his treatment had prevented permanent damage.

  "That was..." Valeria began, then shook her head, unable to find adequate words.

  "More difficult than expected," Alexander finished for her. "We need to improve our coordination. That took too long."

  Even as he spoke, the guardian's body began to shimmer with light. The familiar process of a defeated guardian dissolving into Game rewards had begun. The team gathered around as various items materialized before them.

  Riva examined the rewards with professional interest. "Underground navigation tools," she said, holding up what appeared to be a specialized compass. "This detects magnetic anomalies in the stone—would have made finding the maze exit much easier."

  Alexander picked up several glowing green scales that hadn't dissolved with the rest of the serpent. "Crafting materials. High durability, could reinforce our armor."

  Valeria had moved to examine the far side of the chamber, where a passage had opened that hadn't been visible before. "And our way to Floor 3," she called back.

  Alexander nodded, but made no move toward the new passage. "We'll rest first. Recover our strength, craft what we can from these materials."

  He looked at his team—battered, exhausted, but alive. They'd survived their first true guardian battle, but it had been too close. The Root Warden on Floor 1 had been little more than a training exercise compared to this. If Floor 2's guardian had been this challenging, what would they face on Floor 3? And the floors beyond that?

  "We should be proud," Elijah said quietly, seeming to read his brother's thoughts. "We prepared, we adapted, we survived."

  Alexander nodded, forcing confidence into his expression that he didn't entirely feel. "Let's secure the chamber and set up camp. Tomorrow we'll craft with these new materials, then see what Floor 3 has to offer."

  As the team began setting up their temporary base, Alexander couldn't help but reflect on their performance. They had good skills individually, but their coordination still needed work. They'd survived, yes, but future challenges would only get harder. They needed to be better—more efficient, more coordinated.

  They needed to become more than they currently were.