As the colossal golem-like skeleton charged towards them, its movements unnaturally swift for its size, Alea's mind raced with the urgency of the situation.

With Rin's safety, and Carla's tragic passing, in mind, she summoned her magic, conjuring a protective barrier around her classmate just in time to deflect a slamming blow that looked like it would have crushed the woman.

The force of the impact sent tremors reverberating through Alea's legs, her concentration wavering for a moment before she steadied herself, her eyes narrowing in determination.

Xhez unleashed a barrage of ice-based magic at the towering foe but to little avail.

The golem seemed impervious to the icy onslaught, its solid form shrugging off the frost with ease.

Rin, undeterred, leaped into action, her fists flying as she unleashed a flurry of punches against the golem's unyielding exterior.

Yet despite her formidable strength, her blows barely left a scratch on the creature's surface. Once again, Alea protected her through a shielding spell before the golem could retaliate.

"This thing is pretty durable," Rin noted, looking down at her own knuckles. Even from where she stood, Alea could see they were bleeding.

"It has to have some weakness," Alea replied urgently. "Or, maybe something is empowering it. Either way, just keep trying!"

Frustration and desperation gnawed at them as they struggled to find that weakness.

With each passing moment, their options dwindled, the threat of defeat looming ever closer.

Amidst the chaos of battle, Xhez said:

"Rin, keep it steady! I... I will use my Curse on it!"

Rin, however, shook her head vehemently, her voice laced with concern.

"No!" She insisted, her gaze unwavering. "You know what that's going to do!"

"What other choice do we have!?"

With their options rapidly diminishing, Alea's mind raced as she searched for a solution.

Then, a memory surfaced from the depths of her consciousness, a lesson learned in the halls of the academy during Cara's zoology class.

This exact type of enemy's image, paired with Cara saying...

[Lightning,] Alea realized, her eyes widening. [That's the weakness!]

With newfound determination, Alea began to weave an intricate spellsign.

Xhez watched her with great curiosity. Alea tried her hardest not to mess up. A single mistake from her now could be fatal for Rin, who was still distracting the opponent.

"You two, buy me more time! I'm preparing a spell!" Alea informed them.

With practiced agility, Rin darted and dodged, her movements fluid and precise as she danced around the golem's relentless onslaught.

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Xhez lent her support from a distance, taking Alea's role and crafting magical barriers for Rin.

As Alea focused her Essence, her hands crackling with electrical energy, she felt a surge of power coursing through her veins.

[NOW!]

With a resolute cry, she unleashed her spell, directing a torrent of lightning towards the golem.

The crackling energy arced through the air, striking the golem with devastating force. Rin and Xhez both stopped, watching on in awe.

With each successive blast, cracks began to spiderweb across its once-impenetrable exterior, its form slowly beginning to crumble under the onslaught of lightning.

And then, with a final, resounding crack, the golem collapsed to the ground in a heap of shattered bones and debris.

It was done.

For a moment, the chamber was filled with silence, broken only by the sound of their ragged breathing and the crackle of dissipating energy.

"I... I think I got it," Alea muttered, her gaze still fixed on the golem's broken body.

"You did," Rin noted with wide eyes. "Holy crap. Good job," she muttered.

The Essence she'd spent, however, was almost enough to bring Alea to her knees.

[I sure hope there isn't another enemy like this nearby,] Alea thought, breathing heavily. [I don't think I could handle another.]

"Well done," a voice spoke up behind them.

The girls turned around.

Maria was standing up, a little smile on her face as she applauded them lightly.

"M-Maria!?" Alea yelled. "You're up???"

"Oh, I was never unconscious," she quickly admitted. "I just wanted to see how you'd deal with the enemy."

The girls stared at Maria, a mixture of shock and frustration evident in their expressions as they processed her revelation.

Hearing that, Alea blinked.

She was, for the first time, genuinely quite angry with Maria.

"Why would you do that?" she demanded, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "You had us worried sick!"

Maria held up a placating hand, her expression contrite as she offered an explanation.

"I'm sorry for deceiving you," she began, her tone earnest. "But I needed to see how you would handle the situation. It was a simple test of your abilities and teamwork."

Alea's brows furrowed in frustration, her anger still palpable as she struggled to contain her emotions.

"But you didn't have to.... We could have handled it better if we knew you were watching!"

Maria's expression softened, her eyes meeting Alea's with sincerity.

"You're right, and I apologize for causing you unnecessary distress," she admitted, her voice tinged with remorse. "Let's talk more about it back at camp, alright?"

"Ugh!" Alea, teeth gritted, turned away from her teacher. Angry, she marched away, deeper into the ruins, while the girls followed behind.

Turning their attention back to the task at hand, the group pressed on.

---

The air was thick with dust and the scent of ancient decay as they explored the dimly lit corridors and crumbling chambers.

Eventually, they stumbled upon what appeared to be an old library of some sort.

Alea's eyes widened with curiosity as she reached out to touch one of the weathered volumes, her fingers tracing the faded letters.

[Yes, as expected, I can't read this. J-Jacques... L-LaCroa? LaCroeh? How are you supposed to pronounce this?]

She threw a glance at Maria over her shoulder, some annoyance still simmering.

The woman noticed and just waved at her. With a pout, Alea turned away.

"Can you believe this?" Rin whispered, her voice filled with wonder as she glanced back at the others. "These books must be at least a few centuries old."

Alea nodded in agreement, her eyes scanning the shelves with a mix of fascination and trepidation.

"It's quite incredible," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

"We'll have to come back here later and see if anyone can decipher any of these languages," Maria suggested. "For now, though, this is all useless to us."

[Is it, though?] Alea wondered. [Come to think of it... Did anyone else know about this place's existence? Did the construction company know about it?]

Something felt odd to Alea.

Compelled by this strange sensation, she looked at the tomes a little more closely.

One of them stood out. A black book sitting atop a wooden stand.

The letters on the cover almost looked runic in nature.

Alea looked back. Nobody else noticed what she was doing.

[May as well take this with me. Perhaps I can find some way to research it.]

On that note, she put the book in her travel bag and, as Maria told them it was time to head out, they left the desolate premises, leaving all those dust-covered skeletons behind.