Claire stared at the three who were getting ready for battle.
The golem would arrive any second now, with one part of her mind focusing on protecting the teens. Claire thought about her motivation with the other half.
'An Assassination…'
Although Claire didn't show it much outwardly, she was incredibly worried about her sister after hearing she was nearly assassinated.
Who wouldn't?
As one ranked up, their minds grew, and they could think much faster, typically making them calmer or more rational.
This trait was even more apparent for mages who relied heavily on their ability to calculate, thereby using more of their mind.
Yet even so, feelings were integral to ranking up, so they didn't automatically disappear.
Claire was talented, and that was a fact.
Rank 6 wasn't something people even touched, let alone reached, especially at such a young age.
But even so, it wasn't just talent that brought Claire here,
That just wouldn't be enough; instead, it was the many life-threatening situations she found herself in that pushed her to the limit.
Whether that be fighting in wars for the Rael Empire or snuffing out the remains of a cult that worshiped a demonic deity.
Just as Claire had gained a lot of power and experience, she came to understand how easily people died.
How easily it was to lose someone important.
'Relia needs experience, and a situation like this is perfect to gain that experience.'
The girl needed to grow stronger, especially in this world, which was filled with many dangers.
Claire could step in and stop the golem if the situation got out of hand; she could also gauge how powerful her sister had become.
'As well as those two.'
She took a curious glance at Ren and Aria; they were oddly relaxed despite the golem approaching rapidly.
Claire had heard from Relia that the pair had been through quite a lot before meeting her; she would see the extent of that experience right here and now.
Of course, something like this wasn't going to replace a life-or-death battle where you had to risk it all and were required to push yourself over your limit,
But the experience was good even if it was a little.
…
"Relia, it's rank 3."
While focusing on channeling her mana, Aria spoke to Relia without glancing at her.
The crystal in the golem's chest emitted rank 3 mana; typically, the ranks of created constructs were based on the materials used.
Since the Mana crystal was rank 3, the rank of the golem was probably also rank 3.
Since Relia was a rank 3, she should have been able to take it down by herself, considering that the golem didn't have intelligence, so it couldn't use any Martial techniques or Magic spells.
All it had was strength and a durable body,
Since there were three of them, including the rank 3 Relia, this was a supremely easy fight.
Or at least it should have been.
"I…"
"?"
Taking her eyes off the motes of golden light coming out of her staff, Aria stared at Relia,
Oddly, Relia looked nervous, staring at the ground and breathing in and out to calm herself.
Aria couldn't help but chuckle.
"Are you nervous?"
"W-why wouldn't I be?"
"You did well with that assassin, didn't you? What's so different about this?"
At the words, Relia shook her head, but didn't say more.
Even with the silence, Aria understood what Relia was trying to convey,
'Compared to being prepared for the assassin, being unprepared against the golem is much worse.'
Taking a step towards Relia, Aria gently held her hand in reassurance,
"There are three of us here, right? Don't you trust Ren and me?"
"I… of course I do! But…"
Relia spoke with a higher tone, yet still had a dejected expression,
'I'm… such a hypocrite, I said I would resolve myself, yet here I am being so nervous…'
As negative thoughts started to form, a voice cut through those thoughts coming from the front.
"Relia, stop looking down and look up."
Relia flinched at Ren's loud and commanding tone.
Feeling a slight squeeze in her hand from Aria, she listened and slowly took a glance up.
She saw the golem, the panicked researcher running, and lastly Ren, who glanced back.
His deep ocean eyes glowed as he smiled.
It was a smile of absolute confidence.
"Aren't you also rank 3?"
"B-but I can only use barrier spells."
"Then does that mean you're useless?"
Before Relia could speak, Ren answered for her.
"It doesn't! What makes you useless is not doing anything."
As the golem neared, Ren drew his blade into a stance, readying a piercing technique. Interestingly, his eyes weren't on the golem but on the researcher instead.
"Although you can listen to Aria or listen to me. In the end, the choice to act is yours. But if there is one thing I can assure you."
The researcher, as Ren expected, tripped seemingly from exhaustion; the golem right behind lifted its giant arm.
"It is the trust I have, so please don't let this be where you stop."
Ren dashed forward, it was a speed much faster than in the forest where he first woke up.
The golem's body rapidly enlarged as Ren closed the distance, his blade aimed for the golem's arm that was slamming down at the researcher.
A technique outlined itself in Ren's mind; it belonged to the [Brittle Dancing Spear] Martial Art. A martial art that maximizes power based on how well the technique was performed, instead of the body's strength.
[Spark Filled Pierce]
A simple move that could be used at rank 2, relying on the Mana veins, even if Ren wasn't rank 2, he could still use his veins, albeit at terrible efficiency.
With a loud bang, the arm was pushed to the side with pieces of rock falling off, and the arm hit the ground nearby.
"Hiek!"
The researcher stared at the large arm a mere feet away from him and yelped. Before he could let out a scream, Ren pulled him by the collar, hurling him backward.
"AHHHH!"
He tumbled, letting out a groan before blacking out as his head hit the hallway's wall.
'Damn it, how painful!'
Ren had forcefully used his injured left arm to pull the researcher,
During this time, the golem started to raise its arm, staring at Ren
["This Golem is durable, but it's more of a rank 2 than 3."]
["There's a gem on its chest; it's probably a weakness made as a safety feature."]
There indeed was a glowing green gem on the chest of the golem that powered the big thing. Many would think of putting it inside the golem, but there were problems with that.
Firstly, if it started an attack people like right now, it would be harder to neutralize,
Secondly, it just wouldn't be practical for repairs.
The core was the power source of a golem; if it was inside, it would be no different than a car that didn't have a hood or a way to access the engine.
A nightmare for any Magic Equipment mechanic.
There were solutions to this, but it was costly.
That's why the gem that powered the golem was outside for all to see.
["Aria, I shouldn't break it, right?"]
["Yes, it seems to be rank 3. We don't know the economy of this world, but it's probably expensive. Try to get it out.'
["Get it out?"]
["Yes, can't you do it?"]
["It's pretty stuck though… but I'll manage"]
Even if the crystal was out in the open, it would be hard to pry out; this wasn't even considering the fact that the golem was trying to attack them.
Normally, you'd just take your loss and break the crystal, but they had a reason they couldn't.
["Ren, she's obviously testing us, so let's show her something good!"]
["You're oddly excited about this…"]
["Why wouldn't I be? It's just a simple golem, but to her, it's something we shouldn't be able to fight; she's bound to give us something good for this. Like free healing!"]
Ren smiled at her message. Throughout the day, she had been eyeing Ren whenever he moved the arm. Despite not saying it outright, it appeared that Aria wanted to do this so she could repair his injured arm.
["Thanks, Aria."]
["Why are you thanking me? Focus on the golem!"]
The golem swung down at Ren at that very moment, but he sidestepped to avoid it.
Following this, the golem punched towards Ren with his other arm.
Ducking under, Ren got up close to the golem, stabbing just under the gem on the golem's chest.
With a skillful strike, the gem remained undamaged, but a small crack appeared under it on the golem's body.
The golem didn't pull back but charged, wanting to use its heavy body to slam into Ren, yet Ren predicted this narrowing moving out of the golem's way,
At this moment, Aria finally had a line of sight toward the golem.
[Wind Blade]
The wind slash was more terrifying than before, despite her rank not changing.
Since she couldn't control the spell perfectly, Aria didn't aim for the gem but instead for the arm of the golem.
Golems were typically modeled with humans as a reference, but this golem didn't have a head, only a torso and limbs.
Notably, the arms had the least width compared to the torso or the legs of the golem.
The sharp wind whistled as it flew, cutting into the arm, leaving a deep gash on the golem's rocky skin.
'I'm getting the hang of it. Ren is also moving better than before.'
The reason they were moving better than before was that they were slowly getting used to their new bodies, actions started to feel more and more instantaneous when they moved, and therefore, fighting became much easier.
The cut in the golem's arm, though deep, wasn't enough to break it off.
The golem turned towards Aria, realizing that she was a threat, and started moving towards her.
Ren wouldn't give up the opening, preparing to use the [Momentus Force] martial art with his sword, a martial art that, as the name implied, focused on utilizing momentum.
He moved towards the golem and spun smoothly, utilizing the momentum of the spin to slash up and into the damaged arm of the golem, slicing cleanly through.
As the golem's right arm fell, it turned and swung its left arm at Ren,
But Ren didn't dodge and instead smiled, changing into a stance that locked him in place as he prepared a sword art that thrust forward.
Ren was guaranteed to get hit, but in his view, an earthen mana gathered at the tip of a noble's staff before connecting to him.
[Earth Barrier]
Relia's barrier appeared just in time; the golem's swing was blocked, and there was a loud bang that followed.
Ren used the time provided by Relia to thrust his blade once more towards the gem, carving out another portion around it.
The rest of the fight was just a repetition. Aria shot [Wind Blade] at the limbs of the golem to slow it down and distract it. Ren took the opportunity to deal heavy damage, and lastly, Relia provided support whenever Ren would almost get hit.
The golem was now only a torso that couldn't fight back, and as Ren stood on top of it, he pulled out the crystal, causing the golem to stop making sounds as it turned off.
It was their victory.