Standard EGO is extracted from the core of an Abnormality, then stabilized and modified."
"This makes it quite special. Low-level employees cannot pick up high-level EGO."
"The moment they pick up EGO, they fall into EGO corrosion and lose themselves within it."
Roland pondered.
"Low-level employees? Then what kind of employee am I?"
Angela then reflected on the work and combat state Roland had demonstrated since arriving.
"You should be considered a Grade 5 employee."
"What level is a Grade 5 employee?"
"In Lobotomy Corporation, there are only grades from one to five. Anything above that requires evaluation based on specific statistics, combat style, and combat proficiency."
"It's actually Grade 5? Is that really high?"
Roland felt a bit nervous at this moment.
Angela also noticed Roland's nervous expression.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just didn't expect someone like me to be Grade 5, ha."
To Ayou and Angela, this nervousness of Roland's perhaps seemed like genuine embarrassment or anxiety.
However, Roland was thinking something quite different.
After the three of them arrived at the EGO storage room,
Angela brought out all the ranged weapons and laid them out on the table one by one.
"If ranked by grade, they are:"
"You're Bald, Small Beak, Solemn Lament... Wasp, Fragrant, Pink Soldier."
Roland looked at the progression from pistols to sniper rifles.
However, he was particularly interested in a blue-black shotgun among them.
That shotgun seemed particularly eye-catching to Roland; he always felt a very subtle connection with it.
He took a fancy to that Magic Bullet at first glance.
"Wow, that shotgun is so cool! Let me use that one."
"Very well. This shotgun is named Magic Bullet. W... No, let's be simpler. It's a Grade 4 weapon."
With a snap of Angela's fingers, all the other EGO weapons vanished into thin air.
Leaving only the Magic Bullet on the table, Roland stared at the lone shotgun that remained.
As he reached out to pick it up, just as his hand made contact with the Magic Bullet,
a blue-black flame suddenly ignited from the Magic Bullet towards Roland's hand.
Roland was caught off guard by this situation and retracted his hand in pain.
"Wh-what's going on?"
Angela's expression was somewhat unnatural.
Ayou looked at the shotgun, then at Roland, whose hand still had remnants of the flames, and asked,
"What just happened? Roland, are you okay?"
The moment Roland touched the Magic Bullet, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind. He recounted this discovery to the two of them.
"Just when I picked it up, I felt like something was trying to enter my mind. There was a voice speaking to me. It felt like it wanted to consume me like flames."
"Is this EGO corrosion? You've got to be kidding me. Aren't I a Grade 5 employee? How could this still happen?"
"No, that is not it."
Angela interrupted Roland.
That was a spell interruption.
"That is the precursor to EGO resonance."
"EGO resonance? What on earth is that?"
Roland displayed a question mark again.
Subsequently, Angela explained it to the two of them.
"A normal person can only unleash about 5% of an EGO's strength. A few rare individuals can unleash the residual power of EGO."
"EGO is a borrowed shell. People are driven by EGO, but a few can become those who truly master EGO."
Ayou took out his quill.
Angela said to Ayou,
"Yours belongs to the manifestation of the self; it is actually vastly different from ordinary EGO."
A figure appeared in Ayou's memory.
"I remember now. That, who was it? Did Geburah also use EGO?"
"Yes, she is an outstanding EGO user."
Subsequently, Roland asked,
"So what should I do?"
After pondering for a while, Angela said to Roland,
"Pick it up. Try to find your own heart, then try to pull the trigger."
"Alright, I'll give it a try."
Roland reached his hand toward the Magic Bullet again. The moment he made contact with it again, the blue-black flames ignited once more, this time even brighter and more dazzling.
Roland's expression was pained from the burning of the flames.
Ayou looked at Roland's state and said to Angela,
"Should we stop?"
At this moment, Angela refused.
"No, hold on a little longer."
In Roland's mind, a voice that sounded like it had been eroded by time echoed:
"Make a deal with me... Appreciate despair... I... know the... wish in your heart... Revenge..."
The last sentence:
"The seventh bullet will pierce the chest of your beloved."
After Roland opened his eyes, he discovered
the flames on the Magic Bullet had calmed down. They were attached to the trigger Roland was holding, and a small portion was attached to Roland's hand.
Roland looked at the Magic Bullet, whose appearance had changed slightly, and then looked at Ayou and Angela.
"Is this over?"
"What else?"
"I thought there would be some earth-shattering change."
"What, do you want to experience a Distortion too?"
"No, no, no. I don't want to turn into that ghost-like thing."
"It's just that a guy with a head made of blue fire was talking to me in my head just now, saying something about wanting me to experience despair, making a deal, and something about a seventh bullet."
Angela listened, thought for a moment, and said,
"Roland, fire a shot at Ayou."
A: "Ah!!??"
"Ah, are you serious?"
"Don't worry, he will resurrect."
Ayou began to beg Angela for mercy at this moment.
"Director, I won't be cheeky next time. Can you please not hold a grudge?"
"What grudge would I hold? This is just to let Roland practice with you."
The grudge over the sarcastic cake comments.
After a moment of silence, Roland still raised the gun.
"Brother A, I'm sorry."
The moment Roland raised the gun, both of his hands were covered in black flames.
Roland began to aim at Ayou. His right eye looked into the scope, aligning the three lines and the point.
Subsequently, Roland's right eye was also covered with a layer of surging blue-black flames.
At the same time, four magic circles of varying sizes appeared at the muzzle.
Ayou looked at Roland's stance and remarked,
"Even though I'll resurrect, I'm still so scared."
Then he swallowed his saliva.
As Roland pulled the trigger, a bullet passed through the four magic circles and shot toward Ayou.
Just as the bullet was about to make contact with Ayou,
Angela teleported Ayou to the other side of The Library.
However, the bullet passed through another magic circle and disappeared again.
In the end, the bullet still hit Ayou.
Then, a huge hole appeared in Ayou's chest, with traces of burning.
After Angela teleported Ayou back,
Roland looked at Ayou's injury.
"Is this the kind of power a gun in The City can have? Does The Head really not care?"
"No, they won't care. This is EGO, not a firearm. Also, Roland, from now on, you can fire at most five shots a day."
"Ah, why?"
"Don't ask. You just need to know that this is for your own good."