"You know, if the damn thing malfunctions, you can use that as a makeshift bat," Ilya commented. 

[Lightweight Heavy Magical Machine Gun Model 3]

One of the earliest iterations after the technological sharing agreements between Earth and Terra and one of the prime examples of why adapting Earth technology in magical warfare always results positively. This machine gun, despite its heavy weight, can cast spells faster than any spellcaster, fire longer than any traditional machine gun, and be potentially more powerful than a traditional machine gun of equal weight. 

Good weapon. :)

Lifting it, even throwing it up in the air, Alina didn't feel any meaningful weight when she caught that thirty-five-kilogram machine gun from the air. She aimed at the machine gun, to get a feel of the trigger and the mechanism, and she felt as if she was lifting and throwing a light weapon. 

Ilya watched in amazement as Alina handled the massive gun effortlessly, her arms steady and stance firm. "Seems like you've got more than a knack for this," she said, a hint of respect coloring her voice. 

"Really?" Alina asked, even disbelieving what Ilya just said, but truth be told, it seemed that this magical gun was designed with ease of operation in mind. 

Even the engravings on the gun told her to operate the thing, such as 'Pull here to change the Aether adaptor' or 'Press this to connect to your smart device' and so on. Still, she wasn't sure how to use this contraption fully. 

She then put the claim to the test, connecting the magical machine gun to her phone. There, a new application automatically installed on her phone, asking for a spell tome or to use its default spell tome which damage was Default. However, there was an alert coming from the application. 

[Warning! Aether Source Is Undetected]

Hmm, how does this work? 

"You need to make a blood contract first with the magazine," Ilya commented. 

"How?" Alina asked. 

Putting the Lahmum on the ground and Opening the bottom cover of the large box magazine, it revealed a clean needle alongside a small box that said "Put blood here." Alina put a drop of her blood into the box. The blood then changed its color to yellow and she put the bottom cover back on. 

Her phone then displayed the magical energy that Alina had in storage. The tip of the gun changed color, into the same as Ilya's magical rifle. A question then came to her mind as she picked up the gun back. This gun should be stronger than Ilya's right, after all, Ilya's rifle was light, all things considered. 

"Hmm, you know, having a better gun without having any purpose would be boring, don't you think?" Ilya asked, referring to return back to their job of hunting down Stalkers in Sundown Forest, alongside testing Ilya's new gun. 

"One second," Alina replied.

She wondered whether this Lahmum was better to be put inside of her Blood Inventory or not. She dropped her saber multiple times during combat, and thanks to the inventory, she could easily retrieve it. If the inventory worked in the same way, maybe it would be better if she put the rifle inside of the inventory. 

Alina opened her Blood Inventory and put the weapon there. She then pulled Lahmum out of the inventory, and as expected, the whole weapon changed its color to that of dark black with streaks of red, as if the whole thing was made from compacted blood and steel. 

Ilya shifted her gaze to the weapon she just pulled out of nowhere. She then inspected the weapon, feeling some kind of magical change was happening on the gun, but she couldn't figure what it was. 

"Blood version of your weapon?" Ilya asked. 

"Pretty much," Alina shrugged her shoulders, unsure of how to answer that question. 

"Well, what works for you, I guess? I do think you need some armor too," Ilya then added. 

Alina put back her weapon in her Blood Inventory. Looking at more lists at the ACT, she looked for armor, but she wanted something that wasn't as heavy as Ilya's armor. Not because she didn't like her armor, don't get it wrong, she wanted to have a powered magical armor, but they would be stupidly expensive. 

Alina scrolled through the ACT, her eyes flicking between the various options. The most popular items were indeed those that looked like they belonged in a futuristic battlefield rather than a magical one. Appearance-wise, they looked more similar to a modern ballistic vest more than anything. 

The ballistic armor with shoulder padding seemed to dominate the listings, sleek and undoubtedly effective, but Alina's interest peaked at the mention of materials like Drake's fabric and magical wolf fur. 

These weren't just any materials; they were imbued with magic. However, Ilya immediately pointed her hand at a set of light armor, which was listed as lightweight Arasteel plate armor; containing breastplates, protectors, and all. 

"As much as I like to admit the effectiveness of ballistic-grade Earth-style protection, against monsters and those things, Terra-style seems to suit more for you, both still offer good protection," Ilya said, pointing her finger at the armor. 

Looking at the spec sheet, they weren't that far too different in some regards. While the modern-style ballistic vest offered protection up to .338 Lapua Magnum AP or Lvl.25 Magical Wolf Claw, they protected less area than the Arasteel armor for the same price, 3,500 Leas. 

Meanwhile, the steel plate armor protected more area, including her legs, her shoulders, and her torso, with a little bit less protection. The protection offered was only up to .308 AP or Lvl.20 Magical Wolf Claw. 

With the suggestion, Alina purchased the items. The armor appeared in pieces on the bin, waiting for its user to wear it. Alina then wore the armor, containing the breastplates, the shoulder plates, and the gauntlets, alongside the two leg armors. 

"There, you should be ready," Ilya smiled. She then ordered another thing from ATC, a Terra-style helmet. She then gave the combat helmet to Alina. The helmet was a fantasy one but with a sci-fi touch on it. Alina then wore the helmet. "Acid attack is deadly, this helmet is for you. I think this should be good enough." She continued. 

"Thanks, Ilya." 

"Don't mention it, you still prove to be a good distraction," Alina continued. 

"So, let's continue where we left off, shall we?"

"Right... 80 more Stalkers to go."