Sen got up and took an army canteen of water from the jeep. He drank a gulp and offered the canteen to Feng. Feng took the canteen and drank a few mouthful before looking at the engine of the jeep. Even though he barely made it work before the worm decided to disappear on them, it was a quick fix and the jeep might be thrown into a worse condition if they had decided to speed off.
The first order of business is to get the jeep up and running properly. Then they can decide to whether to chase after the bison mages. Raizan took the canteen that was left near the jeep by Feng and rehydrated himself.
"Seeing that you are behaving slightly rational after your burst of anger, I believe you have a plan in mind?' Raizan spoke to Sen as he dusted off the sand off his assault rifle.
"I placed a tracking spell on that culprit who kidnapped Kari and Kura, I hope to redeem my mis-" Raizan stopped him before Sen can continue to babble on.
"Don't. It's not your fault for this to happen. I too should not have withheld my powers against the bison mages but It is just too tiring to rely on my mana source for my attacks without any available backup fate crystals as a catalyst for my spells. Hence in order to compensate my inadequacy as an examiner, it is also my responsibility to bring them back."
Sen suddenly remembered the USB Crystal and took out for Raizan. "Maybe I should have given this to you sooner too."
Raizan raised his eyebrows and saw the USB Crystal. "You sure you are trusting me? I barely know you and vice versa."
"Yes Major I trus-"
"In retrospect, I believe you should have given this to me earlier." Raizan took the USB Crystal and used it the same way Feng had. Sen did not know whether Raizan was even trying to just be polite.
Raizan saw the same interface as Feng did and he accepted the terms and conditions. He felt the surge of powers going through him. The seventh gate within him was strengthen and shining even brighter. The understanding of lightning increased significantly and he felt a rush of knowledge coming into him. When he finally calm down, a pair of gauntlet appeared floating in front of him and he grabbed it.
The pair of black metallic gauntlet was quite an original design. When he wore it, various interfaces appear in front of him via the wrist of the gauntlet. He realised that were many accessories were also accessible from the gauntlet as well.
For example, there was a stylus pen which allowed him to scribble his notes on a electronic sheet on the go. If he wished to review any books he had read before, with a flick of his mind, he is able to review it in front of him. Compared to the the Earth Plane's technology. This was a miracle computer literally on his palms.
The gauntlet was able to change its form to a pair of leather short gloves when he was not using the gauntlet's function.
"Well, this is something really unexpected. Deepest thanks from my heart for giving me such a great gift." Raizan bowed sincerely with a hand placed at his chest.
Sen gave a slight smile and took a look at the surroundings. There were still some bison mages lying around from the aftermath of the ambush. Sen wore his body vest and took the Saviour Zinger Rifle from the backseat of the jeep which Feng left it previously.
"I am going to scout the area a little and salvage anything usable." Sen decided to look around the vicinity. Raizan nodded and he continued to fiddle around the new gauntlet's functions and instructional manuals in the comforts of the jeep. Feng continued to analyse the inert inscription pattern of each and every part of the jeep so he can 'reconstruct' it again to working condition.
Despite being in the desert and with the sun at its highest, the temperature was about 24 degrees Celsius as stated by the system's mini map and there was some humidity in the air which did not made the weather bearable for the trio.
Sen might look calm but inside him a raging storm was brewing. He knows how to take failures and being a tailor which requires patience since precision is needed in every cutting he does. However, right now, it's not about being patience of his own failure. If anything happened to Kari or Kura, he did not know how to answer the Han family after promising to look after them.
It did not take long to look around since the system's mini map was able to indicate enemies that were alive in his radar. He approached an injured mage and his bison. However, the current scene was a little gruesome. The mage was bleeding a lot from being squashed by the dead bison.
The mage accepted his death and waited for the grim reaper to bring him away. As, he heard footsteps coming from the side and he turned his head to see an unknown person with a wooden stick. The mage was hopeful for that one moment but the person shoved the wooden stick onto his head. That hope was all he needed to deny the fact he was dying. Initially he thought that if someone can bring him salvation for killing him soon, he will greatly appreciate it. But hope made him wail and cried for forgiveness. The mage closed his eyes and beg.
"I do not want to die...I do not want to die! Save me please! Please honourable saviour! I will tell you anything you want, anything! I can pass you magic spells! Tell you my hidden stash!" The broken mage would kneel if he had the ability to do so.
"Heh, I do not think you are that willing. If that's the case, I will take on your offer." Sen thought and sneered a little upon hearing the word saviour. "I may be a saviour in training, but I will not let injustice to go by." Sen whispered.
Sen withdrew his rifle and instead used the butt of the rifle stock to smash on the mage's stomach.
"User, someone is asking for help, you should have helped."
"Shut up." Sen scolded the system in his head and looked at the mage again. This time a sinister smile appeared on Sen's face.
The mage cried out loud and suddenly the unknown man forcefully placed his palm on his face.
"SERVUS! I command you to obey me!"
A strong inner force propagate from the ring and into the mage's face. The consciousness of the mage faded away and his eyes dilated. His terrified facial expression changed into a solemn one
"Yes master, your bidding?' The squashed mage was still bleeding out but the Servus spell made him felt that his master demanded full attention. Hence, he bear the pain of bleeding while waiting for his master's order. This is the absolute power of Servus. It is will defying if the targeted person was completely dominated by the spell.
" Why did you attack us?" Sen was straight to the point.
"The prophecy stated that our one true God the twin headed Agni ordered us to come at this secluded part of the desert." The mage replied truthfully without hesitation.
"Then why kidnap the children!" Sen shouted in anger
"The kids are the main catalyst to summon Agni. Agni told us the prophesied children will emerge from here. If the kids survive the ritual, Agni will be summoned and the kids will be the champions of Agni. If they do not survive, there are others who can take their place. "
"Others?!" Sen exclaimed.
"Yes, we the Fire clan of Agni gathered numerous sacrifice as sufficient tribute if we are not able to find the prophesied children. Among the numerous children, we believe one will eventually be the champion of Agni!"
"You kidnapped other kids as well?"
"Mainly the offsprings of the Ice clan of Shiva. The constant turf war as well as various skirmishes with them made their offsprings a suitable candidate for sacrifice. Needless to say, we have placed our best offsprings for our God as well."
"You guys are a crazy bunch of lunatics."
"I am sorry Master for not living up to your expectation."
"Hearing master from them kind of annoys me." Nes pouted a little upon hearing the mage's reply as she sat on Sen's shoulders.
"When is the ritual starting?"
"In four days time or as soon as the ritual preparations are complete."
"Who was the guy with bandages?"
"He was an exile from our clan but the elder allowed him to return to the clan if he able to help out with the search of the prophesied children when the mages had difficulty."
"Any more information about him?" Sen questioned further.
"Rumours say he was the elder's bastard."
"No, what I meant is his powers." Sen rolled his eyes a little.
"I do not know much about Ken the Exile but he was supposedly the last chosen of Agni before the legacy of the prophesied children were spoken to us by our elders." The mage's breath grew weaker as he speaks.
"Lastly, tell me ur hidden stash. Show it to me on my map." Sen's eye grew cold as the mage used all of his strength to fulfill his master's command.