"Shit, shit, shit."
Hoping that he hadn't been detected, David fled into the surrounding jungle, angling towards the south. The closer he got to Lightharbor, the more easily he could explain away his presence.
"Damn." David noticed that the signal was moving in a straight line, that meant that it was on the surface, rather than underground.
"Oh come on!"
The signal had turned away from its initial trajectory, and was now heading right towards David.
He'd been noticed, and even worse, it was likely that it was a clan member.
'A three star Red Core, it'll be close but I think I could take them.'
David stopped in his tracks, the pursuer was fast enough that getting away from them would deplete all of his mana.
Running out of mana in the wilderness, especially with enemies that might be looking for him, was a death sentence.
'Let's see what these hotshots are like.'
He had never encountered or fought clan members before, but since gaining his core and new abilities, David had a renewed confidence.
'At the very least, I should be able to hold my own.'
David was standing in a small clearing in the jungle, only about ten meters across, the ground was thick with ferns, to one side was an uprooted tree.
The pursuer grew rapidly closer, while David summoned a tentacle, rapidly climbing up the smooth trunk of one of the enormous trunks that bordered the clearing.
He wanted to exploit one of the weakness of the CoreScanners, they could only show you where the mana signature was based on a flat surface.
They were totally unable to show how high, or low, the signal was.
Around twenty meters up from the ground, David found a small opening in the trunk, large enough for him to fit in to.
Inside, the base was lined with a thick layer of leaves, it looked like the nest of some jungle animal.
David climbed into the hollow, looking down into the clearing.
One of the bushes to his right rustled, and a young man walked out into the clearing.
The man had long shoulder length blonde hair, and a faint beard of the same color. Bright green eyes swept the clearing, and he wore a shining gold breastplate, as well as leather armor.
'He must be one of those Golden Wolves.'
From up in the tree, David could see the wolf's head inscribed on the breastplate, and the bright green gem at the center that served as the wolf's eye.
In his right hand, the man held a shining golden sword, and his left held a wide parrying dagger.
"Come out! Show yourself!"
The man yelled, his voice was deep but on the last word, it cracked, it seemed he was younger than he looked.
Oddly enough, even though the man wore armor, his feet were totally bare, his leather armor ending at mid calf.
David remained silent, leaning back into the hollow of the tree. Having seen the expensive equipment he wore, he could tell the Golden Wolves were not a group he wanted to tangle with.
"In the name of Edmund of the Golden Wolves! If you show yourself now, you will not be harmed!"
Again, Edmund called out, peering into bushes at the base of the tree that David had climbed.
"I know you're here somewhere!"
David sighed, it seemed like the man was smart enough to realize that David wasn't in the ruins below.
'Well, he's not an idiot.'
The man had clearly noticed David's own movement pattern. David took a bandage from his belt, and tied it over his face.
"What do you want!" David leaned over the edge of the tree, and yelled down at the man.
Edmund immediately leapt back as he heard David's voice, both his weapons were raised high, crossed over his chest.
"Identify yourself!" He yelled up at the hollow, he could see the slightest hint of David's face, in the shadow of the hollow.
"My name is Onyx! I'm with Miss Ophelia!" David hadn't given up on fooling the man, the last thing he wanted was to end up in a confrontation with him.
"Ohhh, you're with the Children of the Rose?" There was a smile on Edmund's face, and he relaxed. He lowered his swords to his side.
David grinned up in the tree, he had fooled him. But what David couldn't see was the angry glint in Edmund's eyes.
"Yes! I'm scouting this area on her orders! Now, please stop bothering me!" With a haughty tone in his voice, David tried to dismiss the man.
"Liar!" Edmund spat.
"First! Nobody in her clan refers to her in that way! Only an outsider would!" Edmund was infuriated, how someone claim to be a member of Miss Ophelia clan, while not even knowing the slightest bit about her.
"Second! No clan called the Children of the Rose exists!" Shaking his head, Edmund almost laughed, anyone in this region, would have been aware of which clans were around, he was beginning to think he was either dealing with a foreigner, or an idiot.
"Come out!" Edmund commanded, he had raised his blades again, and they were now pointed towards David, a faint golden glow was starting to shine from his body.
"Hey, who do you think you are anyway! Why the hell do need to give you any answers!" Now that he had been discovered, David didn't care, and he started to yell angrily at the man.
He had heard many stories about how people from clans behaved before, he had never thought that they would be so entitled and overbearing.
"They're like little princes and princesses, but without the manners, whatever you do, never get tangled up with anyone from a clan." Brogan's wise voice filled David's head again.
"Greedy, jealous and selfish. Those are the only words I would use to describe them" Brogan had shaken his head, rubbing one of the deep scars on his chest.
'I didn't think it'd be this bad' David always took Brogan's lessons to heart, but he'd assumed that Brogan had been exaggerated a little, to keep them safe.
"Onyx! This is your last warning! Come down now, and identify yourself!" Edmund's voice was now a roar, and the light shining from him was now blinding.
"Look, Edmund, or whoever you are! I already told you my name, now why don't you go on your way, and I'll go mine!" David drew his sword, he could tell from Edmund's tone that he wasn't going anywhere.
But the angrier he got him, the better it was for David, it was always better to fight an emotional enemy than a rational one.
"FINE!" Edmund couldn't believe his ears, never in his life, had anyone dare to speak to him in such a way. He was going to tear this insolent stranger apart.
The golden light brightened to a flash, and David looked away. A strangled scream pierced his ear, then fell silent. After the screams, David heard the sound of cracking bones, and then a low, savage, growling.
'The hell is he doing down there.'
As the light died down, David looked out of the hollow, and his mouth dropped open in surprise.
"Oh, fuck."