New Monster, Changes

Two teenagers lay on the ground, covered in dust and panting heavily. They were Aura and Lydian, who just barely made it away from the frenzied herd of Crystal Horses.

"That was way too close! They broke through much faster than expected," Lydian exclaimed.

"Summon your new monster. Let's have a closer look at it." The newly contracted Crystal Horse appeared next to them in a flash of light and eagerly walked in circles around Lydian, nudging her. Lydian smirked, "Look! My monster is so smart. I'll name you Lyn." Lyn neighed upon receiving its name. "It's much better than your's, all Puppet does is look like a dead leaf."

Aura laughed. "The reason I contracted Puppet was to fulfill a specific purpose in the team I'm envisioning.

"It would better if it was more active though," Aura added, glaring at his Leafy Marionette. "Now that we both have monsters, we should leave. The return journey will be a lot safer with the addition of Lyn." They dusted themselves off and went in the direction in which they had arrived. The skies were dark by the time they left the cavern.

"Ahhhh. This cool breeze feels so good after spending so long underground," Lydian said as she spread out her arms and ran around.

"It feels especially nice knowing that we accomplished what we set out for too. You also gained some much needed experience when it comes to monster training."

They removed their leaf masks and returned to the town. After enjoying a delicious and freshly cooked dinner they had been longing for, they entered the hovertrain and set off for home. On the train, Aura opened up the news and looked over it with his sister.

"We were gone for almost two days. There should have been a lot of changes," Aura muttered as they scrolled through the articles. "Look, people have begun to understand how to contract monsters. Spirit jade is also incredibly in demand. There are now many areas blocked off by the government, citing safety concerns. If we came a bit later, Amethyst Caverns might also have been a made restricted area."

"If the areas where many monsters appear all get blocked off, how will people contract them?" Lydian asked. "Won't the people in power monopolize all the rare monsters then?"

"That's not possible. They simply don't have the manpower. As the wild monsters continue growing, the wild will become more and more dangerous. It is unrealistic to have people stationed there, especially when the interesting locations have the highest danger levels. This world will also increasingly become the world of the strong. How will you control someone when they can crush you with a finger? That's why it's so important for us to work hard."

"Yes! I'll make sure to train well!"

Aura smiled and continued scrolling. "Look here. It says that many scientists and researchers are trying to understand monsters and mana. They're also giving out generous rewards for people who provide information."

"We can do that right?"

"Is an advantage considered an advantage if everyone has it? Also the reward is money. What we truly want are rare materials, but those can't even be bought. The world is definitely changing rapidly though. Just two days and all this happened." Aura breathed out in anticipation. He would need to move quickly in order to make an impact in these troubled waters.

"We're home now!" Lydian jumped off the train and ran towards their house, Aura chasing after her.

"Calm down! Take a good rest. Tomorrow we can start training Puppet and Lyn."