Recruited

Hours later Mateus stumbled out of the wild zone and nearly collapsed in relief. His body may have improved, but he was still weak from hunger and low on essence. The amount of essence the 11 tattoos were drawing from him was not small, and without food to replenish his reserves he would soon be running dangerously low.

If he evicted Endorphin and the others, and made them walk, it would slow down the consumption of his essence by a lot, but it is taboo for humans with new contracts to show off their partners. It's almost on the level of walking around commando with your fly unzipped for all the world to see.

Only after your contracted Spirit Beasts have been added to your identity can you keep them out in public - because if they misbehave, the human is held responsible. It's not unreasonable. Say if someone's carnivore bird decides to try eating another person's mouse, and they get into a fight and damage the area - it only makes sense that the humans who failed to retrieve their beasts before they started problems should compensate the property owners for the damage they caused.

With all the Mutant Beasts outside the city, finding resources to fix broken buildings is often dangerous and tedious work, meaning the fines are sky high. It's understandable - every time a team of workers head out to do logging, or quarrying, they need a team of fighters to defend them. Furthermore all the resources that the workers carry back are cumbersome and slow to move, making the trip longer and more dangerous.

Add in the fact that the Mutant Beasts fight with each other just as often as they attack humans, and these fights can drastically change the landscape, and finding places to gather resources becomes infinitely more difficult.

So Mateus just had to grin and bear with his current weakness, and find a way to replace his identity documents as soon as possible. After he checked all the abilities of his Angora Roobit and Atavistic Sparkling, he could see about finding a place to buy the Angora silk he would grow.

Depending how often Endorphin shed his inner coat of fur, he might be able to afford a small home in a cheap district, and take his sister out of the orphanage.

Still, first things first, Mateus had to get some food, and quick!

"Hey, kid, you alright? Looks like you had quite the adventure." One of the gate guards called cheerfully, and Mateus nearly fell over from a dip in the ground.

"Whoa! Careful there! If you're not under attack, then we're not allowed to leave our post. Can you walk to us, kid?" The other guard called worriedly, to which Mateus nodded, forced himself upright, and stumbled closer to the gate.

On his last legs, he fell over exactly one meter away from the exit, and lay there exhausted. The nice guard dashed down from his sniper perch and dragged Mateus in the gate quickly, while his partner scanned for danger.

Reaching safety, Mateus nearly fainted. Only the thought of the pack being discovered kept him conscious.

"Easy, kid, you're safe now. Have some water." The guard offered him a bottle, and Mateus gulped down almost half. "Woah there, not so fast! You'll make yourself sick!"

"(Gasp!) Thank you! I haven't had anything to drink since yesterday." Mateus slowed down, and sipped the rest of the bottle, already feeling revived. He still needed food, but the water helped a lot - all the running and walking made him very dehydrated.

"Care to tell us what happened?" The other guard asked, keeping his eyes on the job. It wouldn't be good if something happened when they both were distracted.

"I was looking for contracts, and got forcefully invited to a nursery. On the way there, my bag broke and I lost all my documents and rations. After I found a partner, the Guardian dropped me off where I was before, still without my belongings." Mateus explained, and the nice guard whistled.

"I don't know if I should envy you, or pity you. Less than 20 humans each year get to pick from the nursery for a contract, but they usually come back in better condition too. I hope you found the beast you were looking for."

"Yeah, I did. Do you know where I can get new documents? And check their abilities? I don't have any money to pay for the public test machine right now."

"You can use the tester from the guard station, if you agree to sign on for 3 months." A new voice called firmly, and Mateus jumped. He looked over and saw a big man in a captain uniform, but Mateus didn't know when he got here.

"I don't think I'd be any use to you - at least one of my beast has no offensive talents in its bloodline, and the other is very weak." Mateus explained calmly, trying to calm down his heart.

"Nonsense - you have look of someone who contracted a predator. Such Beasts crave hunting and fighting. If you don't provide them a suitable amount of such activities regularly, they will lose control and cause havoc in the city. It's in your best interests to join up and learn how to manage it now, before it causes issues." The guard captain announced fiercely, and Mateus found he had no way to argue.

"Okay, but can I keep the tattoos for them hidden?" Mateus asked softly. He really could not let anyone see the Dominance collar and Submission star tattoos.

"It shouldn't be an issue. Now come along, boy - first you'll sign up, then we'll test your beasts. No need for such a long face! You're going to be working in service to the city! Protecting our homes and families from all the dangers of living in this world! Stand straight! Look ahead! Get moving!" The captain roared, and Mateus jumped like a startled cat.

"Yes s-sir!" He answered, stuttering awkwardly. It seemed his dreams of wealth and independence had to be put on hold for a while.