Gleam Karma Cultivator Isekai

It probably wasn’t a good idea to tell Pete that he’d been on Centurion for weeks already, and Chance really didn’t need much convincing to check out his lodgings. He darted up the stairs, shooting past the first two doors. He looked between the back two, but they seemed to be the same, so he chose the one on the right and twisted the handle.

The room was plain, like he’d expected. There was a single window above a bed fitted with plain white sheets. A desk and chair sat beside it, across from a wooden dresser. Chance stepped inside, marveling at all of it.

“Wow,” he breathed, sitting down on the bed. He laid back, a grin crossing his face as he let himself relax. Then he jumped back upright and checked inside every drawer of the dresser. They were empty, as was the single drawer in his desk.

He cheerfully went around the fairly small room, investigating every nook and cranny. It was a little larger than his room had been when his parents were still alive, but it completely lacked personality.

Once he got enough money, Chance promised himself that he’d go about fixing that particular problem. Satisfied, he flopped back into bed. His bed. The corners of his mouth hurt a little from smiling so much, but he couldn’t help himself.

Chance raised a hand, calling the golden wisps of energy forth. They twisted beneath his fingers, tingling as they brushed across his skin. He lowered his hand, letting it rest against his chest as a content smile passed over his lips.

A loud bang echoed through the house. Chance bolted to his feet and nearly tripped over the edge of the bed as he tried to still his thumping heart. He still hadn’t completely gotten over how jumpy he was from the alleyways.

Is that how they always open the damn doors here? Hasn’t anyone ever heard of closing something quietly?

Chance cracked his door open and poked his head out just in time to see Bella doing the exact same thing from her own room. She was facing the stairwell, but she spun to look in his direction even though he was fairly sure he hadn’t made any noise. Her face darkened and she pulled back into the room, closing the door.

At least she didn’t slam it.

Chance stepped into the hall. Voices echoed up from the first floor. One of the voices was Pete, but he didn’t recognize the other. He made his way down the stairs and into the living room.

A boy sat across from Pete, bedecked in leather armor. A small sickle and chain hung from his side, and his long black hair hung in a ponytail past his shoulders. Pete had claimed his plush chair and was in the exact same position that he’d sat in when talking to Chance. Evidently, he had the whole greeting-thing worked out.

“Ah, Chance,” Pete said, giving him a warm smile. “I hope you’ve had a chance to relax.”

“It’s been like five minutes,” Chance said. “But everything is wonderful. Thank you.”

Pete guffawed. “Wonderful? It’s been a while since anyone called this house that. Thank you very much. I do my best, even with our limited budget.”

“Is this one of my teammates?” the boy asked, lounging lazily on the couch and glancing in Chance’s direction. He exuded confidence and had an arrogant air about him. His eyes were a faint shade of purple that Chance had never seen before.

“It is. Chance, this is Yeo,” Pete said. “Yeo, this is chance.”

Chance’s back stiffened. He’d been hoping his other teammate would be kind, but the boy across from him seemed like the type of person that thought they were better than everyone else.

“He’s from Earth,” Pete finished. “He knows nothing about Centurion, so please help him get up to speed.”

Yeo’s half-lidded eyes shot open and he leapt to his feet, darting over to stand nose-to-nose with Chance.

“No way. Really?”

Chance took a step backward. “Uh, yeah.”

“That’s so cool!” Yeo exclaimed. “I’ve always wanted to meet an Earthling! Do you really fly around in giant metal birds? Have you played football? What about the internet? Did you use the internet? What kind of truck hit you? Was it big?”

The questions came out like a verbal barrage. With every step Chance took back, Yeo took one forward until they were practically against the wall. Chance cleared his throat and slipped around Yeo, feeling the slight sting of shame. He’d completely judged him on his appearance, and it didn’t look like he’d been right in the slightest.

“Slow down a little, Yeo,” Pete admonished. “Chance only just arrived, so he’s probably feeling very overwhelmed.”

Yeo’s face reddened and he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. My mother always said I took my manners out to the barn and shot them. My name is Yeo.”

He extended a hand and Chance took it.

“No harm done,” Chance replied. “And I don’t mind. The giant birds are planes, and we did, although it’s been a while since I was in one. I’ve never played football, but I used to love the internet. There were a lot of cool things on it. As for the truck – it was a semitruck. How do you know all this about Earth?”

Yeo straightened up and thrust a proud thumb into his chest. “My dad’s from Earth too! He told me all about it. I’ve always wanted to visit, but the path only goes one way. No way to get back. Will you tell me about it?”

“Uh, sure,” Chance said, starting to relax. Yeo was like a Earth-weaboo. He suppressed a laugh at that thought. “I never really registered that other people from Earth might have told you about it. That’s… weird.”

“There are so many things I want to ask you,” Yeo said eagerly. “Oh, I know! We can trade questions. That’s fair, right? You ask something about Centurion, then I get something about Earth.”

“That works for me,” Chance said with a grin. “Maybe we should get you moved in first or something, though?”

“Already did,” Yeo said with a thumbs-up. “I’m speedy.”

“Showing up with nothing but the clothes on your back does not make you fast,” Pete said as he got out of his chair, grabbing his staff and walking over to the kitchen. “It just means you didn’t have anything to move in.”

Yeo rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, gramps.”

Pete sighed, and Yeo tugged at Chance’s sleeve.

“Come on. Let’s get our third teammate in on this too. I bet they’re curious as well.”

Chance cleared his throat. “That might not be a good idea. I don’t think she likes me much.”

“What? That’s dumb. Did you do something to her?”

“Well, no. I think it’s more the idea of me than anything else.”

“She doesn’t like Earthlings?”

“I don’t think she likes people.”

“Nonsense. Everyone can be won over, especially with my charming personality.” He flashed Chance a wide grin, then dragged him up the stairs. Then, to Chance’s horror, he strode straight up to Bella’s door and rapped on it.

There was no response.

“She must be busy,” Chance said.

Yeo squatted, bringing his eye down to the keyhole and squinting through it. “Nah. I see her. She’s just staring at the door.”

The door opened and Bella pierced them with a cold stare. “Go away.”

Despite himself, Chance peeked into her room. She’d been here longer than him, so he figured she’d probably had time to decorate it. To his surprise, it was completely barren. It looked just like his.

“We aren’t going anywhere. You’re our team member, and we need to get to know each other,” Yeo said, crossing his arms. “Are you going to make me drag you out?”

“You couldn’t make me do anything,” Bella replied. “And mind your own business. I’m not interested in getting to know either of you. Go do what you want, but keep me out of it.”

“Hmph. Then we’ll just hold our meeting in your room,” Yeo said, starting forward. Bella snapped her fingers and a tendril of dark water shot out from behind her, pressing into Yeo’s chest and stopping him in his tracks.

“No.”

She slammed the door in their faces.

“You can’t ignore us forever!” Yeo threw his hands up. “And Chance, what was that? You didn’t help me at all!”

“I don’t think she wants to talk with us,” Chance replied. “If that’s the case, we don’t have any right to force her to.”

Yeo scrunched his nose. Then he sighed and shrugged. “I guess that’s true. Her loss. We don’t need her to have fun. Come on, let’s get to that game.”

He waltzed over to Chance’s room and opened the door, glancing around before darting inside. There wasn’t even an ounce of hesitation, even though it wasn’t his room. Chance threw one last glance at Bella’s door, then followed his new teammate in.

Yeo had claimed the chair at the desk, so Chance sat down on his bed.

“Okay, I get to go first,” Yeo said, tapping his chin in thought. “Oh, I’ve got one. What’s the coolest thing on the internet? It’s been years since my dad was on Earth, so I bet it’s changed a lot.”

It looked like Yeo had completely forgotten his annoyance with Bella and had returned to the over-chipper attitude that Chance was starting to fear was his normal form.

“That’s kind of subjective I think,” Chance said. “It’s been a while since I used the internet, but I think video games are probably up there. I was a big fan of the ones where you could play with a bunch of people and pretend to be a wizard or a warrior.”

“Oh, an MMO? My dad loved those!”

Chance stared at Yeo. The boy looked like had been pulled straight out of an MMO. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to people in what was essentially a magical world talking about things from Earth like they were just common knowledge. It just wasn’t right.