Opening his eyes, he found himself pleasantly covered.
Though thin, a blanket was a blanket. Although the mattress could perhaps use some work, considering it was awfully rough and hard…
Wait. I'm on the floor.
Rowan unceremoniously sat up, a blank expression on his face. He wiped his tired eyes, looking around and seeing a well-decorated room, filled with posters-a-plenty and a bed… which he wasn't on.
"Hm."
He got to his feet, looking on the bed. No one there.
Wait, wha? It just occurred to me—where the heck am I?
Knock knock knock!
He turned around, raising an eyebrow as he folded the blanket before placing it on the empty bed. The idea that he'd roll off of it in his sleep was one he didn't believe in. Although, this wasn't even his room, so—
Whatever.
"Uh, come in, I guess? Wait…"
Last he remembered, he was mostly naked. And so, he looked down, finding himself in a change of clothes. Nothing particularly fancy, just a dark gray longsleeve and jeans.
The door opened, revealing a tall young man with a cheery smile. "Apologies for the intrusion! Well, actually, I guess since it's my guest room, I don't need to say that stuff… Ah, who cares? Sup?"
Rowan scratched his head, like he was some kind of animal. Perhaps his scalp didn't take too kindly to being put in an acidic environment.
"...Who're… Oh wait, you're the guy… uh, from Pleiades?"
Rowan swallowed his saliva, keeping his hands in his pockets. The man before him was distinctly handsome, with well-textured blue hair and similar azure eyes.
Wait, I forgot, I'm not gay. Though, he is pretty hot, so it's only natural to find him interesting.
"Right on! Yes, I'm Sunny, nice to meet you! You're Rowan, right?"
"Yeah. If I remember correctly… That girl, that one girl, she knew my name. Is that her Ability?"
Sunny nodded his head, clapping his hands together in celebration. "Right on!! Her name is Aubrey—she's such a sweet girl, y'know! Wanna meet her?"
Rowan shrugged his shoulders. Then, all of a sudden, he remembered. Quickly patting his pockets and looking around himself like a confused child, Rowan's forehead went hot with discomfort.
"Crud, sorry to say, not right now. The knife and the gems, what happened to them?!"
Sunny tilted his head. Then, he made a weird "Pfft" noise, rubbing the back of his neck as he likewise turned pink.
"Oh! Uh… Yeah, abouuutt that… One of our guys, Al, his Ability is to turn anything into money. Sorry to say, but he turned your earnings and armor into five-thousand bucks. But we're a group, so it's divided evenly among us seven, so it's fine."
Rowan suddenly went still. He looked at Sunny, a pained expression flashing across his eyes.
"W-what? He just took my earnings, and turned them into money without me asking?"
Sunny crossed his arms, nodding his head. "Yep. Don't worry, I hate him too. I really only work with him because it makes money—trust me, we'd never even meet otherwise."
Rowan clenched his fists, immediately gritting his teeth. "Motherfu… Agh. That knife, it actually… It meant something to me. Yeah, I'll go meet up with them. Thanks for the blanket, Sunny. I'll pay you back."
Rowan walked forward through the doorframe, brushing past Sunny as he looked around. He found himself in quite a nice house. It was actually quite nostalgic, reminding him of the kinds of places he'd go to at his friend's sleepover when he was a kid.
Sunny briskly followed behind, giving words of encouragement and pep-rally-esque rhythmic claps. "Yeah! Rowan, go beat his ass! Show him who's boss!"
And, upon reaching the living room, Rowan found just two people. The lights were on inside the house, yet when he looked out, he found a pitch-black sky.
Oh, right. I passed out… Even if the dungeon was a few hours for me, it really did seem like it wasn't long at all on the outside.
"Which one of you is Al?" Rowan asked, looking at the two. It was simply a man with fluffy brown hair and bandages over his arms, as well as another man, who shared brown hair but was far more plain-looking. Yes, he really did seem like just a normal guy.
"Hm? Oh, Al's asleep," the plain man calmly said. "New guy—Rowan, I mean, welcome, I guess? Want me to introduce you to everyone? Actually, not right now, since they're all sleeping."
"...Who're you?" Rowan asked.
"I'm Michael. Actually, no, nevermind, I probably shouldn't introduce you. I'm not good enough to do it. Have Karma, the actual leader, do it."
Michael's expression went somber. Upon seeing that, Rowan's brain seemed to reset, as he rushed over to the couch.
"No, no, it's fine! Yeah, tomorrow, when everyone's awake, you can just give some light introductions, it's no biggie. 'Kay?"
Rowan smiled at Michael, who looked away with a somber smile. "Well, if you insist. Thanks."
With a thumbs up, Rowan grinned and said: "No problem!"
The third man, the supposed "leader," simply folded his hands as he sat on the other couch. With an ultimately tired voice, he told Rowan to come over.
Rowan got off the couch, approaching the bandaged man with a curious expression. The man simply looked up, his dark eyes meeting Rowan's own.
"Rowan Palmer. I'm sure you remember your agreement to become a member of Pleiades. Do you intend on telling the police or anyone else about us?"
The new recruit gulped. He'd given it some thought before, but had come to the conclusion that he didn't know what he would do.
Well… I didn't fight my way through that dungeon to die in a stranger's house. And if it's to help everyone, then it's what I'll do.
Rowan Palmer nodded his head.
"No. I don't intend on telling anyone."
Karma reached out his hand. Without giving it much thought, Rowan took his hand, shaking it. Suddenly, he received a small boost in strength, feeling more energized than before.
To which, Karma's tired expression shifted into a calm smile.
"Wonderful. Telling the truth gives good karma. Likewise, telling lies gives bad karma. You received your reward."
"A-ah… Ohhh, so that's why your name is Karma! Your parents were pretty lucky, huh?"
"My parents weren't alive to name me. I named myself."
"...Oh. Sorry then."
Rowan burred his lips, turning around and walking away. "U-uh, so Michael, mind at least showing me everyone's rooms…?"
Michael got to his feet, nodding his head.
…
It was a lackluster showcase, really. He just peeked into a few rooms, got a pillow thrown at him by a man named Jeff, and since everyone else was asleep, Rowan just felt like a creepy stalker.
In truth, the members of the Pleiades all had their separate homes. It was just that Karma's house was the biggest, and everyone felt like staying the night in it due to the ease.
Having an unconscious new member also made them excited to meet him, though he ended up sleeping for so long that almost all of them fell asleep.
Though Sunny offered to let him stay the night, Rowan refused, exiting the house with a new pair of clothes, his phone, and over seven-hundred dollars in cash.
As he checked the map on his phone, he found the walk back home was several hours long, which he starkly refused to do. After calling an Uber, he looked up at the sky, seeing a beautiful white moon shining down upon him.
Off the tail-end of summer, the night air was warm and all-encompassing, blanketing him in a pleasant heat whilst he waited.
Soon enough, a black car pulled up to his location. He got into the back, looking at his Uber driver with a plain smile.
"Sup? Sorry for requesting a drive so late. Ugh, it's a whole thing with my car… I actually went Hunting earlier, but some stuff happened, and now I'm gonna have to go pick it up."
"...Mhm."
Not the talkative type, huh? I can work with that.
Rowan smelled himself. Despite having literally sunken in acid and fish guts, he smelled… fresh.
Did they give me a shower? Wait, no! Shit, they might've seen my dingaling… I hope Aubrey didn't see it, that'd be embarrassing. I'm a grower, after all.
His face flushed red as the drive to the forest continued with an untalkative driver.
Upon completing his silent drive home, Rowan thanked his driver profusely and even gave him a tip, feeling generous with his seven-hundred bucks before going back to his car. Using a device which tracked his own individual mana alongside that of his families, the need for keys was removed, as it sensed his mana signature and thus unlocked, letting him in as he drove back home.
He blasted his songs on the way back, bobbing up and down before returning home, getting some well-needed sleep after the tumultuous and, quite literally long day.