Luna, aka the moon, mainly had two kinds of domed bases. The bigger ones were called mooncities, and the smaller ones were called moontowns. They were connected to each other mostly by surface tubes, with a few exceptions of modified underground Lava tubes. The surface tubes were mostly used for public transportation, while the Lava tubes were mainly used for moving cargo from one moon-base to another.

Rail-lines, public shuttles, and private cars all used these constructs. There were even sidewalks installed for people who preferred walking to driving.

There was no tube directly connecting the small town of Whitewood to the Lunar Capital. The train Arthur took had to first travel to a secondary mooncity called Phoebe. From there, it was three more moontowns, and then finally Whitewood.

Trains on the moon looked identical to their counterparts on Earth. Riding them also felt similar. But the technology used was vastly different. Thankfully, that didn't seem to affect the fare prices.

Arthur put most of his luggage in the provided compartment after boarding the train. Keeping only the bag containing his techs and snacks with him, he opted for the window seat. His ticket was actually for the corridor position, but the passenger for his preferred spot hadn't arrived yet. Brushing aside the issue, he took the chance to observe the scenery of the lunar expanse outside.

Before purchasing the train ticket that day, Arthur had decided to go independent. He'd been planning on opening a motel or an inn. He had the space, he had the qualifications… All he needed were the guests.

Then suddenly out of nowhere came the invitation from TCS Observatory, also known as Tecsov by Netizen. This gave him more options.

Arthur would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted by the job offer. He was actually tempted a lot. But he was afraid of getting fired from this job as well. He just didn't want to give one more win to his bad luck.

'Well, the interview's two days later. And it won't hurt to give it a shot. I can just quit if I don't like it.'

Arthur came to a conclusion pretty fast. A job at TCS Observatory had its merits. For one, his workplace would only be a 10 minute auto-suttle ride away. This was a huge plus, as he wouldn't have to relocate for the job.

When Arthur first landed the job at Armando Group, he'd thought he would permanently settle down on Mars. This did not mean he wanted to sell off the property on Luna. Any real-estate on the moon was a prime asset. If he actually sold it, he would have become a millionaire overnight. The money would have been enough for a family of 4 to live comfortably on Luna till the day both generations grew old and died. And new-era humans had almost twice the lifespan of old-era humans. So that would have been a lot of money.

However... IF he sold, Arthur was confident in his ability to remain single. No extra expenses there. He had no loans or liabilities either. And definitely no career tying him down.

He snorted.

"Attention, passengers: this is your conductor speaking. The train is about to leave the station. I repeat, the train is about to leave the station. Please stand clear of the closing doors."

'Oops!' He caught himself spacing out again. He noticed the passenger for the window seat hadn't arrived. The two seats opposite him were both empty as well. 'Lucky!'

But it seemed he celebrated too soon.

"Attention passengers: this is your conductor speaking. We are sorry to inform you that we have met with an unexpected situation due to technical difficulties. A priest has gotten his robes stuck between the compartment doors because of a sudden sensor failure. We apologize for any delay this may cause," the announcement continued.

'What?' Arthur pressed his face against the window. He tried to see what was happening outside, but then he heard a commotion coming from one end of his train compartment.

He looked over, and saw a priest in a strange getup, surrounded by staff members of the train. The priest himself looked quite young, no older than 25 if he had to guess. The garment in question was one of those baggy European robes. His habit was a mix of bright orange and light brownish gold, which actually complemented his dark hair and raven eyes quite nicely. The colouration reminded Arthur of those shaolin monks he saw in TV dramas.

'Never seen that religion before. Is it a new startup or something?'

A few members of the train staff were apologizing to the young priest. Another member of the train staff was agitatedly speaking into his communicator. The priest himself looked pretty confused. Most of the train staff had joined him in puzzlement. One of them was currently holding a mechanical crowbar, now bent in the wrong direction. The power tool looked like it had seen better days.

Modern vehicles were required to be built to strict 23rd century safety standards. These standards were heavily enforced by all parties. Following that logic, it was almost impossible for someone's clothes to get caught as the train doors were closing. The high-tech sensors should not have made such a basic mistake. But unfortunately for this case, it seemed they did. This could very well lead to a lawsuit.

Several recently passed laws stated that if an anomaly occurred in a public vehicle, it must be immediately announced to the passengers. Even if the announcement could cause a panic, the public had the right to know. This law was highly controversial. It was criticized by experts for many good reasons. But the new government had turned a deaf ear towards all the complaints.

Fortunately for the train administration, the priest didn't look like someone who was three minutes away from calling a lawyer. In Arthur's eyes, he looked helpless, but not angry.

After a while, the priest sighed. Fatigue was visible on his face. He whispered something inaudible and turned to his right, patting the shoulder of the the staff member who was talking into the communicator.

Arthur felt a strange...field? ambiance? aura?...something flow. Watching closely, he saw the staff member's eyes cloud over as a small pulse-like wave radiated through the air.

Then, he noticed it. It wasn't just that staff member, but everyone else too. Arthur nervously glanced around the compartment. All the other passengers had fallen into a trance-like state. He was the only one unaffected!

‘Okay? this is...definitely abnormal?' Arthur started to sweat.

The priest glanced around a bit. Satisfied that he was now unobserved, he simply pried the door open with two fingers. The robe that had been caught was promptly released.

'Holy cow!'

Arthur's eyes involuntarily went wide with shock. But he hastened to compose himself. Genetic-technology had advanced by leaps and bounds in recent years. Arthur knew that in the military, there were superhumans capable of performing similar feats of strength. But the priest definitely looked like a civilian. Genetic upgrades like that were not released to civilians! Not to mention the pulse he'd seen.

The priest checked his robe for a bit. Then with a satisfied smile, he snapped his fingers.

There it was again! The pulse! This time, Arthur saw it clearly.

The priest didn't notice that Arthur was unaffected by his magic. And Arthur didn't want the priest to notice. Whatever brainwave voodoo the priest did, it was safe to assume he wanted to keep it a secret.

So Arthur was happy to oblige.

'Maybe this weird priest can help me with my god-forsaken luck,' mused Arthur for a moment, trying to distract himself with random thoughts. He'd just had his first encounter with the unknown. And forcing his features into a straight face was the best he could do.

'On second, I think I'm good...' Arthur had just witnessed the priest pry open train doors like Superman. Clearing his mind with difficulty, he decided it was not a good idea to tell a stranger capable of lethal violence about his life problems.

With one more careful glance towards the corridor, Arthur looked back outside the window. But his subconscious mind kept wandering back to the weird priest. Arthur had seen enough 21st century movies to know what Voodoo priests did to unwanted eye witnesses.

The now clear-headed staff members looked at the door in confusion. After a few muddled head nods, the staff member holding the communicator confirmed the safety of the priest, then resumed speaking into the comm. He was probably reporting to his boss that the problem was solved.

"Attention passengers: this is your conductor speaking. The situation has been handled. We thank you for your patience. We will be departing shortly." The voice of the conductor rang out from the speaker one last time, and the train began moving with a jolt.

Arthur let his mind wander again. After a few seconds, he concluded that he was simply overreacting.

What he saw was just an illusion. He was so stressed that his mind was playing tricks on him. Yup! That had to be it.

"Greetings."

Oh god, it was the weird priest! Arthur tensed up.

"Yes, can I help you?" he asked, forcing a poker face.

The priest took out his ticket and checked it over. Then showed it to Arthur. "Apologies for disturbing you. But it seems you are sitting in my seat."

"Oh? Oh! Sorry! Sorry, I was spacing out." Arthur sighed in relief as he hurriedly stood up. He carefully shifted to the opposite seat, taking note of the priest's reaction.

"No need to apologize, sir. The scenery outside is quite beautiful, is it not? To be able to enjoy such beautiful vastness... Is it not a wonder that the endless drive of humans could reach and claim the moon? While the strongest of us could only gaze at it from afar for hundreds of years." The priest took his seat, his expression turning into one of wonder.

"Ah, yeah. Hahaha."

The priest was quite chatty. He immediately started into small talk. However, the subject of said small talk was slightly problematic for Arthur.

'Humans? Strongest of us? Are you saying you aren't human? Why are you mentioning clearly classified information like that to me as if it's natural!'

Arthur laughed foolishly, carefully giving some tentative replies.

The priest continued, this time with a serious expression.

"Sir, there is something I must tell you."

'Did he notice after all?!' All those nights of staying up watching conspiracy videos didn't do Arthur any good right then. He tried his best to react naturally. Fortunately, he was able to force a neutral façade.

He slowly responded, "I don't have any money."

The priest was flabbergasted, "Pardon? No, good sir! I don't desire your fortune undeserved."

"You don't want donations?" Arthur asked.

The priest looked visibly torn at the question. There were a few long seconds of what looked like an internal struggle. The priest muttered, 'Mind over money, mind over money!' a few times, and finally calmed down.

"Money is transient. But one's spirit, it is eternal. Sir, I fear that you have been possessed by an ill-mannered entity. It has corrupted your spirit for its own evil gains. It must be vanquished immediately, lest it causes irreversible harm." The expression on the priest's face could not have been more sincere.

This made Arthur too embarrassed to directly ask if the guy was trying to scam him.

"I-I see. Then, can you, like, exorcise it?" He opted for a different question. Maybe this weird priest could actually get rid of Arthur's bad luck with his superior voodoo therapy.

'Spirits and ghosts can cause bad luck, right? Or is this just a scam after all?' he thought.

But his minor hopes were soon dashed.

The priest replied with a sigh, "Unfortunately, you have no money."

There were a few seconds of awkward silence. Arthur's signature blank face returned.

Maybe the priest thought Arthur was so disappointed he could not utter a single word. With a friendly smile, he handed him a business card. "But do not worry, sir. If you ever get the money, please contact this number. We, the Monks of the Seal, will be happy to drive away the evil ghost that has possessed you."

"D-Didn't you say you didn't want money?" Arthur asked, slightly perplexed.

"Ah, good sir, I said I didn't want your money undeserved. But I would like a small donation for my expertise." The priest replied, with a slight bow of his head.

Arthur thought for a minute, then finally responded with a nod. "Actually, that makes sense."