The first issue arose immediately. I had no mode of transportation. There was nothing to aid my journey outside the house. I had to rely on my own two feet. Although this discouraged me a bit, it wasn't enough to break my spirit. Knowing I'd have to rely on a bit of my own energy, I decided to pack some survival essentials on my back.

*Three of these chocolate granola bars oughta suffice...*

Okay, maybe they weren't essential for survival, but they were bound to boost my energy, so they were good enough.

After truly stepping outside for the first time today, I quickly noticed another problem. The neighborhood was... practically crumbling apart. My house and a few others around it were fine, but after walking a short distance, it was easy to find houses that looked as if they'd been there for a quite a few years unattended. Some of them even had loose s.h.i.+ngles, or were windowless. In addition, there were no signs of people. In a suburban area like this, at this time of day, most families would be in the process of their daily commute. This stark contrast to the neighborhood I knew was unsettling to say the least. It made me realize how much s.p.a.ce people took up.

*Now that I think about it, people aren't the only thing missing...*

As I subconsciously started to observe my surroundings a little more, it wasn't hard to find other things out of place. There were no wild fauna, for one. Not that there would be very much in a densely populated neighborhood, but there were no rabbits, birds, stray cats, or anything of the sort. There was absolutely nothing. Not even crickets chirping broke the silence. With the absence of living beings, even the slightest breeze was deafening, creating odd howling noises as it pa.s.sed through various crevices in the decrepit structures.

In addition, the normally well-kept yards of our neighbors was a little too lush; the yards were becoming overgrown with gra.s.s, and various weeds could be seen sprouting out of the cracks of the driveways. I could even see some moss growing in shadows at the base of the walls.

The only positive thing about the status quo was that the weather was ideal. The sun was out from behind spa.r.s.e clouds, s.h.i.+ning brightly in the crystal blue sky. It was warm enough to make me feel complacent, but not hot enough to make me start sweating.

Regardless, I pressed forward in the direction of the school without a second thought.

*Ah, what am I doing... I don't even like school, but now that this situation has come up, I'm going straight there.*

This strange scenario made less sense the more I thought about it.

There's most likely no authority here, as it seems like there is no one here at all. Why am I still going to school?

Why is there n.o.body in the house? Why does it seem like there hasn't been anyone in the house for a few days?

Why is there n.o.body... in general? Even the local stray cat...

How is it possible for the neighborhood to look like this in such a short amount of time?

How can the world I know be this creepy?

And most importantly...

Why is there no WiFi?

*Wait... world I know? Do I really know this world?*

I pulled out my smartphone and stared at the screen for a few seconds. The date on the phone was the same, too. The third of January, 1970. I also had no service.

After contemplating for a few seconds, I drew another conclusion.

*If this is not a dream, and it's not the world I know, then... there's no way right? Why me?*

Maybe it's those isekai light novels I'd been addicted to recently, but I was starting to think I was in another world. I wasn't for sure, but there was definitely a high likelihood. And if it was true...

*Nothing is going to change. I'm still going to school.*

Education is important. I'm totally not scared of the possibility of being in an entirely unknown new world. I'd imagined myself as the protagonist as an isekai novel, and the conclusion I came to was, "it's like traveling abroad, but with way more culture shock." Depending on how different the new world was from Earth, anyway. It's entirely possible that the new world is an alternate version of Earth. Still, traveling abroad was a personal nightmare. Due to the fact that I didn't have very many friends in school, and my best one was a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t, I didn't have the best social skills.

*Or maybe it's the other way around... because of my social skills, I don't have many friends? No, that can't be right.*

Regardless of what order this happened in, the fact was that I wasn't very good at communicating with strangers, much less with those who didn't even speak the same language. I'd always imagined "another world" as the extreme version of traveling abroad. After all, most of the worlds in these isekai novels really were completely different, with magic systems and stuff. If these worlds were real, the combinations of unknown things would most likely create a wildly unimaginable culture. Resulting in the worst possible culture shock on Earth multiplied by 10.

Those stories where the protagonist gets taken to a world seemingly tailored to his personal benefit always made me cringe. They have no plot, and they're a walking deus ex machina. Yet these stories are still wildly popular. Because they're "relatable" to a certain subset of people. Take a no-name no-life out of their bedroom and place them in a world where they're practically a G.o.d. No wonder these types of things are looked down upon by the society at large. Why would a hardworking citizen enjoy a story about an unemployed becoming a G.o.d?

The problem is, if my hypothesis is true, *I'm* the one being transported to another world. Which brings up a few issues of my current state.

1. I'm unemployed.

2. I lack social skills.

3. I'm lazy.

4. I'm practically a n.o.body.

*Seriously, though. I'm in high school. You expect me to be employed? I guess the universe doesn't care about things like that...*

I'm still technically unemployed... so, once again, if and only if my hypothesis is true, this means that this world is either

a) Crafted around my wants, allowing me to become a G.o.d amongst men.

*Yea, right.*

Or

b) A boot camp to correct my behavior.

*... well since the former is highly unlikely... it has to be the latter, right? Seriously, why me...*

I thought of everything that happened yesterday, trying to think of an answer.

*Come to think of it, yesterday was a pretty strange day in general.*

First of all, I laughed my a.s.s off at a chess game. Something that would never normally happen. I wondered if I was high throughout the course of the day. But that would be impossible.

*I drank water the first thing in the morning for Christ's sake. I'm health conscious! So much so that I'd never get irresponsibility high during the day. Not that getting high is too bad for you...*

I then nearly broke down over yelling at Jeanna. I claimed a "victory" for the first time against her. Another anomaly. Then, I was late for school. Then, I failed a test. Nothing wrong there. But then, I went straight to the club room. On time, nonetheless. And then, chess... and then... and then...

*?*

Had a whole day really pa.s.sed? Was yesterday even "yesterday"? Was my headache this morning literally just a bad hangover?

*Is that why I can't remember anything? What's wrong with my head? Why can't I think properly?*

I must be going crazy. I don't know how or why, but there's no way I was in a new world. That would be literally impossible. I must have gotten really drunk and had a bad hangover. That's the most logical explanation to why I can't think straight.

*Although that still doesn't explain why I can't even remember my best friend's name... or where Jonah and Jeanne are...*

As I was pondering yesterday's events, I recalled the time I spent with Jeanna. I remembered how she would have been scared by a s.h.i.+tty mascot, and how overprotective she was being.

*That's right. She has to know something was up. If there's anything I don't know about, she definitely does.*

With that, I gave myself a goal. In the midst of the chaotic swirl of thoughts I was having, one thing set my mind straight. Find Jeanna.

*That's right. Trying to comprehend the details will only make my head hurt more. I already resolved myself to ignore everything that was going on, right?*

The good thing is, the neighborhood's layout happened to be exactly the same as I knew it, so I didn't have to waste extra brain power trying to create a mental map of the area. Besides the fact that the farther out I walked, the more dilapidated the houses became, of course... Eventually, they started looking like they had been hit with wrecking b.a.l.l.s, hit with a ma.s.sive earthquake, or both. Despite witnessing all this, I continued my trek through the frontier.