So… where do I begin?
Listen, I know this story will sound like some weird dream, but I can assure you it's most definitely real. My name is Beckmen Dantes. And I'm currently trapped in another world.
I don't really know how the hell I got here. One minute I'm asleep in my bed, and the next minute I wake up in a room that's not even my own. I exited the room I woke up in, and now here I am telling you about what just happened to me today.
Now you're all caught up.
I'm currently outside, hanging out in an alley that smells like shit, wearing a sheet over my head that I took from the room I woke up in. Hopefully I can find some clothes to wear before I'm spotted by authorities.
So yeah, a pretty shitty day for me.
Not gonna lie, the people of this world look pretty weird too — which confirms I'm in another world. I see animal people, people with long pointy ears, you know, the usual fantasy characters you'd normally see in an isekai series.
So yeah, a totally normal day (truthfully not even close), but better than my old life… kinda.
Most isekais happen when a person dies, right? Usually by truck-kun. The other way is transmigration. Since I still have my body and wasn't reincarnated into this world, that can only mean one thing.
"I WAS SUMMONED TO THIS WORLD!" I unintentionally shouted aloud.
"Haha, finally I can be the hero of a story. I probably got some kind of broken skills. Maybe I have some super OP type of magic. Like being a jack-of-all-trades, or maybe a dark mage, or maybe an appraisal skill." I said, laughing to myself in an insane way.
Not gonna lie, I'm starting to sound like I belong in a loony bin, but you know what? Who even cares at this point. Sure, I might belong there if I was still stuck in my old world. But in this world? I feel like I can do anything.
"Haha!"
"Hey, kid?" a voice said from behind me.
I stopped laughing and began slowly sliding my hand through the air, trying to activate a gaming window to view my skills and attributes. Whatever was behind me — no matter how big or how many thugs there were — I could take these bastards down with one hit.
As I slowly turned around, I clenched my fist and got ready to knock out the person standing behind me with one hit.
"Skill activate: One punch-knockout!" I shouted as I threw my punch.
As soon as I did that… do I really have to keep going? Argh. Fine.
Everything cut to black.
Not gonna lie, I don't even know if what I did actually worked or not. Maybe I didn't even have a skill called One Punch-Knockout. I didn't get a good look at who knocked me out, but it had to be at least fifteen people with broken skills stronger than mine, right?
…That's what I wanted to say.
In reality, I got knocked out by a single individual.
Before I blacked out, one thought played in my mind:
"Huh. I don't think I came here with any special abilities in the slightest."
Argh…?
When I awoke, my head was throbbing in pain, like someone hit me with a bowling ball.
"You're finally up," a voice said.
When I turned, it was a man in his fifties, maybe. He was bald with a grey beard, had menacing eyes, and wore a golden vest as if to say, 'I own the place.'
The place itself looked like a fancy 5-star hotel. The floor had gold and white tiles with a red carpet stretching toward the counter. Red and golden banners hung from the walls. Chandeliers sparkled like diamonds.
Not gonna lie, I could go on and on about this place for hours. Honestly, this place looked more like a palace than a hotel.
Well, the only thing dragging the place down was… the guy staring at me right now.
I was just about to talk about the nice red and golden fluffy couch I was lying on, but of course I couldn't enjoy it because this guy kept eyeing me down like I stole something. I mean, the dude looked like he was on steroids for crying out loud.
He stretched his hand out toward me, and for some reason my body flinched. When I opened my eyes again, he grabbed the blanket from around me and—well, let's just say I wasn't wearing anything but my boxers.
He tossed me a bag.
"Woah!?" I said as the bag almost slipped out of my hand.
Give me a break — not only am I still waking up, but I'm cold, shocked, and confused.
"Hey, brat."
"Yess?" I said, startled.
"How in the hell did you get in here?"
"I don't really know myself."
He sighed. "What's your name?"
"Beck. Beckmen Dantes." I said, feeling wary.
"Well, Mr. 'One Punch-Knockout,' put these on and get the hell out of my hotel."
"Huh?"
Wait… what did he just say?
Was HE the guy who knocked me out earlier?!
So that embarrassing moment will forever be remembered by this old turd.
"…!"
"Damn it!" I shouted, standing up from the comfy couch. "It was you who knocked me out earlier!"
"And it was you who stole from my precious hotel!" he shot back.
"Stole? Look, man, I didn't mean to steal it. I needed something to wear! Otherwise I'd look like a pervert strolling the streets!"
"Maybe that would've been best!"
"What?! How? I'm not trying to get arrested for public indecency!"
"It's better than stealing from my hotel!"
"Seriously, dude?!" I said, storming off.
Probably the worst mistake I made.
Remember how I said this place was a hotel?
Yeah… well, after moving a certain distance, I felt something strange — like walking through jello. Random people started appearing out of nowhere.
And you can imagine how that went.
My body froze as people stared at me in disgust. Some looked away, some laughed and took pictures, others recorded me, and some even covered their children's eyes.
"I was gonna warn you but… well, you started yelling and pointing so, yeah. Probably shouldn't have stepped outside that magic barrier."
"YOU ASSHOLE!" I shouted, running outside the door still holding the bag.
As I ran outside, I then hit something.
Thud!
"Oww!" I said as I fell onto the cold, hard ground.
"Are you okay?" a voice said.
When I opened my eyes, I saw a hand stretched out to help me.
Finally! Something good, I thought — a friendly face!
I grabbed the hand… only to see it was just some dude who looked like he belonged in a crowd of random NPCs.
Not gonna lie, I was expecting a beautiful girl. Isn't that how these isekais are supposed to be, damn it?
He was tall, had wavy brown hair, blue eyes, and wore a purple T-shirt with ripped scorch-like holes in it.
"So, you new around here?" he asked.
"Yup… sadly," I said, feeling utterly dreadful.
"You need a place to change?"
"Please!" I replied instantly.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black sphere. Before I could ask, he smashed it on the ground.
Everything went black.
I don't really know how to describe what happened. I was trapped in total darkness. No light, no sound — not even my breathing could be heard. When I tried to speak, nothing came out. The air was thin.
At this point, I wasn't too sure if he wanted to kill me or help me avoid an indecency charge.
I took the chance to put on the clothes in the bag:
A red T-shirt, black jeans, and black-and-red sneakers.
As I finished, a small hole opened in the void. The guy popped in. If he wanted to kill me, this place definitely could've suffocated me.
"You done?" he asked.
"Yeah," I replied, nodding. "Though I could've changed better if this place had… you know, oxygen." I mumbled.
He snapped his fingers. The void cracked.
Shtzz… shtzz…
Then —
BSSSH!
It shattered like glass, the black pieces blowing away like feathers.
"That was a pretty cool magic trick. How'd you pull that off?"
"Oh, that? I just used a black sphere."
"A black sphere?"
"It's an item used to trap monsters as it slowly kills them by stopping air from coming in or out."
"Well… that seems dark," I said, feeling bad for whatever gets trapped in that thing. "Oh yeah, this world has magic. So how does your power syst— I mean, how does magic work here?"
He stared for a moment, then shrugged and gestured for me to follow.
"It'll be better if I show you. I've got the perfect place to demonstrate before I explain."
Or you could just show me, dick, I thought as we walked through town.
Surprisingly, this place was calm. People sold food, old clothing, and what I assumed were potions in tiny glass bottles. It was weird — most isekais have medieval settings, but this civilization wasn't too far off from my own world.
As we walked, I saw a poster on a pole. Something about it felt off.
The poster read: Elise in Wonderland.
"Oh, are you interested in that old fairy tale?" he asked.
"I mean, a little. Isn't it supposed to be Alice in Wonderland?"
"Alice in what now?"
"You've never heard of Alice in Wonderland?"
"The only book I've heard of that sounds like that is Elise in Wonderland."
Right. New world. Different culture. Got it.
As we walked, I explained Alice in Wonderland.
"Dude, that's literally the plot of Elise in Wonderland."
"I'm sorry… what?"
"Yeah, everything you explained is in Elise in Wonderland."
"Really? Like the rabbit?"
"Yup. Bugs."
"The rabbit hole?"
"Yup."
"The cat?"
"Ah, you mean Garfell."
"I'm sorry, Garfell?"
"Yeah, the cat that helps out a bit. Turns out he loves pasta and hates Fridays."
"Oh come on — how is that not just Garfield with opposite quirks?!"
"Garfield?"
I sighed. "Let me ask you something… uh?"
"Oh right, we never introduced ourselves. My name is Luke Graciel."
"I'm Beckmen Dantes. So anyway — who made that book?"
"No one really knows. He just popped up out of nowhere. Kinda like you. Funny coincidence, huh?"
"Yeah. Very funny."
I mean… that is what happened. I did show up out of the blue. But I'm still hung up on the guy who basically stole Alice in Wonderland. Bugs and Garfield? Come on.
We reached an old run-down shack. Honestly, trying not to be rude, but it looked like it would collapse any second. The wood was drained of color, the door was chipped, the sign was hanging sideways like it'd fall off at any moment.
Luke opened the door and gestured for me to follow. I hoped the inside looked better.
I was… half right.
The inside was lit by a switch Luke flipped. The room was mostly empty:
One wooden chair, an old beige couch, a small coffee table with a broken leg taped back together, and a small golden dagger gleaming in the corner.
Luke grabbed the dagger and pulled out a water pouch. He twisted the cap and began pouring — except the water didn't hit the ground. Instead, it wrapped around the dagger like a swirling mini-twister.
"So," he said, smirking at me, "wanna know how it works?"
Come on, we all know the answer.
"Yes," I said, excited to learn how this world's magic worked.