You know those stories where people wake up in magical worlds with cheat codes and hidden powers? Yeah, this isn't one of them.
I woke up in a damp, abandoned building, the ceiling half-collapsed and the walls covered in moss and graffiti. The air was thick with dust, the silence so loud it pressed against my ears.
My head throbbed. My body felt heavy, my palms scraped. I sat up slowly, heart pounding as confusion set in.
"Where… Where am I?"
The last thing I remembered was crossing the street back home. A blaring horn, the screech of tires, and then… nothing.
I looked down at my hands. They were still mine. My jeans, my shoes, even my watch—all the same. No weird new body. No strange clothing.
Okay, maybe I just got knocked out and dragged somewhere shady. I'm not the star of some fantasy isekai, right? This is probably just a kidnapping. I'll wait for the ransom call and start negotiating. I watched enough crime dramas to bluff my way through this.
Probably.
Right, Ava, let's not panic. Let's just find someone. Someone will explain this. Surely.
I pushed myself up and carefully stepped outside. The city was strange—modern but decaying.
Towers leaned dangerously, vines crawled up steel structures, and roads were cracked and overrun by weeds.
Okay, so maybe the ransom scenario was a little shaky. Why kidnap me to a ghost town?
I walked further down the street. Empty. Quiet. The air tasted metallic, like something had burned here long ago.
Seriously, where are the people?
My heartbeat quickened.
Something wasn't right. No sounds of cars. No phones ringing. No footsteps.
Was I in an abandoned district? A restricted zone? Or did I get dumped into some experimental VR city?
My spiral of increasingly stupid theories was interrupted by a low, metallic clink behind me.
I turned.
A monstrous figure, dragging rusted chains, emerged from a shadowy alley. Its body was grotesque, stitched together from metal and bone. Its face was a hollow cage, padlocks dangling where eyes should be.
It stared directly at me.
Oh. Oh no.
Okay, Ava. Calm down. You've seen monster movies. You know the drill. Stay still, don't make sudden movements, and—
The monster roared and charged.
"OH, FOR THE LOVE OF—!"
I bolted.
"AAA.. SOMEONE.. HEEEELP!!"
I didn't know where I was going, but I ran. My only life skill at this point was panicking in a zigzag.
"Oh my gosh… SYSTEM!.. LOADING!.. GRANDPA!… Oh no no no.. where is the panel?"
WHERE ARE THE NPCS? WHERE IS THE TUTORIAL? WHERE IS MY PLOT ARMOR?
"WHERE IS EVERYONE??"
Every crash of the monster's chains behind me shoved me further into panic. I darted around corners, dove under fallen beams, scrambled over debris.
But no matter how fast I ran, it followed.
"AAA.. oh my gosh.. oh my gosh.."
Okay, let's recap, Ava. You woke up in a ghost town. A monster that looks like someone lost a bet with a scrapyard is now personally hunting you like you owe it rent. You have no map, no weapon, no mentor figure, and definitely no system. This is the worst isekai package ever. Zero out of five stars.
I tripped over a loose brick and nearly kissed the pavement.
Oh, great. This is how I die. Crushed by chains. Smashed by some rejected boss monster. Fantastic. Not even a cool death. Just a budget horror sequence.
I picked myself up, gasping.
Maybe this is a fever dream. Maybe I got hit by a truck and I'm actually in a coma somewhere. Maybe this is my subconscious working out my childhood fear of chain-linked fences. Someone please wake me up now.
I ducked into another alley, heart slamming in my chest. I should have stayed home. I should have ordered pizza. I could be binge-watching trashy dramas right now instead of playing the world's worst survival game!
But the monster kept coming, relentlessly.
What did I do to deserve this? I'm just a background character! A side NPC! I'm not built for this protagonist lifestyle!
"I AM NOT EQUIPPED FOR THIS!"
It lunged.
But a blur of motion intercepted it. A woman in black gear, dual knives flashing, slammed into the creature.
"Stay down!"
"Oh, don't worry, I plan to embed myself into the ground," I shrieked, scrambling backward.
The woman fought desperately, not with the elegance of some overpowered protagonist, but like someone who had seen too many things go wrong. She wasn't flawless. She was just faster than the monster.
She finally drove her blade deep into its chest. The creature dissolved into black mist, its rusted chains clattering to the ground.
The hunter turned to me, scowling. "What the hell are you doing here? Where's your ledger?"
"Ledger?"
"Don't play dumb. Show me your record. Your price."
Record? Price? I stared blankly.
"Is that, like, a driver's license? Because I definitely left mine at home."
Her eyes narrowed. "Are you serious? No hunter walks without a ledger. And vivilians can't step into Grave's zones. This whole district is locked."
"Okay, see, I think I've been misfiled somewhere because I'm not a hunter and I have no idea what a Grave even is."
She immediately grabbed her communicator. "Captain, I have a suspicious civilian woman here."
The captain over there : "What are you talking about? No civilian can cross Grave's zone."
"I know. That's why—suspicious."
"Get her out of there!" bark the captain.
"Hey, the suspicious person is right here!" I tried to argue, but suddenly my legs gave out.
Shock and exhaustion slammed into me all at once.
Oh, wait. I've seen this trope. I'm about to pass out, right? Just when someone might start explaining the plot, the body says:
Nope, we're done here.
Typical.
Can I at least pass out gracefully? No? Okay, guess I'm faceplanting now. Very elegant. The universe is watching and still chooses violence.
The woman's voice faded as I toppled sideways.
Oh no. I'm the clueless protagonist now. Fantastic. Can someone at least send me a starter pack when I wake up? Pretty please? No? Great. Love this for me.