I woke up with a head that felt like it had been stomped by a herd of buffalo.
"Ughhh..."
My eyes slowly opened, and the first thing I saw was... a wooden ceiling.
Hard bed.
Weird smell.
Weird clothes.
And then—
"OH HELL NO, THIS ISN'T A DREAM!!"
I instantly sat up—zombie-rising-from-the-grave style.
My breathing sped up. My eyes bulged.
"THIS IS REAL? SERIOUSLY?!"
Suddenly, the wooden door creaked open, and in walked a young woman wearing an apron and some kind of witchy nurse outfit.
She carried a tray full of tiny bottles and—oh no—a sweet, sincere smile.
"Good morning. Are you feeling alright? You looked really exhausted... Oh, and this box... is it yours?"
She pointed to a black suitcase sitting in the corner.
That suitcase... MY SUITCASE??!?
I stared at it like it was a long-lost best friend.
"Y-yeah, that's mine! That's my suitcase!" I blurted out without thinking.
"Alright then. Here are your vitamins. Try to rest, I'll check on you later this afternoon,"she said with a kind smile.
Then she left.
As soon as the door shut...
I grabbed my head.
"WHAT EVEN IS THIS?!?!"
I swear this feels like a prank from the universe itself.
I just fell asleep on a plane. JUST SLEPT.
No turbulence. No explosions. No falling meteors. And when I woke up... TADAA~ alternate universe!
I've read isekai manga, watched isekai anime, played isekai games—
And they always start with a truck, a sacrifice ritual, or some embarrassingly stupid death.
BUT THIS??
JUST SLEEPING?!?!
"Okay, okay, calm down, Aria..."
Usually in games or anime, you can open a status screen, right?
I gave it a shot, with hope in my heart.
"STATUS OPEN!"
...
"PROFILE!"
...
"MENU! INVENTORY! SYSTEM COMMAND!"
...
"ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?! NOTHING'S POPPING UP?!?"
I wanted to throw a pillow, but I was afraid the nurse would walk in and label me "mentally unstable."
"Okay. So basically, from corporate slave, I've been promoted to... royal slave?"
Fantastic. Job upgrade: from 9 to 5 → till I die.
The next morning, the nurse came back with warm water and something that looked suspiciously like Minecraft porridge.
"Are you feeling any better?" she asked while checking my temperature.
I nodded weakly.
But curiosity was bubbling inside me, so I asked, "Umm... by the way, in this world... is there like, you know, skills? Or magic or something?"
She tilted her head. "Skills? What are 'skills'? I've never heard of that... But magic? Of course. Doesn't everyone know a little magic?"
I froze.
Magic... IS REAL?!
My brain was still buffering.
Lucid dream? Nope.
Simulation? No way.
VR? Way too high-res.
Dream? THERE'S NO DREAM THAT LEAVES YOU THIS SORE!
The nurse stood up and quietly shut the door.
"I'll come back this afternoon. Please rest."
And there I was.
Sitting.
Alone.
In a foreign world.
With a suitcase...
And a future that made zero sense.
One thing I knew for sure—
I needed a cup of coffee.
Evening arrived, and as usual, the door was gently knocked.
That nurse came again, still with her calm smile—completely opposite of the storm raging inside my heart.
"How are you feeling now? You'll be able to start activities tomorrow morning," she said while jotting something down on a thick piece of paper that definitely didn't look like a medical record—more like a night market shopping list.
I froze.
"WHAT?? TOMORROW MORNING?? ACTIVITIES??"
My brain immediately replayed yesterday's scenes: Getting dragged into a line.
Yelled at.
Insulted.
Chased.
Ran until I passed out like an NPC in a survival game.
AND NOW I HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN?.
But yeah… all I could do was surrender.
"…Alright, thank you, Nurse."
Before leaving, the nurse guided me to a room that she said would be my place to stay.
She pointed at an old wooden door with a rusty handle and gently said,
"I think… this is your room."
Just seeing the door, I already knew...My instincts as an office worker who often picks bad rentals kicked in immediately.
Yep.
Wobbly door = hard mattress.
Hard mattress = cracked bones.
Cracked bones = medical leave.
But here? No health insurance.
I looked at the nurse with a half-forced smile."Thanks for taking care of me," I said softly.
Then I stepped into the room.And of course—
Hard bed.
Cold walls.
Creaky wooden floor that went "creeek" every time I stepped.
Truly, the comforts of the medieval era.
I put my suitcase in the corner and opened it. The only thing still making me feel like a modern human.
Inside: – A travel guide titled "Cheap Vacation Around Japan"– Some casual clothes– Complete toiletries– Mini perfume– A power bank that was now completely useless
I dug deeper, panicked. "Where's my wallet? Where's my phone??"
Not there.
NOT THERE.
"Maybe… still in the horse stable?"
I'll have to go back there tomorrow. Who knows, maybe it's still stuck in the hay.
I changed into a touristy shirt that said "I ❤️ Tokyo", then flopped onto the bed as hard as concrete.
"Another world, huh…"I said to myself.
This world might have magic…But no WiFi, no Starbucks, and definitely no national holidays.
I closed my eyes. One thought crossed my mind before falling asleep:
"Next time, don't fall asleep on a plane."