"I just want to go somewhere else... I hate this quiet, meaningless life."

  Hands in his pockets, Genki walked through the dull neighborhood where his workplace was located.

  Snow drifted lazily from the sky, melting on contact with the sidewalk. The intersection ahead was quiet, ordinary. A stop sign leaned slightly to one side, rust biting into its edges. Across the street, a convenience store buzzed beneath a flickering light. Just beyond that, a chain coffee shop stayed open for tired students and overworked night shift workers.

  He turned left, heading down one of the city’s narrower streets. The air was still.

  Out here, Genki was just another average guy brown hair, black eyes, nothing remarkable at a glance.

  But beneath his worn blue tracksuit, he carried something he still allowed himself to take pride in: his body. Years of forced training had left him with solid, functional strength. Not eye-catching, but real. Something that hadn’t faded yet.

  He had lived all of his 18 years in this city. Not by choice. Finances, obligations he couldn’t afford to leave. His shoes, once white, were now worn and gray from time and use. Just like him.

  "Alright... time to head back to my humble, pathetic apartment I call home,"

  he muttered with dry sarcasm, exhaling a tired sigh. He wasn’t in the mood to bump into his parents. Lately, he preferred the silence.

  He walked a little farther down the street, but something felt off.

  The air was it getting warmer? Just a few minutes ago, it had been snowing.

  He blinked and looked around. A rusted car sat by the curb, was that there before? A building to his left had shattered windows, jagged glass like teeth in its frame.

  "When did everything start looking like crap? It's like I wandered into some low-budget RPG..."

  he mumbled, watching his surroundings degrade.

  He looked down.

  The snow was gone. The sidewalk beneath his feet was cracked, gray, and crumbling. The buzzing of nearby streetlights grew louder, sharper—no longer mechanical, but almost hostile. He turned around, expecting the familiar street behind him.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  But it was gone.

  In its place stood a warped, rust-colored building with flickering neon signs. A few people stumbled out from its upper floor. One sign still blinked: OPEN. Below it, faded but still legible: The Amaris Bar.

  He scanned the surroundings. This wasn't just a street anymore—it was a different city altogether.

  Some of the buildings were barely standing. Steel beams jutted out of collapsed walls. In the distance, an old fishing port rotted by the coastline, once part of a thriving economy. Now it was abandoned, skeletal. The people walking nearby were armed—carrying strange, otherworldly weapons that looked far too advanced for anything on Earth.

  Genki stood frozen and confused, unsure.

  He didn’t have time to process anything.

  A rough shove from behind sent him tumbling into the dirt no, not dirt. Mud. Thick, stinking, gritty. The impact jolted him back to reality.

  “Get outta the way, kid. This ain’t a damn playground,”

  a gravelly voice barked behind him.

  “And what the hell are you wearin’? You tryin’ to be cute or somethin’?”

  Genki looked up.

  An older man glared down at him with a crooked smile. His long silver hair hung loosely over a battered, multi-pocketed jacket. His left eye was hidden behind a black eyepatch, while his exposed right eye bright red and sharp watched him like a hawk. A bulky holster hung from his waist, holding a jagged metallic weapon Genki couldn’t recognize. It hummed faintly, alive with some sort of energy. Maybe some sort of blaster? Genki is unsure..

  “Are ya deaf? I said move it.”

  Snapped out of his daze, Genki shook his head and forced a nervous smile, glancing at the weapon.

  “Ah! sorry, mister. I was just... wondering about something. I swear.”

  He stepped aside quickly, giving the man space to pass.

  “Good choice.”

  The man gave a dry chuckle. “Name’s Owen. I run the only bank in this dump. But based on how you look, I’m guessin’ you can’t count past ten.”

  He turned with a smirk. “Still, feel free to stop by.”

  And just like that, Owen walked off, boots squelching in the wet ground, leaving Genki alone and speechless.

  Genki exhaled slowly, then muttered under his breath.

  “So... I’ve been transported to another world. And fate decided to drop me in a half-collapsed city crawling with psychos and swamp-mud? How is this any better than what I had before?”

  He clenched his fists, biting back the urge to scream.

  “And who does that guy think he is anyway? I was expecting at least something decent to welcome me! Maybe a cute guide, or hell, even a friendly flying animal! Yeah no that's stupid... but seriously! But no... I have this.”

  He trailed off and slumped down onto a nearby bench, coated in dirt and rust.

  “I’m stuck in a post-apocalyptic hellhole... fantastic.”

  He looked down.

  His blue tracksuit already worn and faded was now soaked in mud. His once-white shoes were nearly brown.

  "Great start."