Re:Birth, Misfit's Metamorphosis (HIATUS)

Chapter 1.

I didn't know how it had happened, nor why it had happened. Without warning, my surroundings had become alien to me.

It all started when I decided to take my daily afternoon stroll around the neighborhood. As I stepped out onto the sidewalk, I couldn't help but shake off the strange feeling that something wasn't quite right.

As I went along, my suspicions became more and more obvious. The familiar road where the cars passed had changed, and the tall imposing buildings, a signature of the 21st century, had also become unrecognizable. Even the people were different, their clothes looking old, things that people of our time wouldn't wear, unless it was for some kind of cosplay.

But above all, some of the pedestrians didn't even look quite human, as they displayed physical characteristics comparable to those of animals. It was at this point that I had to stop moving my legs and rub my eyes to double check.

However, no matter how many times I looked, nothing changed. My eyes quickly scanned my surroundings and it didn't take me long to realize that, from what common sense indicated, I was no longer on my home world.

"This is madness..."
I muttered under my breath, a bead of sweat running down my cheek.

I felt at a loss, what was I supposed to do in this situation ? It's not like I had some kind of survival guide for getting summoned in other worlds. And, despite "Isekai" being one of the most popular genra in anime recently, I doubted that anything I've watched from it would actually come in handy now.

I wasn't all that smart either. Although I wouldn't consider myself dumb by any means, I wasn't some sort of rare genius that could use earth's knowledge to create inventions or manipulate people.

I wasn't some sort of secretly overpowered type of character, nor did I have any martial art knowledge to make quick work of bad guys. In fact, I had never gotten in a fight in my entire life. Confrontation was foreign to me, fights were confined to the silver screen, and my most daunting adversaries were textbooks and the hum of mosquitoes on muggy summer nights.

... So why did it have to be me of all people ?

I stood in a daze, many thoughts were circling around my mind, trying to come up with a solution to my predicament. However, those thoughts were soon put on hold as I couldn't help but notice that I was getting stares from the people surrounding me.

Had I done something wrong ? Unease swept over me like a shiver down the spine. I tried to think of what I could have done to earn those stares, but soon came to the conclusion that my current outfit made me stand out from the rest of the people. Clad in a dark hoodie made in the modern times, I stood out like a raven in a field of doves. Feeling awkward, I laughed nervously while scratching the back of my head. I picked up the pace and skedaddled out of of the public's sight.

----

I sat in a dark alley, sighing in exhaustion.

"I shouldn't have gone out today..."

I raised my eyes to the sky, looking up at the clouds and enjoying the scenery. The clouds were nothing special, no different from those on earth. But the ancient architecture, the pollution-free air and the clear skies made me feel like I was sightseeing, admittedly not on purpose, but it was a comforting thought.

As I was getting lost in taking in the surroundings, out of the blue, a large digital screen popped up out of thin air. Startled, I ended up flopping on my back, but since I was already sitting down, no harm done. I quickly got back on my feet, brushed off my clothes, and then turned my attention to the screen right in front of me. I couldn't help but be curious about what it had to show.