Welcome to the New World (Where There is No Status Screen)

“Sorry, I’ll take two.”

For the first time in a long while, I left my house.

I was inside a small convenience store. I’d decided to buy just a single bag of potato chips.

It was the middle of the night. The place was empty—except for me and the cashier.

I’d encountered exactly zero people on the way here. Perfect. That’s why I came at night.

The cashier turned around with a gentle smile, reaching for what I’d asked for.

I couldn’t even bring myself to meet her eyes—that alone felt like an impossible challenge.

It shouldn’t be this hard. Just grab two bags of chips and leave.

Then why is my breathing so heavy?

I finished school two years ago. That hell.

Even though I had good grades and was never actually bullied, it was a place I found dull and unbearable to step into.

I didn’t even try to go to college afterward. I just locked myself in my room, doing nothing but playing games and watching anime all day, burning through money my parents barely had.

Before I realized it, two years had already passed.

What happened? And what am I supposed to do now?

Am I really going to live happily locked inside my room for the next thirty years?

Yeah. Maybe.

“That’ll be 300 yen, please.”

Ah—please don’t tell me I forgot the little money my parents gave me—

Oh. It’s in my pocket.

“Here.”

I handed her the money.

“Thank you very much. Please come again.”

Please come again… Yeah, sure…

Maybe I could come here more often.

I could buy other kinds of chips too. They’re good.

No one would see me leaving the house, no one would see what I buy—

…Then again, I don’t think anyone actually cares.

Who cares? What does it matter if someone sees me—

“Excuse me.”

Just as I was about to step through the automatic doors, the cashier spoke to me.

To me, right?

I mean, there’s no one else in the store.

No way—she thinks I’m cute!?

She’s going to ask for my number!?

Shit, what is my number again!? I didn’t memorize it!

Imagine losing a girlfriend just because you forgot your own phone number—!

“Do you, by any chance, have trouble socializing?”

…She—

“DON’T PLAY WITH ME!!”

“No, no.” Her calm smile never faded.

“It’s a government program designed to help people in that situation.”

A program for people like that?

Hikikomori…?

She pointed at a newspaper displayed nearby.

“Here. It’s very relaxed. You meet people with similar difficulties, talk freely—kind of like group therapy.”

Wow… I’d never heard of something like that before.

It almost feels like a chance handed to me by God himself.

I’m not even religious, but this is way too perfect to be a coincidence!

It’s perfect. Exactly what I need.

I just have to say yes—

“Ah, no need. I’m fine.”

And I walked out of the store.

I get it now…

The reason I’m like this is because I never try to change.

It’s entirely my fault.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※

“FAH!”

A-Augh… did I wake up?

The sky is blue. No more endless darkness.

Am I really alive? That’s so strange.

I can breathe and—

“Looks like you were right after all.”

“T-Theo-san!”

He was standing in front of me. Upright.

His blue eyes blending into the scenery behind him.

“Well… more or less.”

I-It’s really him!

It feels like we haven’t seen each other in ages, even though we literally just met.

Wait—first things first, I should get up…

I pushed myself up using my hands on the ground.

I’m already used to doing that—from constantly getting out of bed to grab food from the kitchen.

W-Wait. Now that I think about it…

He said “Looks like you were right”?

T-This place—

I really did go to another world.

I’m not on Earth!

I—

“I GOT ISEKAI’D!!!”

“You have a very strange definition of 'good news'."

I’ve never been this happy in my life!

Death really wasn’t the end—it was just a new beginning!

Maybe tripping and smashing my head on the corner of a table wasn’t meaningless after all!

“Why are you so excited about that?”

“Are you crazy!? I really got sent to another world! My lifelong dream came true!!”

I can’t even begin to contain my excitement!

“Okay… I think I’m dreaming and I’ll wake up any second now.”

“If this is a dream, please don’t wake me up!!”

He pinched his nose shut and tried to breathe.

Nothing happened.

“Yeah… this definitely isn’t a dream.”

Right—I’ve read about that.

It’s a reality check technique: block your nose and try to inhale.

If you can breathe, you’re dreaming.

I need to try it too!

…

NOT A DREAM!

“YAHOO!!! LONG LIVE REALITY!!”

It’s finally happening! My adventure has begun!

I’ll learn all kinds of magic! Defeat the Demon King! Become a king myself! Build a harem—

“But… I don’t think this is what you were expecting.”

I… I hadn’t even stopped to look around.

The sun scorched an empty land, yellow earth stretching endlessly to the horizon.

Dry bushes swayed under a weak wind, and the sand carried ancient marks nearly erased by time.

The silence was absolute—as if this land had been forgotten by the world.

Gentle rises of yellow terrain lay ahead like hills—beautiful, yet dry, lifeless, and utterly abandoned.

“Wait—this is a desert!?”

“Looks like it, yeah. Why do you seem so surprised?”

“No, this—this has to be wrong. It wasn’t supposed to start like this!”

“What the hell are you talking about!? Who even said this is another world? We could’ve just been teleported to the middle of the Sahara.”

“Where’s the medieval city!? Where’s the Elf Princess with questionable armor physics!?l waiting for me!?

Where’s the kingdom I’m supposed to rule—”

“What the hell are you talking about!?”

A-Ah… I said that out loud by accident.

So embarrassing.

Forget it. I need to figure out what to do!

After all, I said I’d be his guide.

I placed a hand under my chin.

Hmmmm… what’s the first thing to do?

What’s the very first—

“Ah, I know!!!”

Hehe. I’ve never felt this confident in my life.

“Open status!”

…

A gentle breeze blew a tumbleweed past us.

…

“Uh… Open status!!!”

…

Absolute silence.

…

Nothing happened.

“What the heck are you doing? Do you think this is a video game or something?”

“Y-You know about that!? Yeah! That’s exactly it! We’re in an RPG‑like world!”

“Well… it doesn’t look like it.”

Yeah… no game starts in the middle of a desert.

I feel really disappointed.

“Open status…”

…

Yeah. There’s no status screen.

“Well… I’m completely lost.”

“Hey! You said you’d be my guide!”

“But I have no idea what to do in a desert!

If we ever reach a place I’m familiar with, I’ll be super useful!”**

After yelling for a bit, I collapsed onto the ground, utterly defeated.

Damn it…

Even after achieving my dream, I don’t know what to do.

What now?

It’s impossible to expect anything from him in this situation.

Theo-san…

He hasn’t panicked, but it’s obvious he’s not even remotely happy to be here.

I get it. I must be one of the few people who’s actually excited to explore an unknown world.

He probably wants to… go home.

I don’t have the courage to ask—but I’m sure that’s what he’d say.

For some reason, I feel bad…

Not just because of this infernal heat—I’m already sweating—but because of him.

Being dragged into an unfamiliar place against your will can’t be easy.

“Jojiro.” He called out.

“Y-Yes!?”

“Do people in Japan know rock, paper, scissors?”

“You mean jankenpon? Of course. It’s really common.”

“Then pick a direction. I’ll pick another. We’ll follow the winner’s choice.”

“Hey, wait! Wouldn’t it be easier if you just chose? I’d go wherever you say.”

“If my path leads nowhere and we die of thirst, you’ll blame me—and worse, I’ll blame myself.

But if it’s luck, no one can blame anyone.”

That… makes sense.

It’s kind of silly, but maybe it’s a good way to decide.

It also says a lot about him.

“Alright… works for me. What do you choose?”

“Forward. North. And you?”

“I’ll… go with south, then.”

“Alright. Let’s do it.”

We stepped closer and raised our hands.

“Jan.”

“Ken.”

“Pon!”

Rock and rock. A tie.

“Hm. Okay. Again,” he said.

“Jan.”

“Ken.”

“Pon!”

Paper and paper. Another tie.

“Alright… until someone wins.”

Ten minutes passed.

“J-Jan…”

“K-Ken…”

“Pon…”

Scissors and scissors.

Another tie…

“O-Oh, come on… you’re cheating,” he muttered.

“How can I cheat in a game of pure luck!?”

Our bodies were melting under the brutal heat.

Instead of looking for help, we spent all our time playing jankenpon!

“Alright… o-one more time…” he said, closing his eyes.

“Jan…”

“K-Ken…”

“P-Pon!”

…Scissors and rock. I won!

“Agh, finally!” I cheered.

“A-Ah, okay… south it is then. Let’s go.”

We both stood up and began walking.

The risk of dying from dehydration was very real.

Although…

“Hey, Theo-san.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“I think it’s kind of impossible to die here.”

“What do you mean? Am I immortal without knowing it?”

“N-No… do you remember that yellow thing that sent us here?”

“Oh—right. I almost forgot.”

“Well, Theo-san… why would it send us to another world just to let us die right away?”

“…That makes sense. Something like fate?”

“Yeah. I think so.”

I’ve never really thought about whether I believe in fate.

But right now—I do.

“But Jojiro, do you remember what she said?

‘You are not special.’

Does that mean we can die? That we don’t have a special destiny?”

“Sorry… you’re asking questions that are way too complicated.”

And after walking for so long we nearly died of thirst, we finally found a pile of wood assembled there in the distance.