Turns out not every Isekai has a Goddess to explain things

"-it!"

Renn sat up while screaming and rolled to the side. It wasn't very successful, however, as he soon hit a hard and cold surface with all his might.

"Arhg! Fuck, my nose!"

His face had been the point of contact just now, and the pain started to spread.

He started screaming, "Are you fucking crazy?! What kind of driving is that?! Can't you read the mood?!" 

No sound came in response, and Renn snapped, pulling himself up and looking angrily towards his back.

"Are you deaf?! I'm talking … to … you…" Renn stopped in his tracks, completely shocked, "The truck… is gone?"

He was not in front of Melissa's house anymore, nor were there any fresh corpses around, much less the truck who had just given him the jumpscare of his life… or death.

As he tried to get his bearings, the pain from his nose started to fade out, and he noticed something, "The bullet wounds don't hurt anymore…"

"Hm? My voice doesn't sound right." He cleared his throat a few times but it didn't change a single bit. 

"Am I hallucinating now too? Geez~" Renn shook his head, and looked around once more, "Where is this…"

The room he was in was decently large, having two beds on opposite corners and a low table on top of a carpet in the middle of the room, littered with books and snacks, suggesting someone was previously studying there. Only one of the beds appeared to be in use, however, since the other one had a few boxes and some random things like books, CDs and a guitar case. On the sheets themselves was a thin layer of dust, though nigh unnoticeable.

'It's pretty big…' Renn observed, lost in thought.

On one of the bedside tables, which was closer to him, was a laptop and a smartphone, and near the foot of each bed was a small desk and a few shelves lined with writing utensils and… more books. Only the one from the other side was properly organized. 

On one of the walls was a 40" TV looking pretty new, with a news program being shown, its sound blending with the atmosphere. 

'This tech… looks kinda old… at least 10 years old by my standards.' He felt confused, since he was used to having better quality stuff.

Embedded in the walls was also a large wardrobe, with a school blazer hanging on one of its door handles. There was also a sliding glass door leading to a balcony between the two beds, but the darkness outside obscured any view.

"I think I was supposed to be dead, but since I'm now wherever this is, and a truck was involved, there's only one possible conclusion… well, a few…" Renn rubbed his eyes with a wry smile, amused at his situation. There was one explanation that made a lot of sense to him at the moment. He pinched his cheek, just to make sure.

After remaining in silence for a few seconds, a grin started spreading through his face, "HAHAHA, I'm not dead! Really not! This is an isekai!" He felt a bubbly feeling spreading through his chest.

"Maybe it's a modern world with superpowers or magic, something I could learn, probably. There are a myriad of possibilities!" Renn was ecstatic, but started to notice something as he stared at the books lying on the table.

"Wait a sec… is this Japan?" The longer he stared at the ideograms, the more he understood, "This is crazy, I never learned how to read these before."

The titles were "Modern English Vol. 2" and "Math", having a mix of english and other symbols he was now able to recognize as japanese kanji. Focusing a little on the program currently running, Renn had the impression the news anchor sounded like an anime character, which was the final nail in the coffin for him.

Renn picked up the outdated smartphone from the bedside table. He felt some nostalgia looking at it, since it looked quite ancient compared to his previous modern Android 13 device.

"Hm?" He saw his reflection in the phone's —a younger appearance with shorter hair framing his face—, quite unlike his usual sleek look with swept-back black hair.

"It's like I've gone back in time! But I didn't look like this seven years ago." Renn took a moment to examine his "new body". 

He was dressed in a white shirt and gray pants, matching the blazer hanging on the wardrobe door. Checking its pockets, he found a wallet with coins and a few documents.

"Ashikawa Ren, 15 years old, born on May 4th. At least the birthday is the same, but the name has one 'n' less..."

There was a small photo of a young man with blue eyes, short brown hair, and pale skin, bearing a slight resemblance to his previous self, but closer to some idol from any random K-pop group. Above the picture was the text "Karakura High School" printed in red font.

"So this is how I look now? Hmm… Ugh-!!" Renn thought it wasn't that much of an improvement compared to his previous self, but even before he could comment, he started feeling pain.

'W-what is i-it now?!' He didn't have time to react as it increased more and more, making every second feel like an eternity. The pain wasn't coming from any specific place on his body, since it actually felt like he was burning alive, but there was something else.

"Argh!" He fell to the ground after his knees gave up, sweating coldly with a distorted expression, 'What t-the fuck is this hellish pain?? It's like my very existence is being corroded with acid…'

Not knowing anything that could help his predicament, Renn just gritted his teeth, trying to endure it as much as possible, for as long as he could.

Unbeknownst to him, at this moment, the brown hair on his head started turning into a shade of deep, blood-like crimson, even increasing in length a bit. His body started changing shape, becoming slightly more taller and muscular, somewhat like his previous self as even his facial features transformed, now bearing a mix between 'Ren' and 'Renn'. The most notable aspect, however, was the change in his eyes.

They were previously a shade of purplish gray, but now had completely changed, turning a greenish blue, aquamarine color, much like the ones he had inherited from his mother in his previous life. Renn's eyes were currently emitting a light glow, seeming like they could peer deep into things most would never notice.

After what felt like an eternity, whatever was going on with his body seemed to subside, not even a lingering sensation prevailing. The memory of what he had just felt was very, very vivid in his mind.

"Hah, hah… T-this… is c-crazy…" He rolled over to his back, still on the ground, chest heaving up and down for a few dozen seconds.

Calming down a little, "Whew," he sat up, noticing the changes in his body as it felt lighter than just now, and there were a few strands of red hair in front of his face that weren't there before, stuck to his skin from the sweat, "Oh god, that's something I wouldn't even want the old man to experience…"

'I t-think something changed inside me just now… as weird as it sounds…' This was what Renn's intuition was leading him to believe.

Taking the phone once more in his hands, he recorded a video of himself, and spent a few seconds analyzing it. After a while, a grin spread on his face.

"I don't know what that was, but no way I'd complain after seeing this! I look better than ever!" Renn smiled smugly, "Hehe, if Anna's dad saw my current appearance, I bet even him wouldn't be able to resist my charm and would ask me to take care of her~"

Remembering them, his excitement fizzled down and he shook his head, letting out a melancholic sigh, "I… hope they're fine."

'Anna, Henry, Lyssa, uncle Ilsen, the kids… mom and dad… how would my death affect them? I bet they'll be sad…' Renn unconsciously grabbed his chest in angst, with fear and regret distorting his face. His friends, family, students… everyone he had was now gone. He was far away from them, in a place he didn't know, with a different body.

Not a single thing remained that could prove he was himself, apart from his memories, which could one day vanish in the sands of time as well.

"Is there a way back? Do I even have a chance, since I died there?" His chest started to heave faster as he took deeper breaths in order to calm down, but the doubts were still present.

Not able to come to a conclusion, Renn gritted his teeth and slapped himself in the face, the pain now serving as a tool to cool down his mind. "Bothering about the past won't help me do anything for now. I entrusted the things I wanted to dad. It's wrong to doubt him just after the fact."

'I don't know if there is a way back, but that doesn't matter for now.' Understanding his current situation was more crucial at the moment.

"Grandpa used to say that 'A great man remains calm in the most trying moments'. Since I have a new chance at life, it's better to focus on living it, at least for now." Renn had found some sort of resolve within himself, feeling the pressure from his doubts diminish.

'Its sad to have lost my collection, but I can always build it once again with some money…' He looked at the guitar on the bed on the opposite side of the room —It was a start.

Pushing away the curtains, Renn dragged open the glass door behind and stepped onto the balcony.

"It looks just like the towns in anime. This must be the upper floor of the house." He could see a few similar houses across the street, surrounded by walls that anyone could climb with some effort.

An orange hue on the horizon indicated the sun would rise in a few minutes, fading the stars from the night sky.

Renn enjoyed the sight for a moment before returning to the room.

"Let's take a better look at who I'm supposed to be." He decided, taking the laptop from his bedside table.

He sat down on the bed and opened it, but soon came to a halt, "Shit, the password!"

Renn started looking for anything that could help, but didn't find the password anywhere. Back to the computer, he was a little disgruntled, trying to get it right by typing random things he felt could work.

"I could really use a kind Goddess explaining things to me right now. Isekais nowadays sure are hardcore." He felt annoyed.

Not having success for sometime, Renn was about to give up, but suddenly his attention was drawn to the input box, and he stared at it silently for a moment, before typing a new combination.

Pressing enter to confirm, he waited with bated breath in anticipation, and it actually worked this time, "Haha! I'm really a genius!" Renn pumped up his fist in joy.

"Still… 'milfenjoyer69'... Heh, this guy has good taste." A smirk formed in Renn's mouth.

Now inside the familiar system interface, though its language settings were in japanese, he could read and understand just fine, even write it, somehow. This made Renn feel more hopeful about his prospects.

"Okay, let's start with this school…" Renn was about to start his search when a loud sound came from his stomach.

Growl~

A wry smile spread on his lips, as Renn looked at the clock near him. It showed the date was April 1st, a Thursday, and it was currently short before five in the morning. The calendar on the wall also had its dates crossed up until today, where it was scribbled "school starts" in red.

"Since I'm pretty hungry and there's still time, let's eat something first. I don't know if someone else lives here as well, which is kind of a problem..."

Deciding to focus on more 'pressing' matters first, Renn walked out from his room, carrying the laptop and phone he just "acquired".

—

Extra Titles: ("Ah, I see you're a man of culture as well…", "Renn almost dies from getting a glow up.", "The best way to learn a new language is through death ~ Renn Walsh").