Jack Reacher was just another face in the crowd. At 26, he blended seamlessly into the corporate grind, clad in a crisp shirt and tie that screamed "ordinary." His days revolved around meetings, emails, and the endless hum of office life in New York. To the world, Jack was an average employee living an unremarkable life.
But behind closed doors, Jack was anything but ordinary.
The moment he stepped into his small apartment, his true self emerged. Walls adorned with posters of iconic anime characters, shelves lined with figurines, and stacks of manga revealed his secret world. Jack Reacher was an otaku, a die-hard fan of Japanese pop culture. His heart raced with every new episode of his favorite anime, My Hero Academia. It wasn't just a show to him—it was an escape, a world he dreamed of living in.
For as long as he could remember, Jack had fantasized about being transported to another world. A world where he could wield incredible powers, fight epic battles, and maybe even become a hero. Anime like Re:Zero, No Game No Life, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime weren't just entertainment—they were inspiration.
He often caught himself staring out of his office window during long, dull meetings, imagining how it might happen. Maybe he'd trip over something and wake up in a fantasy kingdom. Or perhaps a mysterious goddess would summon him for an epic quest. And, of course, there was the classic: getting hit by a truck.
Yes, the infamous Truck-kun. Jack chuckled every time he thought about it. The running joke among anime fans was that trucks seemed to have a magical ability to send people to other worlds. "One day," Jack would mutter to himself, "if I see a truck coming my way, I won't run. I'll embrace it like a true protagonist."
But for now, those dreams were just that—dreams. His reality was painfully mundane.
At work, he was known more for his name than for any of his accomplishments. "Hey, Reacher," his colleague Brian called out one afternoon, grinning from behind his desk. "When's the next Tom Cruise movie about you dropping? Or is it Jack Teacher this time?"
Jack groaned internally. The joke had been running ever since the first Jack Reacher movie came out. "Yeah, yeah," he replied, forcing a smirk. "Tom Cruise called—he said I was too good-looking to star in his movies."
The office erupted in laughter, and Jack returned to his desk with a sigh. He didn't hate his name, but he wished it carried some weight. Not because of a Hollywood action hero, but because of him. Deep down, he wanted to be someone people looked up to. Someone who mattered.
That Tuesday felt like any other. Jack shuffled out of the office at 6:15 PM, the glow of the setting sun bouncing off the towering skyscrapers. His mind wandered as he walked, replaying a heated fan theory discussion he'd had during lunch about what quirks might be possible if All For One merged with Eri's rewind ability.
"Man, that would be crazy," he muttered to himself, hands buried deep in his coat pockets.
The streets were bustling, alive with the usual chaos of city life. Car horns blared, pedestrians weaved through traffic, and neon signs flickered to life as the evening deepened. Jack had walked this route home countless times, his mind often lost in thought or imaginary scenarios where he fought alongside his favorite heroes.
But tonight was different.
As Jack approached the crosswalk near the intersection of 7th and Main, his foot hovered over the edge of the curb. The light turned green, signaling him to cross, but something felt... off.
A chill ran down his spine.
"Wouldn't it be funny," Jack thought, "if today was the day I got isekai'd? Truck-kun, where are you when I need you?"
The thought was half-joking, but part of him felt a strange sense of anticipation. What if it really happened? What if this was his moment?
Before he could dwell on the idea, the deafening roar of an engine shattered his focus. Out of nowhere, a delivery truck barreled down the street, its headlights glaring like twin suns. Jack froze.
In that split second, time seemed to slow. His life didn't flash before his eyes as people often said it would. Instead, a bizarre vision unfolded. The truck itself—yes, the truck—seemed to shimmer, its metallic surface rippling like water.
And then he heard it.
"...No need to thank me."
Jack blinked, confused. Did the truck just... talk?
"What the hell?" he managed to whisper, his feet refusing to move.
The vision grew clearer, as if the truck had taken on a personality of its own. Its headlights pulsed like eyes, and its rumbling engine almost sounded like a chuckle.
"This is just the beginning," the voice echoed in his mind.
Jack's brain struggled to process what was happening. Was this real? Was he hallucinating? Or was this... the moment he'd been waiting for?
"Wait," Jack thought, a flicker of excitement cutting through his fear. "Is this it? Am I actually being isekai'd?"
The thought filled him with equal parts dread and exhilaration. He'd joked about it for years, but now that it was happening—if it was happening—he wasn't sure he was ready.
The next moment hit like a thunderclap. Quite literally.
The impact was instantaneous, and Jack's body was flung through the air like a ragdoll. Pain flared briefly, but then everything faded into a strange, weightless calm. As darkness crept in, Jack's last coherent thought wasn't fear or anger—it was bewilderment.
"Did... Truck-kun really just send me off? What... a legend..."
And just like that, the world went silent.