As a well seasoned veteran, Jack Parker had long memorized every nook and cranny of Nakamise Street.

Down the road, he took a sharp turn.

This was a shortcut that could take him straight home.

“Huff huff”

While breathing heavily and pulling the wagonized stall, Jack Parker caught sight of something.

He turned his head to the left and saw a little kid in his early teenage years running in parallel with him.

Fudge!

Jack gasped.

This little kid which appeared to be only about twelve was the most good looking brat Jack had ever seen in both lives combined.

He had white hair, bright blue eyes, long eyelashes, and appeared to come out of an anime.

If Jack had to name what anime character this kid most resembled, it would be Goj0 from Jujutsu Kai.

“This lil twerp wouldn’t even be able to keep his butthole intact for a day if he got kidnapped,” Jack thought in amusement.

The little kid was trotting fast and he carried on his back a small burlap sack.

Jack Parker smirked.

Definitely a rookie illegal vendor.

The little kid’s immature face was flushed as he desperately ran and his small arms trembled along as if they would snap sometime soon.

Jack decided to kindly advise him:

“Hey, you can put your sack on my wagon and elder brother here will help you transport it. Next time, it’s best if you sell your private goods in some sort of cart. You can carry more and run easily.”

The “little kid” in Jack’s mind was called Zero.

Zero glanced up at the so-called elder brother.

The elder brother had an odd smirk on his face and the way he looked at him with his squinted eyes sent shivers down Zero’s spine.

Definitely not a good person.

Zero decided to quickly get rid of him.

“Thanks elder brother but I’m going this way now.”

This way?

Jack was puzzled.

This narrow alley that they were moving in was surrounded by walls on both sides.

Which other way could this brat go besides the same direction as him.

Could it be…

This little brat actually has superpowers?!

Although he had long suspected this world wasn’t ordinary due to his ‘cheat’, Jack had not seen a single extraordinary factor in his nineteen years of life.

However, it was also likely that the little kid didn’t want his help.

Jack Parker watched in anticipation to see which way the little kid would go.

He squinted his eyes and scrutinized the possible directions.

Through the wall?

Flying into the sky?

Then, in Jack’s dumbfounded eyes, the little kid named Zero actually opened a manhole and hopped in.

Damn! It turned out to be underground!

Overthinking .jpg Σ(-᷅_-᷄๑)

You couldn’t really blame Jack for his negligence.

When it came down to superpowers, abilities would either be flight or passing through walls like the flash right?

Who would have thought that the kid went down the sewer like a normal person?

Wait…

Going through the sewers just to hide from the urban management officers wasn’t exactly all that normal.

Eh, whatever.

Jack didn’t bother too much about other people's business, and simply headed home.

Even if Zero was a bit sus, Jack didn’t have the spare effort to meddle in others affairs..

Since his freshman year was going to start soon, he had to head home and get plenty of rest.

Tomorrow, he had to return the items he borrowed and pack necessities.

Oh, and money to count.

—

Sunlight poured through the window and filled the room, awakening Jack and announcing a new day.

Hm? Still 8 o’ clock am which means it’s not morning yet. Then continue sleeping…

Zzz

Then at noon which was “morning” for Jack Parker…

He lifelessly got up from his futon and performed basic hygiene.

Brush teeth.

Wash face.

Doodoo.

Groom hair? What does that mean?

Such actions were unnecessary for the average single sloth.

Jack then went downstairs to get breakfast.

He cracked open a few eggs and slowly flipped them.

Toss in seasonings and soon a fluffy omelet that was both tangy and salty was done.

After he finished eating, he went to wash the dishes begrudgingly.

If it wasn’t for the fact that his mother worked so hard to raise him, the dishes would be piled up ‘x’ feet high with his character.

Early in the “morning”, his mother was at work and his sister was staying over at a friend’s place leaving him, an antisocial sloth, alone.

After breakfast, Jack rubbed his hands together, squinted his eyes, and let out a strange “hehehe” sound from his mouth.

Then he headed upstairs to his room and opened the safe hidden in his closet.

1,000 awns

2,000 awns

3,000 awns

…

59,347 awns

Hm, not even enough. Round it up.

60,000 awns

Jack Parker squinted his eyes and let out another terrifying “hehehe” sound.

Sixty thousand was definitely enough for his future “plans”.

Later at sunset, Jack Parker took the wagon shaped stall parked at the apartment entrance and went out.

Today he was going to return this stall.

Yes, this stall was something he had borrowed from a senior illegal vendor with twenty years of experience.

Jack soon stopped in front of a small building surrounded by a wooden fence.

The building’s structure resembled that of a minka which was a traditional japanese house.

Jack then inserted a key on a lock attached to the wooden fence and left the wagon stall on the front lawn.

He knew the owner wasn’t home today.

The fence was relocked and Jack headed back to pack his belongings as he would be staying in college dorms instead of returning home.

The setting sun cast a dim orange hue on Jack stretching his shadow.

Jack Parker glanced back at the sunset and took a moment to admire the scenery of this world.

Ahh, He recalled a time back on Earth when he was running under the setting sun.

Jack sighed.

That was his lost youth.

Latrom Star resembles Earth but at its very essence was a completely unfamiliar world.

The seven continents that Jack was familiar with had turned into one big supercontinent reigned solely by the New Dawn Federation.

It was often referred to as the Land of Dawn.

Besides that, the feudal titles such as dukes and barons were still being used.

However unlike the medieval times back on Earth, these titles that represented nobility had little to almost no say over the laws…

The real power was held firmly by the central authorities in the federal government which consisted of a council and a constitutional monarch.

These nobles were at best a large company, influential family, or gang.

Replacing Christianity, the dominant belief was in the White God.

The believers of the White Church that enshrined the White God were like that one cockroach in your house.

When you see one that means there were probably hundreds hidden around.

They worshiped the White God which was said to have jurisdiction over creation, light, and love.

The religion was in fact so large that the White Church held some authority in the New Dawn Federation.

Just some though.

It was approximately the amount that the 95 provinces held over the Federation.

Not enough to disobey federal orders or raise troops but just enough for the provincial government and the White Church to enact local policies that do not conflict with the laws.

Jack shuttled back home along with busy pedestrians that were just getting off work.

Soon he stopped at a four way intersection waiting for the red light to pass.

Surrounding him were 9-5 office workers in formal attires who were also waiting.

The traffic jammed electric cars and bright neon lights seemed to remind Jack Parker of something.

He glanced up at the sky and took a deep breath.

The fiery orange clouds and clear skies…

Pollution free fresh air…

And the lack of smog that densely populated urban cities should have constantly reminded Jack that this was indeed a different world.

One with a crooked technology tree that is.

Before the New Dawn Federation was established, Latrom Star was still at the peak of the steam age.

The trajectory of technology was still similar to Earth.

But everything had changed when the supercontinent formed and the New Dawn was established.

The fire nation didn’t attack or anything but somehow the authorities unanimously decided to dump their research points into one area.

It was like how different people played games with an ability tree.

Some evenly grew the branches while some just focused on one section of the tree.

As a result, the industrial revolution was castrated in its cradle before it could fully kick off and the electricity age began.

The authorities of the New Dawn focused heavily on electrical energy bringing out all sorts of strange byproduct inventions.

Jack even saw an old commercial for an electrical underwear that claimed to stimulate nerves for faster reaction speed…

For reasons unknown, the company that produced those underwear quickly went bankrupt.

Anyways...with the advent of the electrical era, modernization quickly ensued resulting in the current contemporary era with smartphones, electric cars, etc that Jack was both familiar and unfamiliar with.

The benefits of specialization were obvious as technology rapidly progressed and even surpassed the tech of the 21st century on Earth.

Another key point was the environment.

Because the industrial age was abruptly stopped, pollutants resulting from industrialization that corrupted the environment back on Earth did not get a chance to make waves here on Latrom Star.

Along with that, fossil fuels that are huge contributors to global warming were cast aside like a broken doll as electricity was popularized in people's daily lives.

In short, the environment was fresh as a newborn’s bum.

However, the shortcomings of specialization were obvious.

There wasn’t much advancement in other fields such as nuclear power.

Jack felt that it was a pity that Big Ivan wasn’t rubbed out.

After all, big explosions were the romance of men and maybe some women too.

However the Federation did manage to research out weapons that could replaced nuclear bombs.

Also, some simple innovations and creations that enhanced everyday life were missing.

At least, the cultural development was not absent so Jack was still able to binge on movies and games which was one thing he was happy about.

As for the progress that went on behind the scenes, Jack did not have the authority to know nor did he care.

Jack did, though, have a slight feeling something was amiss as if the bigwigs of the New Dawn were deliberately concealing something.

It was a feeling unique only to him as a traverser part of the isekai crossing army.

It was a subtle intuition that the natives of Latrom Star wouldn’t notice.

If Jack had to describe this feeling then it would be equivalent to moving from a rural area to an urban area.

In contrast with the urban city dwellers, those from the peaceful countryside would not be able to sleep due to the surrounding noise.

For instance, people who grew up in New York City would treat the bustling commotion of megacities like air.

They simply won’t notice it.

Back on Earth, Jack had a friend from Tokyo who wouldn’t even wake up to an alarm clock set to max volume!

You have to know that Tokyo is the world’s largest megacity with noise pollution nearly everywhere.

In desperation he had to ask for help from Jack who then proceeded to kick him in the bum.

Surprisingly bum kicking seemed to work wonders.

Unfortunately in the end, Jack’s friend seemed to have found some other magical solution granting his buttocks amnesty.

This world didn’t seem keen on archaeological exploration and places like the internet were heavily monitored.

Also, the New Dawn did seemed to heavily dislike and discouraged bullying and wilderness exploration.

However, what did this have to do with him, Jack Parker?

He was more interested in finding a girlfriend who could actually pique his interest that didn’t come from the two dimensional world.