QC Staff goes to Nuswantara Isekai World

Ramdan, thirty years old, was a Quality Control staff member at a renowned food and beverage company. His life was a labyrinth of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), laboratories, and seemingly endless internal audits. Professional? Of course. But his own life felt monotonous and stagnant. His career seemed to have hit a dead end, and as for romance, there were no signs of it on the horizon. His days were more often spent with his favorite fantasy novel, “The Adventures of Rian in the Land of Nuswantara.”

That night, Ramdan had just finished working overtime. His face looked haggard, and his mind wandered aimlessly atop the motorcycle that carried him home. He muttered to himself, “When will my life ever change? It feels like it’s been the same forever. Career’s at a standstill, and a partner is nowhere in sight.”

Not far from a large, shady tree on the roadside, Ramdan’s gaze caught the figure of an old man lying weakly on the ground. The frail body looked completely withered, as if severely dehydrated. Strangely, the other people passing by seemed indifferent, or perhaps… they truly couldn’t see the old man’s presence. Only Ramdan could clearly witness the mysterious figure.

“Help, child… help this old man…” the grandfather pleaded in a voice that was barely a whisper.

“Hang on, Gramps, just a second,” Ramdan replied, his tone calm despite the strange aura emanating from the man. He casually steered his motorcycle toward a 24-hour Madurese convenience stall nearby. From a distance, the old man seemed to watch him with an unreadable, astonished expression.

“Kang, one isotonic drink. It’s for… the hallucination near the tree,” Ramdan said to the stall keeper, grabbing a bottle with a label that read “Ponari Sweat.”

“Don’t be spouting nonsense this late at night, Bang Ramdan…” asked Kang Soni, the stall keeper, his brow furrowed in confusion as goosebumps prickled his skin. This Kang Soni was already familiar with Ramdan, as his stall was Ramdan’s usual hangout spot after work. Kang Soni was a unique character—witty, funny, and afflicted with latah, a condition that made him echo words and actions when startled. He was often the butt of jokes for the workers who stopped by.

“Oh, come on, Kang, I mean that old man in white over by the tree. You really can’t see him?” Ramdan pointed in the man’s direction. A mischievous thought to mess with Kang Soni crossed his mind. “Good heavens… he’s flying over here, get down!!” Ramdan immediately dropped to the ground dramatically.

“Geh-- Get down everyone!” Kang Soni reflexively mimicked Ramdan’s action.

“Ghooost saranghaeyo!!” Ramdan’s prank escalated.

“Ghooost saranghaeyo, love you much!!” Kang Soni was duped again, following Ramdan’s absurd lead.

“Oh my god, Kang Ramdan, you...?!!.. So mischievous, good heavens…” Kang Soni shoved Ramdan’s shoulder in annoyance.

From a distance, the old man somehow seemed to understand what was happening, sending a telepathic message into Ramdan’s ear. “It’s not right to prank someone trying to make a living, my boy…” the whisper echoed.

“Hehehe, umm, I was just joking, Kang Soni, I’m sorry,” Ramdan apologized to Kang Soni.

Kang Soni was already in a panic. Ramdan apologized once more for his prank and hurried toward the old man, but after this incident, it was the last time the 24-hour stall was ever open 24 hours again.

“Here, Gramps, have a drink. We can’t have you getting dehydrated on the side of the road; you might go viral on some horror TikTok feed, hehe,” Ramdan said with his signature nonchalance, as if it were a perfectly normal situation.

The old man stared at him with a piercing gaze. “Only you can see me. This is fate… I shall choose you. I will bring you to a world…” Before he could finish, Ramdan cut him off.

“Shh, don’t start rambling, Gramps. You want me to take you home?” Ramdan interrupted, pressing two fingers to the old man’s lips.

The old man could only gape. This kid is nuts, an anomaly of a human, the old man thought, slightly taken aback by Ramdan’s reaction. However, before Ramdan could do anything else, the old man’s wrinkled hand suddenly touched his head. Instantly, Ramdan’s vision went completely black, and he lost consciousness. In a flash, Ramdan and the mysterious grandfather vanished from the physical world, as if swallowed by the night’s darkness.

In the pitch-black void, Ramdan felt as if he were dreaming. Then… a transparent blue interface window suddenly materialized before him, emitting a soft glow.

Dingg!! [Welcome to the world of Nuswantara – a new reality born from your favorite (and delusional) novel. You have been chosen to bear a great destiny.]

Where did that old man take me? But… wait a minute… this is… Nuswantara? Don’t tell me I’ve been isekai’d? Ramdan awoke with a violent jolt. He was utterly shocked to realize his body felt so tiny, weak, and… being breastfed?

Damn… this… feels soft, plump, and sweet… Is this breast milk? Sinta’s breast milk? he mumbled internally, trying to process the incredibly bizarre situation.

Sinta Kusuma Dewi. A female Mage renowned for her beauty from his favorite martial arts novel. Her husband was Ranjana Segara, a revered legendary warrior. And their son… was supposed to be Rian, the story’s protagonist. But now, somehow, it was Ramdan who inhabited the tiny baby’s body.

Yes! I’m finally the MC, the great warrior Rian! Ramdan thought with confidence and enthusiasm.

Dingg!! [You are still Ramdan. Your Class: Mage. Special Subclass: Quality Controller.]

Ramdan froze. Oh, dear Lord… is this the destiny I must endure? Even after getting isekai’d, I’m still a QC? he lamented inwardly, in disbelief.

Dingg!! [Lolololol.]

This damn system! Ramdan grumbled to himself, annoyed yet amused by the system’s response.

[System is downloading introduction data for the World of Nuswantara…… Please wait….]

Dingg!! [The World of Nuswantara is a world filled with exotic natural beauty, various oddities, and abundant magical power. The sky in Nuswantara is perpetually orange, even in the morning, creating a unique vista. Like most isekai worlds, various races exist here besides humans. There are also many magical creatures that the locals call ‘siluman’. The realm of Nuswantara is overflowing with ‘mana’ energy, and each mana can uniquely synchronize with a chosen being (known as a mana blessing). Every individual blessed with mana is generally divided into two main classes: Warriors, who rely on physical strength, and Mages, who master magic…]

Stop the tutorial! This is boring! I’ll read the rest later… Besides, I’ve already read the novel cover to cover and memorized everything, Ramdan cut in mentally, feeling he was already an expert on the ins and outs of his favorite novel.

Also living in the house was a housemaid named Melati. With a beautiful face, blonde hair, and glasses, Melati was, in Ramdan’s opinion, the very embodiment of the ideal girlfriend he had been searching for. Although he was now in the body of an adorable three-year-old, Ramdan’s adult soul couldn’t stop himself from launching cheesy pick-up lines fit for a grown man—which, of course, sounded utterly absurd and hilarious coming from a toddler’s mouth. He often flirted with Melati and repeatedly tried to declare his “love.” However, his efforts always failed, as Melati only saw him as a baby making cute and unintelligible babbling.

One day, a truly absurd idea for a love confession popped into his head as a last-ditch effort. And that was…

To be continued…