The ground rushed under Daryl’s feet as he followed the directions his daughter was giving him. There was a wide trail trampled through the forest. Cindy started to talk, “Dad this place is so cool. It's like virtual reality, but even cooler! There are people everywhere and they feel so real, they talk and live their lives just like everyone else. See I once called them NPCs but man did Gaia really not like that.”

“So, you spoke to this Gaia. Tell me about that.” Daryl wasn’t too interested as he stepped around a cart being driven down the road. The driver didn’t even seem phased by a giant walking around with a witch on his shoulder.

“So she came and I found her in the creek and she told me she needed me and since she needed me I jumped in her arms and POW! I was in this like gazebo in the sky but bigger. What is a giant gazebo called?”

Daryl closed his eyes, his daughter's ADHD was really on show right now and he never got her on medication since she didn’t want that. “It's called a pavilion, Badger.”

“Ok, so she is soooo beautiful dad. Like how you gape and Wondrous Woman in those movies. She wears a crown of stars and like her eyes are like golden suns. Well we were in the pavilion and clouds lay out in all directions to the horizon and the sky was blue, like super blue right.” Cindy started speaking even faster as she lost what she was talking about again.

“Honey, I need you to focus. What did you talk to this Gaia about?” Daryl’s foot got snagged by a bush and he just ripped it out without stopping like it was just a tumbleweed of hair on the floor.

“Yeah, that’s right. Well anyway she tells me this world needs a hero and out of everyone in the world I was the perfect person for it. Since I said yes she gave me three wishes. I can’t use them for some things but I wished for you to come with me. After a few days I started to feel a little lonely.” Cindy snuggled up closer to Daryl’s neck and wrapped arms around it while wiggling herself to be a little more comfortable. “Then I decided that if I was going to summon you, I would have to teach you about how this world works. Since you didn’t really game with me I thought you would be lost.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“I used to game you know. Before I graduated I would play Special Marimbo all the time.”

“That is such an old platformer dad. This isn’t a platformer. Its close to that Beast Slayer game where you go fight giant animals and you make gear and that gear gives you stuff. Well anyways I got a cheat skill as well as the wishes. Most good Isekais have super cool cheat skills.”

Daryl stopped and closed his eyes. He was used to his daughter really losing herself in jabbering and just going everywhere. The stress of it all was getting to him but Daryl promised himself he wouldn’t snap at his daughter. “Ok, you keep bringing this up. What is an isekai?”

“Oh that is easy, so Japanese anime and books have this. A person is sucked to another world or reincarnated and it is always something different than earth. A lot of them work on game system logic where people level up and get stats and stuff. This isn’t fully like that since it is more about what you wear and some of them have magic. Some have both.”

“Cindy, hold on. So, you willingly came to this other world, this Gaia. Why?” Daryl had to know.

Cindy grew very quiet and her hug on the side of his neck grew tighter, “She said I would be a hero. That I was needed.”

“I need you, I needed you when we were home.” Daryl’s voice was deathly serious.

“I’m not talking about that.” Cindy hopped off and as she fell she spoke a spell, “Flying Aura Channel,” like a fairy she started to fly ahead her back to her father.

“Honey,” Daryl started.

“No Dad! This is my place! I know this world! I’ve been here for a month ok?”

“A month? You’ve been gone a week. You spent all that time alone?”

“I wasn’t alone,” Cindy’s voice was quiet, “I had people around. While I learned everything.”

“Badger come back over here,” Daryl blocked her from flying further with a hand cupped in front of her.

Cindy was very still for a moment before she looked forward. “There is the town. Let’s go.”

Cindy darted forward and around his hand.