“Well, you see,” Alty began, “if the two of you manage to complete your... quest, and return to your old world, I want you to be able to tell your story to people of all ages! To that end, I have chosen to forcibly replace all curse words with suitable counterparts!”

“You are way too energetic to be a god” Jon stated, catching an annoyed glance from the powerful being.

“Grandpa, are you trying to make him smite us?” Skye said, “I don’t think we want to get on the bad side of the god of this world in our first hour here.”

“At least one of you has common sense. Listen, my time here is limited due to the previously stated restrictions on meddling. The two of you have about...” Alty looked at his wrist where he appeared to check a non-existent watch, “three minutes to have your questions answered. Capiche?”

“You should have started with that!” Jonathon said. He glared at the glowing man before him, all the questions he wanted answers to running through his mind at once. “Ok, answer each of these questions in order. Why did you pick us? How do we get back to our old world? Where are we, and are we safe here? Are there humans and settlements in this world? And finally, what are the classes you mentioned earlier?

“Who do you think I am, Jonathon, some sort of omniscient narrator?” Alty asked, looking away from the two teenagers in front of him and staring directly at you. “I will answer some of your questions, but the others you will have to find for yourself. The only way you can return to your old world is if I permit it. If you manage to unite all of the major powers of this planet under your banner, I will personally return you to Earth, though by that point, you may no longer wish to do so,” he paused, shooting a wink at the two Marshalls.

“As for the rest of your questions, you are in the middle of what is called the ‘Brightmoon Forest’ in the nation of Sanshia. And yes, you are quite safe. At least until I leave, at which point you will be quite immediately unsafe. The two of you will have to find the answers to the rest of the questions on your own,” Alty concluded, with a barely concealed smirk. “I will exist in this realm for around 45 more seconds, any last questions?”

Jonathon was about to follow up, but Skye beat him to the punch. “Are there any other general things you can tell us that are important for our survival?”

Alty’s previous smirk transitioned into a wide smile. “Smart girl. I’m glad I chose to bring both of you. Firstly, there is magic in this world. Real magic with real mages and real, devastating effects. Secondly, this world functions somewhat similarly to a genre of games that exists in your previous world. I believe they are called Role-Playing Games.”

Jonathon stared at the god in front of him. “What is this, some sort of weird RPG-style Isekai? Is this being televised or something?” Skye looked at her grandfather curiously before returning her gaze to Alty, deciding to ask what the older Marshall was talking about when they weren’t on such a tight schedule.

“No, you are not being televised, and you should stop interrupting me. The final bit of help that I will give you is this: You can pull up a ‘status sheet’ of sorts by saying or thinking of the word ‘stats.’ The two of you should become accustomed to this system, as you will rely on it to survive, especially in one year’s time when you will be given classes.”

Jonathon’s eyes were wide, and he seemed to be out of questions. Skye, on the other hand, had one very important one on her mind. “You said that once you leave, we will no longer be safe, what do you mean by that?”

“Sorry folks, that’s all the time I’ve got.” Alty’s body began rapidly fading into transparency. “Try not to die, it’s just as real in this world as in yours. Oh, and remember, have fun!” With that final ridiculous statement, the self-proclaimed god of Althesia had fully disappeared.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Unbeknownst to the two Marshalls, Alty was far away, wiping a bead of godly sweat from his forehead. “Thank God that I only gave them three minutes. Their questions were clearly tempered by their shock, but I have a feeling I would have been tricked into saying some things that I’m not allowed to had I remained there too much longer,” he thought to himself.

Back on Althesia, Jonathon and Skye were taking a few moments to process everything that had happened since they had been whisked away to this new world.

Skye was the first to test Alty’s words. “Stats,” she said quietly, hoping not to alert whatever ‘dangers’ the god believed were nearby. Her efforts were almost ruined when she nearly let out a yelp as a bright blue screen appeared in her vision. “Woah, Grandpa, take a look at this,” she said.

He looked over her shoulder but couldn’t find any source for the blue light that he could see shining on her face. “I can’t see anything other than your strangely sparkling face, what did you do?” He asked.

“Oh, that is interesting! I guess you can’t see my status sheet. What if I try this: ‘Share my stats with Jonathon Marshall?” Skye and Jonathon both waited several moments for the expected appearance of the stats. “Darn, and I was so sure that it was going to work, too,” Skye said after it became clear that nothing was going to happen. “Well, whatever. Open up your own sheet and we can tell each other what we are dealing with.”

“Strats!” Jonathon confidently said.

“Seriously? It’s stats! As in statistics! Or status! I'm not actually sure which it is...” Skye said.

“Oh, my apologies, madame. Stats!”

* JONATHON MARSHALL

*  AGE: 17

*  LEVEL: 0

*  MAX HP: 183

*  MAX STAMINA: 301

*  MAX MANA: 707

Strength 23 Agility 23 Intelligence ERROR: UNDEFINED Wisdom 35 Vitality 21 Stamina 35 Luck 150 Dexterity 42 Perception 80

*  BATTLE SKILLS: TACTICIAN

*  SUPPORT SKILLS: INVENTOR

*  WORLD SKILLS: ABSOLUTE GENIUS, SUPER-LINGUAL, CHEF, SWORDSMAN, SNEAK