Curiosity of God

RELEASE: 2+ chps/weekend NOTE: Vol. 4-6 chapters are LONG (revisions pending). Normal chapter count would be ~500 for Vol. 1-6. When college physics student Mizuki Hakuto faces the obligatory bus-kun death of all isekai protagonists, he's brought face-to-face with a divine entity. When not mocking Mizuki, the so-called godling explains the nature of the universe – gods, godlings, mythical beasts, and more. Most importantly, magic is real. Just...not on Earth. Inspired by Earth's manga and having a penchant for drama, the godling offers him the opportunity to experience these things on a different world. The world is ruled by a strange god that treats it like a divine petri dish, and it's filled with interesting creatures the god collected from all across the universe. The god of this strange planet seems welcoming and helpful at first, but Mizuki quickly realizes that all is not as it seems in the magical world of Azura. Wielding science and newfound sorcery, Mizuki investigates the fundamental laws of magic, the nature of the divine, and more, but his progress is watched in secret by powerful forces. As he gains knowledge and power, and his darker nature is revealed, will the gods sit idly by? FAQ: Q – What's the overall tone of this story? A – It seems pretty lighthearted at first, but the trajectory of the story makes it progressively darker. I'd say the story takes itself fairly serious at times, but the characters' personalities lend to plenty of comedic dialogue. Especially in the lull between major events. Q – Isekai tropes? A – Yes. Some are leaned into, some are mocked, but most make an appearance in some form. Q – Is the MC's prior life relevant? A – Yes! The MC relies heavily on knowledge specific to Earth, and especially his science background. The MC trying to reconcile his scientific understanding from Earth with this newfound variable of magic is a major theme of the story. Q – How is the MC isekai'd? Is he reincarnated? A – In the most tropey way possible, of course. He gets hit by a bus. After dying, he's resurrected in his original body and sent to another world as 18 years old. Q – Is there slavery in this isekai? A – Yes, and it's not a pretty industry. However, the MC detests the slavery on Azura. The story won't shy away from the effect it has on the lives of those the MC meets. This will not be one of those stories where the MC virtue signals about how bad slavery is, but inexplicably keeps slaves of their own and it's painted as 'good' because the slaves are 'treated well'. Q – Is the MC overpowered? A – Absolutely, but this will change much later, as the story progresses. Q – Is this another self-insert isekai story? A – I certainly think it's true that the MC lacks personality early on in the series – it takes a while to learn much about his personal life on Earth or personality. We're watching an MC who seems to be a reactionary person on Earth, just going through the motions, necessarily develop more of a sense of self in a world where his actions are more consequential. Q – You tagged this as 'romance'...is there a harem? A – Yup. It takes a long time for the second romance to happen, and the harem always remains very small, but eventually it happens.