> If it could make 5 different versions of chapter 2, all with different directions for the story, and all with novel and interesting developments, wouldn’t that be a better definition of creativity than “can it read chapter 1 and be able to copy style and deduce/predict what the author is going to do in chapter 2”?

If I like the novel, an alternative version where things happen differently would be fine.

The problem isn't that it's different. The problem is quality.

A lot of Isekai stories are crap but you can still rank them in terms of the author's ability or inability to have a creative POV that elevates the material.