"What the hell was that?" Daniel clutched his head, the lingering pain throbbing. "That sure hurt like hell," he groaned, sitting up straight. As he opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded by a tranquil blue void. "Huh?" he gasped. "Did that really kill me?" he questioned, a slight rage bubbling up. "What even was that thing?" He continued ranting about his situation until he finally calmed down. "Sigh," he exhaled in relief.
"Yo!" A sudden voice broke the silence. A person in a suit appeared, greeting Daniel as if they were lifelong friends. "What's up?" the person added.
"Who are you?" Daniel asked, not in the mood for pleasantries.
"How cold. I'm simply just a manager," the person replied, maintaining their cheery demeanor.
"Ok, good for you," Daniel replied starkly. "Are you here to send me away or something?" he asked.
"Well..." the person responded.
"Huh! What do you mean by 'well'?" Daniel, ticked off, raised his voice.
"Here's the thing, that girl you pushed out of the way of the small 'meteor' that headed towards her was supposed to die, you see," the person replied, lowering their voice at the end of the sentence.
"So, you make it sound like I did a bad thing," Daniel replied boldly.
"I mean... You did make my work more complicated," the person mumbled.
"What does..." As Daniel was speaking, a small light shimmered not far from him, and a person popped up from the light. It was the woman he had tried to save. Shocked, Daniel was about to run over to her and ask how she ended up here, but judging by the conversation he was having, he knew the person he was talking to was the reason why. Losing all faith, Daniel followed the man as they approached the woman.
"Sup!" Daniel greeted as the woman recognized him. She was in confusion and disarray, but the man in the suit calmed her down and explained the situation.
"Wait, you mean after you failed to snipe her, you went and got truck-kun to finish the job for you?" Daniel responded to the explanation as he spectated the man in the suit's conversation with the woman. The man looked at Daniel, slightly annoyed.
"Right, he's still here," he said, using his inner voice.
"I bet you're complaining about me still being here," Daniel snarked with a smug grin on his face.
"Hmm," the man cleared his throat. "Now, if you spin this Isekai wheel," the man said, changing the conversation. A wheel appeared where they stood.
"What's with these options? Berserk, Attack on Titan, Re:Zero..." Daniel read the options present. "What the hell is this? Are you sending her to suffer?" Daniel commented as the two stared at him.
"What?" he asked.
"If you just spin it," the man ignored Daniel's comment. Clearly, the woman didn't know about anime; she just followed along, spinning the wheel.
"Now that was unexpected," Daniel commented as the wheel stopped.
"Right, normally you would spin a couple of times to select location, abilities, and so on," the man explained. "But with your option, there's no need for that," he added as the button at the center of the wheel lit up. "I'll send you with a special pack for your troubles. Now, if you touch the glowing button, everything will be finalized," the man added. The woman touched the button, disappearing as she did.
"Grand Blue, I wasn't expecting that at all," Daniel stated. "She got to travel from South Africa to Japan for free just because she was hit by a truck. I don't know what to say to that," he added. "I wonder where I'll end up," Daniel pondered as he stood in front of the wheel, trying to spin it. But as he touched it, his hand passed through as though it was made of air.
"Nani?" Daniel stood in shock, trying to spin it again multiple times but was unable to touch it. "Ok, what the hell is this?" Daniel ranted. The man simply stood, holding his smug grin.
"I never said you'll be getting the same treatment," he stated.
"Well then, send me back!" Daniel yelled.
"Can't do that either, you're dead, remember? I can't send you back because you're dead, and I can't send you forward because you weren't supposed to even be here, meaning you're stuck here," the man explained happily.
"Well, you're eating this up, aren't you?" Daniel glared at him, frustrated.
"Well, see ya," the man vanished, leaving Daniel standing there with the roulette wheel he couldn't even touch next to him.
Time passed, and a new person arrived. A light shimmered as a man who looked to be in his early 30s appeared.
"Young man, I welcome you to my domain," Daniel said, startling the man. His face showed confusion as he was greeted by Daniel, who was dressed up as an old person, stroking his fake beard. "I am the Virgin Lord, the first ever human to die a virgin at a ripe age. I ascended in my virginity, and well, this is my domain. Only virgins can enter it. Now, step forward to this roulette wheel and claim your prize, young virgin," Daniel said with his eyes squinted.
The man believed Daniel's story as he hesitated to step forward.
"Don't be shy, young one. If you have any concerns, you can ask," Daniel added, observing the man's hesitancy.
"Well... You see... I'm not a virgin," the man responded.
Daniel slowly opened his eyes, expressing rage on his face. "Unacceptable!" Daniel yelled.
"You dare trespass into my domain, sullying it with your presence!" Daniel continued, his voice booming. "Guard, dispose of this tainted fool!" he raged. The man was startled, trying to apologize and explain that he didn't come willingly.
"Okay, that's enough now," a voice broke out, putting an end to Daniel's charade. Daniel broke into laughter, seeing the man still scared. The man in the suit appeared.
"Why do you always have to make my job difficult?" the man in the suit said.
"Wait, you mean that was all a lie?" the man in his thirties asked.
"Pretty much," Daniel replied with a smile, taking off his fake clothes and looking the same age as when he arrived—twenty-five. The man was enraged but didn't retaliate because he didn't understand what was really happening.
"What's really going on here?" the man asked as the man in the suit explained everything after sealing Daniel's lips.
"If you spin the wheel, please," the man in the suit asked after going through all the steps. Daniel's lips were unsealed.
"Please press the button in the center of the roulette wheel," the man in the suit guided, sending him off.
"Did you have to seal my lips?" Daniel complained as he stood up.
"If you keep causing a ruckus, yes," the man replied.
"You don't have to be rude," Daniel defended himself.
"Oh really?" the man was riled up. "These 50 years after you came here, you started causing me troubles. You once chased a man right after he appeared, pretended to be me but stripped naked and acted like you were a king. You once forced someone to work out with you doing push-ups, and you challenged people to dance-offs. Do you want me to continue?" the man yelled. "And where do you even get the props you use?" he continued.
"Assistant!" the man called as a different person popped up in a puff of smoke. "Didn't I tell you not to interact with him?" the man in the suit started yelling. After a while, he sighed and pinched his upper nose, slightly stroking his forehead. "Listen, I get it's hard being stuck here. That's why I gave you a couple of things for entertainment, but you're taking things too far," the man sighed.
"You gave me documentaries, along with some books on random educational topics," Daniel replied.
"You read them, didn't you?" the man defended himself. "Anyway, just don't harass my clients," the man said as he vanished.
"So strict," Daniel retorted. "Guess I'll prepare for the next one," he said as he walked away. After a couple of months, Daniel was given a residence—the only house you could find in the blue void, not too far from the roulette wheel, even though he no longer required sleep and food.