Chapter Text
Natsuki Subaru was having a pretty bad day, or multiple days, to be more accurate.
He had just been summoned into another world out of nowhere, which is easily the most exciting thing to ever happen in his life, or hell, anyone's on Earth.
But the awe of an isekai fantasy seemed to die down a bit once he realized he didn’t have any sort of special powers.
A complete letdown—like, where was the magical girl who brought him here or his very own Excalibur-type overpowered weapon?!
He even ended up getting scared and beaten by 3 absolutely moronic excuses for thugs.
Just when he felt like he wanted to go home and cry to his parents, a saving grace came down from above, driving out those foul villains.
An angel, by the name of Satella… Or well, that’s what she told him until he found it to be a lie.
That was found out later on his 3rd loop, after he died holding her hand in the loot house at night.
Turns out Natsuki Subaru did receive a superpower!
The one to go back in time to a checkpoint, however, only if he dies.
A pitiful drawback, but one that suits someone pathetic like him.
And so using this gift or curse, he has decided to save the half-elf that saved him and also the duo at the loot house. Because Natsuki Subaru was a hero no matter what, even if the ability he was given was unconventional, it wouldn’t change his ambition!
Though it wouldn’t hurt to have another power that didn’t rely on him being gutted alive by a sexy vampire. Maybe there is another ability he just needs to unlock.
“Hey, you look like you’ve got some stuff that belongs to us.” An annoying and displeasing voice that Subaru oh so unwillingly recognized straight away.
Just as he made it down the street on his way to the loot house, those 3 idiots showed up once again. Thugs 1, 2, and 3, differing in height and stature but similar in being ugly and dumb.
“Ugh, seriously, you three again? Are you guys really that important that I can’t seem to skip you no matter where I go?” Subaru really didn’t want to deal with these idiots again. He had embarrassingly already died to them once, and that was enough to want to avoid them for life.
His opponents just looked at him with confusion, unfamiliar with otherworldly terms. Though they did know whatever he said was disrespectful by the tone of their voice.
“What are you even blabbing about?!” One barked, clearly insulted, though he didn’t know what at.
Chin, the one with the long chin, pulled out his knife in order to get things done quickly, as he didn't want to deal with Subaru any longer. “Never mind that; how about you get on all fours and bark like a dog?”
Subaru gulped at the weapon; he had already tasted it before, and he didn't want to go for another bite. “No way in hell am I going to do that!” However, he still wasn’t going to let them have the satisfaction of him begging. He had bigger fish to handle, dammit!
“Fine, but you asked for this.” His knife gleamed as he licked it and trod closer to the black-haired boy.
“Fuck! I don’t want to die again, but I’m not strong enough to live either. What am I supposed to do? How the hell can I save Satella and the others if I can’t even beat these lousy pricks?” He needed help, real bad; he couldn’t do any of this alone, not like this.
“There has to be some other hidden power I have, right? Please show up now, I beg you.” Subaru would’ve gotten on his knees to pray for this world to give him something if it wasn’t for the people already wanting him to get in that position.
Just then, before TomChinKan could take another step, they stopped.
No, more specifically, the world itself just stopped. No sounds or winds; there was nothing else moving.
Subaru’s eyes widened as his prayer had just been answered. He couldn’t believe this. Did he do this?
“No way… It worked!” He shot up, jumping into the air, heart beating with pure joy and happiness. "Yes, of course this makes sense; I can go back in time, so I can obviously stop it."
His body now invigorated with new confidence, he advanced toward the delinquents to show them who was the boss. “First I’ll deal with you, and then Elsa.”
THUD
“Ah, what the hell!” He rubbed his nose after he ran into something, but there shouldn’t have been anything.
Looking up, he realized he was right; there was nothing. Acting like a mime, he felt some invisible wall stopping him from approaching his targets.
“What… No, no! This is unfair; what the hell am I supposed to do with time if I can’t even go where I want!?” He was sure he sounded like a baby whining, but could you blame him? He got two seemingly overpowered powers, but they both had stupid limitations.
Turning around in exasperation after trying to find a way around the invisible wall, Subaru saw something shocking he never expected to see here.
It was a wheel. More specifically, a floating spinning prize wheel.
It had multiple colours and sections and had a thick all-black outline frame that was decorated with shiny orange stars. On top of the wheel was an orange pointer showing what the wheel stopped on, and in the middle of it was a small orange rectangular slit with a note coming halfway through it.
Blinking in sheer astonishment Subaru walked closer to the wheel, hoping that it could answer some questions. In his truth he already seemed to know that it had the answers.
He slowly grabbed the note and pulled it out, and it read:
Welcome, lucky winner! This is the Wheel of Fortune, and from here on out it’s all yours!
“Wheel of Fortune? What kind of name is that? And am I the lucky winner?” Before Subaru could think of anything else, another note came out of the slit like a receipt.
Let me explain what this wheel is and its purpose, along with how it’s going to solve ALL your problems.
Another note passed.
This wheel grants the user special powers and strength depending on which section the wheel lands on!
Subaru stepped back in amazement, almost falling at how absurd it is that this godsend came his way. “Hah, I knew it! I knew I wasn’t completely hopeless in this world. Thank you, summoner, I love you!” He declared to the mysterious being who gave him the key to solve all his problems and grant him strength.
zzzz
Just as he was celebrating, another note came by.
You see, each section on the wheel encompasses the strengths, abilities, weapons, and skills of another person in this world. Some are stronger than the others, some weaker. You don’t get to choose; the wheel does.
“Damn a gacha power? Whichever cosmic force made this must be some sort of gambling addict.” Rubbing his chin, Subaru carefully contemplated the words he was reading.
“But I do get it; it’s kind of like Kite’s ability from Hunter x Hunter, where he doesn’t get to choose.” Making the comparison, the mean-eyed boy sighed.
“Still, a power-up is a power-up! Though it does say other people's powers, I kind of feel like I'm stealing, but oh well, a man like me needs all the help he can get.” He said, rushing in and excitedly grabbing the next note, this one way longer than the others.
There are, however, some rules this wheel abides by that you need to know to use it properly:
- Every person on the wheel is represented by symbols or imagery.
Suddenly the wheel glowed, showing the said symbols and imagery on each section. Though Subaru wasn’t able to catch them all, by the number of sections on the wheel, he could tell it housed around 2 dozen, more or less.
Subaru couldn’t keep track of all of them, though he did catch some of them. A purple and silver snowflake. Blue oni mask. The sun. A scorpion. And a purple heart with an orange glow in the centre, something he felt strangely drawn to.
- Each person is basically an unlocked character until you can guess their identity right. All unlocked characters will only grant you half of their strength and such, 50% only. Every spin it lands on an unlocked character, and you get a chance to guess their name. Get it right, and you unlock 100% of their powers.
Ah, of course it wasn’t going to be all that easy. Who even came up with such a thing? Why did they have to nerf the machine with the whole name thing?
Still, if Subaru did manage to guess the name correctly, he could use their powers fully. That is if his enemies didn't kill him while he was too busy playing Guess Who.
“Though how am I going to even do that? There are, like, a million different names, not to mention last names.” His voice suddenly sounded low, realizing maybe he could never unlock the full potential of the wheel, at least not in this lifetime.
To ease his query, the wheel spat out a piece of paper.
The people in this wheel are those who you are bound to at least meet or know the names of. Though figuring out who to match the names and symbols with depends on you.
“Ah, I see. Thank you!” Could this wheel understand him? Whatever the case, it seems maybe things won’t be too complicated. Subaru was, of course, good with puzzles and matching games.
With this new revelation, another thought crossed his mind. “Could 'she' be on this? I did see a silver and purple snowflake; could that be her?”
He turned to continue on the rules when he realized the wheel couldn’t read his thoughts. That, or it didn’t wish to give him any hints.
But before that could happen, another note flew past in a hurry, determined to warn him of something.
Forgot to say, but while this wheel carries the powers of most of the people you will meet, there is one sole exception. Reinhard Van Astrea, of course. Due to his powers being so immense that they can’t be replicated.
“What the—who the fuck is this Reinhard guy?! Is he the Satoru Gojo of this world?” Anyways, onto the next rule.
- The person's strength will be from their prime up to that point in time. Meaning if someone is currently past their prime or weaker than they used to be, you will get their strength during their strongest years. And if someone grows stronger in the future, then only in the future can you have that strength.
Subaru let out a whistle. This feels like cheating. This feels like the making of the OP isekai hero he was supposed to be.
- Those who are classified by the wheel as enemies will join the wheel once you defeat them. Be it whether they are dead or still alive.
Subaru's eyes widened as he registered the rules. “Does this mean Elsa will be part of the wheel if I beat her?”
He cracked out a nervous grin. “I don’t know how I feel about using that psycho power, but as long as I don’t use it for cutting up people’s intestines, I should be fine.”
- Contracted spirits can only be replicated at 100%; however, if the person is contracted to a great spirit, then it cannot be reproduced because great spirits classify as their own beings.
Subaru didn’t quite understand the whole contract talk, but with his experience in watching the half-elf beauty when she talked to lesser spirits, he understood the gist of it.
“Hmm, those thugs called Puck a great spirit in the first loop, right? That means if it lands on Satella and I unlock her, I can’t replicate the puck.” Who cares? He didn’t need the annoying cat anyways, though it would’ve been fun to have his own furry companion whom he could constantly pet.
He went on to read the last rule.
- You may use the wheel and spins ONLY for a fight or when in dangerous situations. If the wheel deems it otherwise, it will not be summoned. Once the task is dealt with, your loss or not, the effect wears off and you are normal again.
Finally reading the last rule, Subaru let go of it, allowing it to disappear into thin air like the rest of them.
He put his hands to his face and took a deep breath. After all, this whole revelation was a lot to put up with, stacked on top of his previous death experiences.
After a few moments he put them down and wore a confident smile, eager to test out his new powers. His better powers, even if they were, in retrospect, other people's.
“Alright then, let’s get this show rolling!” He screams valiantly while pumping his fists up in the air.
You are now able to spin the wheel and guess the name! Also, time doesn’t usually stop for the wheel, with this being an exception as the first meeting. Good luck; you’ll need it.
Taking a sigh, Subaru approached the wheel, looking for a button or lever that he needed to push. Finding none, he spun it with his hands like the old-fashioned way.
Crossing his fingers, he waited till it stopped.
The wheel, after stopping on its designated section, displayed the symbol it was hiding, a red oni mask.
“Huh, I remember there being a blue one. I wonder what the difference is? Maybe one has lightning powers and the other has fire.” A brilliant thought, but he had only one way to test it out.
Under the symbol a few words were written: Only the first name is needed to unlock.
“So it must be someone with no last or middle name, I'm assuming. That does make it easier to not just guess but find the person.” But still Subaru had no leads on who the red oni could be.
Scratching his head trying to rack up some ideas, he thought of some names he could go with. “Muhammed could work; it is the most common name in the world after all. Wait, why the fuck would it be that? This is a whole other world; I don’t think they even have that religion here.” A superbad guess indeed.
Scratching his head profusely in an aggravated manner, Natsuki Subaru was already stumped with the first guess.
He let out a tired sigh. “Does it even matter? These guys are weak anyways; a half-oni could easily beat them.” Concluding that this was just a trial run, Subaru went with the first name that comes to the mind of a Japanese boy when thinking of a red demon.
“Fine, let's go with Zenki then.” A dramatic finger raised to wheel, he boldly proclaimed his guess.
BZZZZTTT WRONG
A loud noise cut down Subaru’s hopes immediately.
And then the world unfroze, and as it did, Subaru felt not only the winds moving and the faint sounds of people, but also his new power-up.
He felt stronger and quicker, like his whole body had been injected with a super serum.
A voice in his mind whispered.
And so, as if it was only natural, Subaru raised his hand in command at the evildoer with the blade and said what felt right.
“Fura!”
Suddenly a sharp slash of wind shot out by Subaru and grazed the arm of the man with the raised knife. A deep gash plummeted on his arm, making him drop in pain.
“AHHHHH!!!” Chin cried out in agony, the cruel and sadistic smile wiped off his face, replaced by only pain.
Without skipping another beat, Subaru lunged further than he ever could and kicked him into a wall.
Debris followed the aftermath of the attack, scattering the area, leaving only Subaru's evil eyes.
His eyes gazed on the other two prey left stunned. Never had they expected a weak looking boy like Subaru to be a demon. But woefully for them, that was exactly what he was.
Raising his hand once more, wind channelled around him before it flung the two poor souls into the air. Flying without intention, they tried to stop the inevitable only to fail as they came crashing down.
THUD
They landed and ended up just like their friend. Hurt and unconscious.
After only a moment Subaru felt that strength leave his body. Not making him lose balance but enough to make him realize he's human again.
“That…was…AWESOME!!!” Natsuki Subaru had just used magic; he had just knocked out his attackers out cold in an instant. And that was with just 50% of an oni’s strength.
He seemed to have knowledge of what magical powers and spells to use and how to command his powers. Even after he turned back to normal, he retained the wisdom of the experience.
He smiled brighter than ever, knowing that now he had what it took to do what was needed.
This was his power, his calling. With his destined strength, he was going to stop Elsa, save the residents of loothouse, and finally uncover ‘Satella’s’ real name.
All with his new Wheel of Fortune.