The Goal is the Ending Fairy - Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Translator: Iris
Proofreader: Floor

“Haa……” 

I’m finally home. 

I collapsed onto the sofa as if I were fainting, still wearing my clothes. 

It was clear that I was utterly exhausted from the practice session with Yoon Heejo.

‘You did great today! See you tomorrow—!’ 

Watching Yoon Heejo head home with such energy made me wonder if she was even human. 

In contrast, why did the owner of this body feel so run down at this age… It was truly ironic. 

…Or maybe not?

Looking back, considering all the major and minor events I’d endured over the past few days, it wasn’t too surprising. 

I even felt like my soul was being sucked out of me now. 

Still, having someone around is better than being alone…

‘Helper.’

>Currently charging cooldown….

> Helper: [Charging | ▶▷▷ | Complete] 

Only one arrow was filled in the Helper loading window. 

I couldn’t summon the Helper immediately, and the system was constantly badgering me to raise my stats. 

I was only managing to hold on like this thanks to the help of the 『Mental Resilience』 passive. 

If I didn’t even have this, given my personality, I probably would have denied reality for about a week and then died… 

Hmm. 

Leaving my exhausted body alone, I only lifted my head to look at the space above.

‘I guess I should check this now too.’

– Ding-dong! 

The message notification had been ringing loudly for a long time. 

Since it was constantly going ‘ding-dong, ding-dong’ all day, I thought I was going to get a nervous breakdown during practice.

– Ding-dong! Ding-dong, ding-dong! 

“Ugh. I’ll look at it when I look at it…” 

With a heavy sigh, I opened the notification.

>>>[Important!]: Main Quests arrived alongside the Start of the Main Event!

>>Main Quest: Achieve a total score within the Top 7 in the individual mission! / Reward: ’Stat Free Increase Coupon +5’ Granted upon success

>>Main Quest: Achieve over 100,000 views on the Self PR video! / Reward: ’Charm’ Stat +10 Increase upon success

What arrived this time was none other than the Main Quests. 

The mission was already a headache, but the demands were enormous. 

And it wasn’t like the given Main Quests were easy; they all looked difficult at a glance…

‘I’ll have to use my brain well.’ 

The contents immediately brought my relaxed mind back to high alert. 

Below that, as expected, there was yet another screen window.

>>Life Force –20% for failing one Main Quest!

>>Confirmed Elimination if all Main Quests Fail! ’Debut Failure’!

I knew it. 

Normal Challenge Quests simply end with not receiving the reward upon failure. But ‘Main Quests’ were different. 

These came with a quite heavy penalty upon failure. 

When I played the game in reality, I could just return to a save file upon failure. Then I could start over. 

But the difference now was that failure to debut meant death.

‘Absolutely not.’ 

I must succeed in at least one of them. It’s much better to take one step closer to the danger of death than to die outright, right?

‘100,000 views…’ 

This one seems the most manageable of the two. Since it’s views, not recommendations, it might be possible. 

The video will be uploaded to Hon’s official website and the MeTube channel. 

The latter, in particular, had nearly 40 million subscribers. With that much company prestige, exposure should be sufficient. 

The key issue is whether the mission calculation period of one week is too short. 

And whether people will actually bother to find my video on the homepage… 

I certainly wasn’t confident about that. 

Still, the fact that the first broadcast wasn’t a team mission was fortunate for me. 

My Charm and Affection stats are practically at rock bottom, so there’s no way I’d stand out in a team mission with just that. 

Therefore, the ‘Self PR Video,’ where even someone who would typically be overshadowed by others appears alone, offers the chance to win. 

Of course, that’s based on the fundamental premise that I do well. 

Anyway, I seem to have checked all the message windows… I should probably go to sleep now. 

As I tidied up the screen and checked the time, it was already past 3 AM. 

I barely managed to get up to wash, but my tired body kept falling back onto the sofa.

– KakaoTalk! 

Just then, another notification rang. 

Since no separate screen popped up, it wasn’t sent by the system. 

Maintaining my prone position, I picked up the phone in my hand this time. 

The status bar was displayed on the screen. Someone had indeed sent me a message.

‘Tall Unnie?’ 

That name was displayed above the lock screen. 

Now that I think about it, my phone hasn’t been working properly since I got here. 

Just adapting to the busy day was overwhelming, so I hadn’t had a chance to look at my phone.

– KakaoTalk! 

As I puzzled over the unusual contact name, the sender sent one more KakaoTalk message. 

It was almost simultaneous with me tapping on the chat. 

「I’m sorry. I had a lot of work and only just saw your message ㅠㅠ」 

「(Apologetic seal emoticon)」 

The start of the chat was the sender’s apology. 

Looking at the chat history just above, the greeting I sent last week hadn’t been answered for several days. 

「I’m always doing well.」 

「How are you these days?」

 The sender, seeing the ‘Read’ notification, now asked about my well-being.

‘I’ve transmigrated into an idol game where you die if you mess up.’ 

“……” 

I typed that far, then furiously hit the backspace key with my thumb. 

Suppressing the impulse, I scrolled up, and a long chat history came into view. The scroll seemed endless. 

Since they seemed to be close… a suitable polite reply should suffice. 

Based on the previous chat tone, I sent a reply in the most similar style possible. 

「Thanks to you always looking out for me, I’m doing fine.」 

「And I’ll be participating in a debut survival show that the company is creating.」 

When I explained the situation, the reply came back quickly.

 「I see.」 

「But just in case, I’ll leave the password to that house unchanged. You can use it whenever you need.」 

「Work hard on the program. I know you can do it. Cheering you on!」

 No wonder. 

I wondered how a high school student secured a house like this, but it must have been with this person’s help. 

I then sent a long reply like ‘Thank you,’ and the chat concluded. 

After sending the final reply, I scrolled the chat window all the way up to determine their relationship more clearly. 

Their first conversation took place around this time two years ago. 

The ‘Tall Unnie’ first reached out. Just seeing the long message starting with, ‘Thank you for helping my sibling. 

For compensation…’ allowed me to guess their relationship. In all likelihood, this person seemed to be a ‘sponsor’ figure. 

However, there was a separate situation that made me more curious.

– The customer cannot be reached…

‘…They’re not picking up again.’ 

This time, I sequentially called the contacts saved as ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad,’ but they didn’t answer today either. 

After all, these are the people who are this world’s ‘family.’ It was hard not to worry about their existence. 

The text records confirm they are currently in the US… 

But aside from that information, there was nothing else I could find out. Just like now, they weren’t answering calls. 

There wasn’t even a single affectionately exchanged text between family members. 

The last text exchanged with ‘Mom’ ended with: 「Arrived in the US.」 and 「Yes.」

 I don’t contact my family often either, but even for that, the conversation itself was too dry. 

They hadn’t exchanged a single line of contact since that last text.

‘Well, it looks like she wasn’t very close with her family…’ 

I looked at the failed call screen and eventually put the phone down.

***

In a deserted bathroom corner of Hon. 

“Done.” 

I looked at the main screen and felt a moment of relief.

>Dance: 25/100

I had finally managed to bring the Dance stat up to a level similar to Vocal. No, even higher than Vocal. 

I would have preferred to start with higher EXP, but… I guess I have no choice. 

Now, I just have to raise the remaining experience points during the missions. 

It wasn’t a result to be entirely satisfied with, but at least I had gotten this far. 

Yoon Heejo’s contribution was particularly significant in this achievement. 

Since she was the one who practiced dancing with me until dawn yesterday, that much goes without saying.

‘Ah, actually, it was a choreography I had done once before. But it was so long ago I had forgotten…’ 

No wonder she picked it up so quickly. 

Yoon Heejo had actually danced the choreography we were practicing together before. 

Despite that, she waited and helped me until I could finish the entire routine. 

I don’t know why she was being so kind, but it was clear that my relationship with her was being maintained smoothly. 

Furthermore, since the other trainees here are particularly cold to me… it’s only natural that Yoon Heejo’s presence felt even better. 

Just as I was looking at the stats I had managed to grow in a short time.

– Ding-dong! 

As always, a message notification flew in. 

I didn’t even wonder what it was, and clicked the screen without hesitation.

 —– —–
>>SECRET Quest ’Practice Time of Persistence and Patience’ Achieved!

>>Reward: One locked slot opens, and Passive Skill 『Iron Stamina』 is granted! [Claim]

>>SECRET Quest ’Acquire 2 or more new Passive Skills in a Short Period’ Successful!

>>Reward: 『Major Stat Increase Coupon +5』 is granted! [Claim]
—– —–

Unusually, what popped up in front of me were rewards instead of quests. 

Secret Quests…

‘Come to think of it, there was something like this.’ 

This was a system that, as the name implies, didn’t disclose the quest content, but gave a reward when the player achieved the condition. 

I don’t know if I got off to a good start or if the game has a conscience, but the rewards felt generous in the beginning. 

However, it felt somewhat unsettling. 

This game was known for arbitrarily imposing unreasonable penalties as much as it was generous with rewards. 

That’s why even though the rewards are good, I can’t put my mind at ease. 

Anyway, I put the uneasiness aside and pressed the ‘[Claim All]’ button at the bottom of the screen.

> (Locked slot successfully opened!)
> Acquired Passive 2: 『Iron Stamina』

‘Finally, this is it, finally.’ 

Since I’ve acquired the passive that will become my main asset, practice shouldn’t be a big problem anymore. 

Meaning, I won’t be collapsing alone like I did during the practice with Yoon Heejo over the past few days. 

With a naturally satisfied smile, I read the stat window again.

—– —–
>Vocal: 20/100 (!)

>Dance: 25/100 (!)

>Charm: 5/100 (!)

>Affection: 5/100 (!)

>Passive Skill 1: 『Mental Resilience』

>Passive Skill 2: 『Iron Stamina』

> (Currently locked slot.)
—– —–

Now it’s time to apply the reward. 

The 『Major Stat Increase Coupon』 I just received was slightly different from the 『Stat Free Increase Coupon』 I got earlier. 

The latter can be used to raise any stat, but the former can only be used on one stat that ranks within the top 3 in EXP. 

It just so happened that the system helped me out by allowing me to raise exactly one stat.