The Goal is the Ending Fairy

“Haa…”

I finally made it home.

I collapsed onto the sofa, not even bothering to change out of my clothes. Every bit of energy had been drained after practicing with Yoon Hee-jo.

‘Good job today! See you tomorrow!’

I couldn’t help but wonder, as I watched her leave with that boundless energy, was she even human?

Meanwhile, why did the owner of this body feel so worn out at such a young age? How ironic.

…Or maybe not. It might actually make sense.

Thinking back on all the major and minor events I’d gone through these past few days, it wasn’t unreasonable to feel this way.

Now, it felt like even my soul was being drained.

Still, having someone around was better than being alone….

‘Helper.’

>Currently recharging cooldown….

>Helper: [Recharge|▶▷▷|Complete]

The loading screen for the helper showed only one arrow filled in.

Not only could I not summon the helper right away, but the system was nagging me to build up my stats.

It was only thanks to the “Mental Stability” passive that I was able to hang on this long.

Without it, knowing my personality, I probably would have spent a week denying reality before succumbing to this madness….

Hmm.

Leaving my exhausted body sprawled out, I only lifted my head slightly to stare into the empty space.

‘I guess I should check this now too.’

—Ding!

The message notification had been ringing incessantly for some time.

All day, it was just ding dong ding dong—I thought I’d develop neurosis during practice.

—Ding! Ding dong!

“Ah. I’ll check it, I’ll check…”

With a heavy sigh, I opened the notification.

—– —–

>>>[Important!]: Main event starts and main quest arrives!

>>Main Quest: Rank within the top 7 in the individual mission! / Reward upon success: ‘Stat Free Increase Ticket +5’

>>Main Quest: Make your self-PR video reach over 100,000 views! / Reward upon success: ‘Charm’ stat +10 increase

—– —–

What arrived this time was none other than the main quest.

The missions alone were giving me a headache, but now the demands felt enormous.

If the main quests were easy, that would be one thing, but they all seemed daunting at first glance….

‘I’ll need to use my head well.’

These new quests tensed my relaxed mind once again.

Beneath that, another screen window appeared.

>>Failing one main quest results in ‘Life Force -20%’!

>>Failing all main quests confirms elimination! ‘Debut Failure’!

I knew it would be like this.

For regular challenge quests, failure just meant not receiving the reward. But main quests were different.

They came with hefty penalties for failure.

When I played games in reality, if I failed, I could simply revert to the last save file and try again.

But now, the stakes were far higher—failing to debut could mean death.

‘Absolutely not.’

I had to succeed in at least one of these quests, no matter what. It was better to be one step closer to a life-threatening situation than to actually die, right?

‘100,000 views…’

Of the two quests, this one seemed more doable. It’s views, not likes, so it might be possible.

The video would be uploaded to HON’s official homepage and their MiTube channel.

Especially the latter, which had about 40 million subscribers. With that kind of company name value, the exposure should be substantial.

The key issue was that the mission settlement period was only a week, which felt too short.

And I wasn’t very confident that people would actually find my video on the homepage….

Still, I was fortunate that the first broadcast wasn’t a team mission.

With my current charm and likability at almost rock bottom, I wouldn’t stand out in a team mission.

At least in a ‘self-PR video,’ where I’d appear alone, I had a chance to compete without being overshadowed by others.

Of course, this was all based on me doing well.

Anyway, it seems I’ve checked all the message windows… Now I should probably sleep.

As I tidied up the screen, I noticed the time—it was already past 3 AM.

I barely managed to lift my body to wash up, but my weary limbs kept falling back onto the sofa.

—Katalk!

Amidst it all, another notification chimed.

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

Still lying there in a daze, I picked up the phone I was holding.

The status bar lit up, revealing that someone had contacted me.

‘Tall Sister?’

That name floated on the lock screen.

Now that I thought about it, my phone hadn’t really served its purpose since I arrived here.

I’d been so overwhelmed adapting to the busy days that I hadn’t had time to check it.

—Katalk!

As I puzzled over the somewhat unusual saved name, the sender sent another KakaoTalk message.

It arrived almost simultaneously with me clicking on the chat.

「Sorry. I had a lot of work, so I’m only seeing your message now ㅠㅠ」

「(Apologetic seal emoticon)」

The chat began with the other person’s apology.

Looking at the chat history above, I saw that my greeting from last week had gone unanswered for days.

「I’m always doing well.」

「How have you been lately?」

As the ‘Read’ mark appeared, they now asked about my well-being.

‘I’ve been incarnated into an idol game where I might die if I’m not careful.’

“……”

After typing that far, I repeatedly hit backspace with my thumb.

Resisting the urge to spill my troubles, I scrolled up to find a long-running chat history. It seemed endless.

We’re close… I thought I should just exchange some pleasantries.

Based on the chat history, I crafted a reply that mimicked their tone as much as possible.

「I’m doing well without any problems, thanks to your constant care.」

「And I’ve been selected to participate in the debut survival show the company is producing.」

After explaining various situations, the reply came back quickly.

「I see.」

「Still, just in case, I won’t change the password for that house. Feel free to use it whenever you need.」

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

I see.

I wondered how a high school student could afford such a house, but it seemed it was with this person’s help.

Following that, I sent a long reply filled with expressions of gratitude, and the chat ended there.

After the last reply, I scrolled all the way up in the chat window to understand their relationship more clearly.

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

The initial contact was from Tall Sister.

Just seeing the long message that read, “Thank you for helping my younger sibling. As for compensation…” I could guess the nature of their relationship.

Based on the context, this person seemed to be a sponsor of sorts.

However, there was another curious situation apart from this.

—The customer cannot take the call at the moment…

…They’re not answering again.

This time, I tried calling those saved as “Mom” and “Dad” in turn, but, once again, they didn’t pick up.

For now, they were the family members of this world, and it was hard not to be concerned about their existence.

Looking at the text history, it was clear they were in the United States now…

But apart from that information, there wasn’t much else I could glean. They were unreachable, just like now.

There hadn’t been a single affectionate text exchanged between family members.

The last text I’d sent to Mom was just, “Arrived in the US.” Her response had been simply, “Ok.”

Even though I didn’t communicate frequently with my family, this felt unusually dry.

Since that text, we hadn’t exchanged a single message.

Well, I guess the relationship with the family isn’t that great…

After staring at the unsuccessful call screen, I finally put down the phone.

* * *

In a secluded corner of the HON bathroom…

“I did it.”

I felt a momentary relief as I looked at the main screen.

>Dance: 25/100

I had finally raised my dance stat to a level similar to my vocals—no, even higher.

I would have preferred to start with an even higher experience, but… what can you do?

Now I have no choice but to raise the lacking experience while completing missions.

It wasn’t a result to be greatly satisfied with, but hey, getting this far is something.

Especially in this aspect, Yoon Hee-jo’s contribution was undoubtedly huge.

Just yesterday, she practiced dancing with me until dawn, so there’s no need to say more.

Ah, actually, I danced this choreography once before. But it’s been so long that I forgot it…

No wonder she picked it up so quickly.

Moreover, Yoon Hee-jo had already danced the choreography we were practicing together before.

Despite that, she waited and helped me until I could complete it.

I don’t know why she’s being so nice, but it’s clear our relationship is holding strong.

Besides, since the other trainees here are particularly cold to me, Yoon Hee-jo’s presence feels even better.

As I reflected on the stats I had grown in such a short time,

– Ding!

As always, without fail, a message notification arrived.

Not knowing what it might be this time, I clicked on the screen without hesitation.

—– —–

>>You have achieved the SECRET quest ‘Practice Time of Perseverance and Patience’!

>>As a reward, one locked slot will be opened, and the passive 『Steel Physique』 will be granted! [Receive]

>>You have succeeded in the SECRET quest ‘Obtain 2 or more new passives in a short period’!

>>As a reward, 『Major Stat Increase Ticket +5』 will be granted! [Receive]

—– —–

Secret quest…

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

This was literally a system where the quest content isn’t revealed, and when the player achieves the corresponding condition, a reward is given.

Whether I got off to a good start or if the game even has a conscience, I couldn’t help but feel that the rewards were generous from the beginning.

However, this was a bit unsettling.

In this game, as generous as the rewards are, arbitrary penalties can also come in brutally.

That’s why I can’t relax even if the rewards are good.

Anyway, setting aside my uneasiness, I pressed the ‘[Receive All]’ button at the bottom of the screen.

>(Successfully opened currently locked slot!)

>Owned Passive 2: 『Steel Physique』

‘This is finally it, finally.’

Now that I’ve acquired the passive that will be my main force, practice shouldn’t be a big problem.

In other words, I won’t fall down alone like I did during the practice with Yoon Hee-jo over the past few days.

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

—– —–

>Vocal: 20/100 (!)

>Dance: 25/100 (!)

>Charm: 5/100 (!)

>Likability: 5/100 (!)

>Owned Passive 1: 『Mental Endurance』

>Owned Passive 2: 『Steel Physique』

>(This is currently a locked slot.)

—– —–

Now I should apply the rewards too.

The 『Major Stat Increase Ticket』 I just received was slightly different from the 『Stat Free Increase Ticket』 I received before.

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

The system helped me by allowing me to raise exactly one stat.