<h4>Chapter 1: Ending for the Good-Hearted (1)</h4>


    <strong>Prologue</strong>


    The quest waspleted. It was a quest that no one had bothered with due to its unimpressive rewards.


    "Wow. Someone finally managed toplete that quest."


    "Wasn''t that the quest that was bound to be a waste of time because of its trash rewards?"


    "Yeah, it was. I don''t understand why anyone would bother with it... Is he a pushover?"


    "Let''s not worry about others and just go."


    As the voices faded behind him, Kai nced back at them.


    <i>A pushover? Not true.</i>


    A smile curled at the corner of his mouth as a message window appeared before him.


    <i>Ding!</i>


    <strong>[You have performed a good deed for an NPC in trouble.]</strong>


    <strong>[Your Benevolence stat has increased by 1.]</strong>


    <strong>[Your overall stats will increase in proportion to your Benevolence stat.]</strong>


    .


    .


    .


    <strong>Chapter 1: Ending for the Good-Hearted (1)</strong>


    Han Jung-Woo enjoyed helping people, and the reason was simple. He remembered helping a fallen ssmate in kindergarten and receiving candy from the teacher.


    <i>Helping others results in rewards.</i>


    This simple equation resonated in his heart, and since then, Jung-Woo had been helping people in trouble and receiving small rewards. This hobby of Jung-Woo''s continued even in games.


    Shortened to MID Online, <i>Miracle Dream Online</i> was the ultimate game where all five senses were perfectly simted. With its release, it broke all existing records in the shortest time and set records that seemed unbreakable until the end of the world.


    Jung-Woopleted quests in the form of helping NPCs in the game and received rewards; he considered it his greatest joy. Naturally, he never once regretted this hobby of his.


    "...It wasn''t there just a while ago."


    He let out a light sigh, reminiscing about something that had happened just a few hours before.


    At the time, he had been forming a party in the vige and heading to a hunting ground. The target was the red gnoll, known for giving good XP and rewards. However, coincidentally, someone had copsed at the entrance to the hunting ground, and Kai didn’t just pass by because it seemed like a quest.


    "<i>Mmm</i>."


    "Are you alright?"


    "Where is this...?" The man, revived by Kai''s treatment, first bowed his head. "Thank you for saving me. My name is Teru, a Cleric of the Church of Sris."


    "It''s just what anyone would do."


    The man who introduced himself as Teru looked around at the party members and then said, "Excuse me for suddenly asking, but... are you adventurers?"


    "Yes, we are."


    "Oh, this must also be divine revtion! Please, could you spare me a moment of your time?"


    "Hm..."


    Sensing a troublesome situation, the party members secretly whispered behind.


    "Um, Kai? Suddenly taking up a quest like this is a bit... We were on our way to hunt red gnolls, weren’t we?"


    "Right, and we don''t even know what kind of quest this is. Don''t just ept it rashly. Remember, if one of us takes a quest, it gets shared with the whole party."


    "Oh, that''s right."


    Just as Kai was about to decline the request, Teru knelt and eximed, "Please, I beg you! I must hurry or it will be toote!"


    A quest window popped up simultaneously.


    <i>Ding!</i>


    <strong>[<u>Teru''s Request</u>]</strong>


    <strong>Difficulty: A</strong>


    <strong>Teru, a Cleric of the Church of Sris, came across the Temple of Evil by chance. He tried to get rid of the malevolent energy there by himself, but ended up severely injured. Help him destroy the dark energy lurking within the temple.</strong>


    <strong>Quest Reward: Significant increase in contribution and affinity with the Church of Sris,rge XP gain, substantial increase in fame.</strong>


    <strong>Failure Penalty: Significant decrease in contribution and affinity with the Church of Sris,rge loss of XP, substantial decrease in fame.</strong>


    The party members were shocked as they read the quest window that popped up.


    "A-an A-level quest!?"


    "That''s crazy. Why would an A-level quest appear in a level 40 area?"


    "Hmm... It seems too difficult for just the four of us. We need more people."


    "Wait, if it''s an A-level difficulty, the rewards must be amazing... This is an opportunity for us four to share."


    The party couldn''te to a unanimous decision.


    Seeing this, Teru, looking desperate, said, "Brothers, we don''t have time to argue. A malevolent ritual is currently being performed at the Temple of Evil. If we miss this chance, a Demon King might descend upon the continent. Please hurry!"


    <strong>[Teru''s Request quest has been forcibly epted.]</strong>


    <strong>[The status of Teru''s Request quest has been changed to time-limited.]</strong>


    <strong>[Stop the ritual being performed at the Temple of Evil within two hours and purify the order.]</strong>


    "Two hours!? For an A-level quest?"


    "Oh, this makes gathering more people tricky..."


    As the party members expressed their concerns, Teru reassured them with a gentle voice, "Brothers, it''s not as difficult as it seems. I just need to recite a spell to stop the malevolent ritual for 5 minutes. Just protect me during that time."


    Confronted with Teru''s confident gaze, the party members looked at each other and slowly nodded.


    "Well... if it''s just for about 5 minutes..."


    "Aren''t we capable enough on our own?"


    Finally making a decision, they followed Teru deep into the forest. After an hour, the entrance to a cleverly hidden temple greeted them.


    "So there was a temple in a ce like this."


    "Hmm, a Temple of Evil... That''s quite worrisome."


    "Don''t worry too much. Kai''s a cleric, right?"


    Kai nodded at the archer’s question, who was a part of the party. "If it''s a Temple of Evil, we''ll likely face undead, ghosts, and corrupted priests. They''re all weak against holy power, so don''t worry too much."


    "Great. Let''s go then!"


    Only one hour remained until the quest failed.


    They followed Teru, who skillfully moved through the temple.


    "Brothers, this is the ce."


    The party members followed him into the room and looked around.


    "Where is this?"


    "Didn''t you say there was some ritual happening?"


    "Come to think of it, it''s a bit strange that we didn''t see any monsters on the way here..."


    "Let''s set aside the doubts, brothers, and look over there."


    Teru directed their attention to a particr spot. There stood a human-shaped stone statue, continuously emitting dark energy.


    "I will now purify the darkness from that statue. Please block all attacks directed at me during this time."


    Teru began chanting an iprehensible spell. As he started, the statue''s eyes shed and emitted light.


    <i>Bzzzz!</i>


    A white beam shot from the statue''s eyes.


    Akan, who was the tank, hastily raised his shield in shock to block the white beam. "Ugh! What''s this all of a sudden...!"


    "Hold on for just five minutes!"


    Kai continuously healed the tank, while the Wizard and Archer relentlessly attacked to diminish the beam''s power.


    When the promised five minutes passed, Teru shouted, "The spell isplete! Now, please remove the gem embedded in the statue''s forehead!"


    The tank protested, "Are you crazy? How are we supposed to get through that!?"


    "We don''t have time! Hurry...!"


    Teru suddenly coughed and started bleeding ck blood from his ears and nose.


    "Dang it, if Teru falls, we all die!"


    "Damn it... damn it!"


    Eventually, the party’s tank cursed and advanced toward the statue, step by step. As he got closer to the statue, the beam pounding on his shield grew more intense.


    "Argghhh! My shield''s durability is melting like snow! You better cover the repair costs after this quest!"


    Struggling forward, the tank finally managed to remove the shining gem from the statue''s forehead. Then the statue began to crumble, and as it did, the statue emitting the beam copsed powerlessly.


    Finally rxed, the party members let out their held breath.


    "Phew, is it over?"


    "That was tough. Never heard of such a monster."


    "But for an A-level quest, it seemed too easy..."


    "Maybe because it’s in a level 40 section.”


    "How much do you think our levels will increase?"


    "I''m more excited about the contribution points with the Church of Sris than the XP. If we use them, we can even get unique weapons."


    As they excitedly discussed their sess inpleting the A-level quest, Teru slowly approached the tank. He then picked up the gem that had fallen to the ground, smiling.


    "Thank you for your help. It was a brave advance."


    "Ah, don''t mention it. We did it for the quest rewards."


    "Haha. Nevertheless, I am still grateful."


    "No need to mention it..."


    <i>sh!</i>


    Before the tank could finish his sentence, a scythe swept past his throat.


    "...?"


    The tank touched his neck in confusion but only managed to produce a wheezing sound as his vocal cords were severed. He then disintegrated into white polygons[1].


    Witnessing this, Kai abruptly stood up and shouted, "What have you done!"


    "Muahahaha!" Teru burst into maniacalughter and slowly turned around.


    When they locked eyes with him, the party members involuntarily stepped back, feeling a chill.


    <i>Wh-what kind of look is that in his eyes...</i>


    <i>Is that guy really a Cleric of the Church of Sris?</i>


    <i>...He''s definitely not a Cleric.</i>


    Kai, who was the only Cleric here, shook his head.


    At that moment, ckish-red letters appeared above Teru''s head.


    <strong>[Zirukan LV.???]</strong>


    There was only one situation when an NPC''s name appeared above their head.


    "Th-that''s a hostile NPC!"


    "And if it''s Zirukan...?"


    "Zirukan of the Grinning Scythes?"


    The party realized his true identity and their faces turned pale.


    Zirukan was a named NPC. ording to the game''s lore, he was a Dark Magician dered a public enemy of the continent, who dreamt of resurrecting the Demon King.


    <i>How much higher is his level that it doesn''t even disy properly?</i>


    While Kai gulped nervously, the other party members drew their weapons.


    "You bastard! You deceived us?"


    "Ice Arrow."


    The Archer and Wizard attacked Zirukan, but they were no match for him.


    <i>sh! sh!</i>


    <strong>[Party member “Diffon” has been eliminated.]</strong>


    <strong>[Party member “Akan” has been eliminated.]</strong>


    Kai’spanions, too weak to withstand a single attack, were logged out. Kai furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the scattered polygons on the ground.


    "So the copse at the beginning was all an act."


    "Hahaha. Wasn’t my acting quite splendid? I needed someone to remove the gem, as I couldn''t do it myself."


    That was the reason.


    Kai let out a soft sigh.


    <i>I''ve beenpletely tricked.</i>


    Just like the three party members who had died earlier, he too was likely to meet the same fate. As expected, Zirukan slowly approached Kai.


    Then at that moment...


    "Hm? Oh no..."


    Zirukan suddenly furrowed his eyebrows.


    "A spell that activates upon breaking the seal... I must hurry and leave."


    As Zirukan muttered to himself, he waved his hand and a teleportation gate appeared.


    He looked at Kai with a sly smile. "You''re unlucky. It would have been easier for you to just die... Take care."


    "What?" Kai asked back, bewildered, but Zirukan had already disappeared through the gate.


    "...What is going on?"


    As Kai tilted his head to the side in confusion, a notification sounded.


    <i>Ding!</i>


    <strong>[Teru''s Request quest has expired.]</strong>


    <strong>[Defense system of the Forgotten Temple has been activated.]</strong>


    <strong>[From this point forward, nothing can enter or exit the Forgotten Temple.]</strong>


    A death sentence had been announced.


    1. In some games, monsters/characters will disintegrate into the original modeling fragments and the pieces fall off. ?