Chapter 3
<Bad Ending Maker Episode 3>
Beginner's Village.
A small village where all players start their journey, with the royal capital SnowWhite visible in the distance.
Minchul, who had created an ordinary black-haired human male character, sat with a blank expression.
“Maaaaster!”
After a while, a small girl came hopping over, calling out to him.
“I’m here~ Did you wait long?”
The only one who would call Minchul “Master” was Oasis. Minchul turned his head sharply and growled.
“Oasis! Why did it take you so long to create your character?”
“W-well! It’s my first time having an avatar under my name! Of course, I took my time customizing it!”
Despite her efforts, her appearance was rather plain. She looked just like her usual self floating in the virtual space.
Short silver hair, round blue eyes, and a petite frame. Oasis hopped in place.
“Is this how it feels to have a body? It’s fun! Amazing!”
“Shut up, AI. Follow me quietly.”
“So mean!”
Minchul thrust his index finger in front of Oasis’s small face.
“Remember this. You’re just my pawn to make gaming easier for me. Carry my stuff when I say so, hunt when I say so, die when I say so. Got it?”
“I feel like I’ve been doing that already…”
For years, she had been exploited as Minchul’s support AI. Especially since Minchul was a workaholic, it was particularly harsh.
Minchul formed a party with Oasis and muttered indifferently.
“Since I’m the party leader, do as I say, minion.”
“M-minion…?”
But even this treatment was bearable today. Oasis looked around the sunny Beginner’s Village with sparkling eyes.
“Wow, going on an adventure with Master! Isn’t it exciting? What are we doing today?”
“……”
“Are we hunting squirrels since we’re low level? We’re only level 1! Let’s get a quest from the village chief first…”
Minchul ignored Oasis’s chatter and picked up two torches from the bonfire in the center of the village. He handed one to Oasis.
“Take it.”
“Huh?”
Oasis reflexively accepted it.
Torch
– Durability: 5/5
– Damage: 1-5
A regular torch. Useful for lighting dark areas.
※ Fire hazard!
The torch burned brightly.
“Uh… What are you planning to do with this, Master?”
“Can’t you tell?”
Minchul calmly held up the torch and set fire to the warehouse building next to them.
“Arson.”
Whoosh!
The fire spread instantly. The well-implemented game engine turned the straw-and-wood warehouse into ashes within seconds.
You have committed a crime. Notoriety +10.
“Hmm, it’s not increasing as much as I thought…”
“…?”
Oasis opened her mouth slightly. Minchul sprinted around the village, setting more fires. Oasis stood stiffly, watching the scene. Today seemed particularly prone to glitches.
“What are you doing? You do it too. We need notoriety points.”
“Eh… Eh… Ehhh?!”
“Only 10 notoriety per house. Is it because it’s a beginner village? How did I set this up again…”
After about five houses burned down, the panicked village chief NPC came running.
“H-hey! What on earth are you… AHHHH!”
As Minchul set fire to the sixth house, he calmly thrust the torch at the chief, who also caught fire. The chief turned to ash within seconds.
You have killed an NPC. Notoriety +100.
“Hmm, killing NPCs gives a bigger boost.”
“What are you doing, Master?!”
Oasis ran over with tears in her eyes and hugged the chief’s charred remains. Minchul explained again.
“I told you, we need notoriety points…”
“NPCs have AI rights too! You should treat them with care!”
“Ah, right.”
Being an AI herself, she was sensitive about NPC welfare. Minchul snorted.
“So what? They’ll respawn soon enough.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the chief revived at full health. Shocked, Oasis screamed, “AHHHH!”
The chief laughed heartily as if he didn’t remember what had just happened.
“Welcome! Welcome to Beginner’s Village…”
“Excuse me, but you’re on fire right now.”
“What? What do you… AHHHH!”
Minchul thrust his torch again, and once more, flames engulfed the chief.
You have killed an NPC. Notoriety +100.
“Ah, this is convenient. Should we keep repeating this?”
“You heartless monster! Stop killing the chief!”
“So what? He’ll keep respawning. Watch.”
“Welcome! Welcome to Beginner’s Vill… AHHHH!”
“Stop iiiit!”
Minchul’s arson spree only ended after the chief had burned ten more times, other NPCs were caught in the flames, and the entire village was reduced to ashes.
“Halt, criminal! You’re under arrest!”
Guards surrounded Minchul and Oasis, spears pointed at them.
“I didn’t do it, officers! Really! Have mercy—we’re fellow AI! Eek!”
“Save your pathetic excuses…”
Oasis, pleading desperately, was tied up first. Minchul indifferently opened his status window.
User ID: Labo
– Class: Novice
– Level: 1
– Item Level: 0
……
– Notoriety: 2,140
“This should be enough.”
Minchul remarked casually as he too was bound. Soon, the pair—or rather, one human and one AI—were dragged away by the guards.
Wings Online had a “jail” system.
Players who accumulated enough notoriety would gain bounties, becoming targets for guards and bounty hunter players. If caught, their notoriety would be converted into imprisonment time, requiring them to stay logged in for the duration to regain freedom.
“But beginners aren’t jailed. The system protects them.”
Minchul explained flatly after being released.
“However, the notoriety remains. So what happens then?”
“……”
“Your starting village changes to the criminals’ city: UnderTown.”
UnderTown
A subterranean city built for players barred from normal cities due to high notoriety. Standing before this grimy, sunless cavern, Oasis looked pale.
“This is my first time being arrested…”
“Obviously…”
“And my first time committing crimes…”
“So what? It’s just a game.”
Oasis sniffled.
“Why did you do this, Master?”
Having been expelled from the lush beginner village to this gaslit gray tunnel within minutes, Oasis was genuinely heartbroken.
“You wouldn’t do this without reason… Does starting here have advantages?”
“Exactly.”
Minchul strode into UnderTown, Oasis trailing nervously behind.
“Players job-change at level 10, then every 20 levels, with increasingly specialized classes.”
“Hmm… I see.”
Cut off from Napalm’s data links, Oasis—despite being a development AI—remembered nothing about the game. She listened intently.
“There are standard classes, but also hidden ones requiring specific conditions. Some are available from the start, others during advancement.”
Hidden classes weren’t necessarily stronger—each had pros and cons. The game’s balance favored standard classes for PvP and PvE dominance. But hidden classes offered unique flavors, keeping players hunting for them.
Wings Online was in its fifth year. Nearly all hidden classes had been discovered.
“Except one.”
“Ah!”
Oasis’s eyes widened.
“So you’re trying to get that class…?”
“Yes.”
Minchul nodded.
“A true villain’s class—only obtainable by trash who rack up enough notoriety as beginners to get arrested.”
“…”
“Thought more people would’ve found it, but no one did…”
Minchul paused, feeling Oasis’s narrowed gaze.
“What’s with that look, minion?”
“N-nothing! Just… marveling at how thoroughly trashy you are…”
“I’ll reformat you.”
“I respect you most in the world, Master! You know that, right? Hehe.”
Oasis immediately groveled.
“Is that class powerful? You went this far for it…”
“No, it’s… niche. Extreme.”
“Then why…?”
Oasis’s eyes narrowed again. Why burn the chief and come here?
“It’s sad, you know.”
Minchul shrugged.
“Something you worked hard on—ignored, never used… That’s sad. Don’t you think?”
“…”
Oasis side-eyed Minchul’s unreadable profile before cautiously asking:
“So we’re here to get that class now, Master?”
“Yes.”
Minchul walked familiarly through the damp tunnels, past criminal players sleeping on the ground or stabbing each other, until reaching a plaza crowded with begging NPCs—the “Beggar’s Plaza.”
“That’s the NPC for the class quest.”
He pointed to a beggar uniquely clad in black rags.
“You there. Come here.”
The NPC beckoned.
“I’m not begging. Come—I’ve a proposition.”
Minchul approached, Oasis reluctantly following.
The NPC exclaimed after inspecting them:
“Such notoriety at your age… You’re no ordinary villains!”
“But I’m not like that…”
Oasis muttered weakly.
Quest Alert: Evil Succession
Your notoriety as a novice proves your villainous talent! UnderTown’s Dark Mage Dean invites you to serve the Dark God Crow.
– Reward: Hidden Class [Dark Mage]
“Wow, a hidden class! Dark Mage!”
Oasis jumped excitedly.
“This is amazing! Master, you came all this way for…”
She froze.
Minchul had pulled out another torch.
“…Master?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re not…?”
Minchul smiled sweetly.
“Oh, I am.”
He thrust the torch into Dean’s robes.
“Join me in serving the Dark… AHHHH!”
“Why do all NPCs scream the same? Who coded this? …Wait, was it me?”
As Dean burned, Oasis shrieked:
“WHAT ARE YOU DOOOOING?!”
