OMP | Chapter 3

The farming game, <Happy Flower>, has the ultimate goal of blooming the ‘Happy Flower’. This legendary flower is said to maintain the soil and fertility of where it’s planted at the highest level. Good soil enriches the lives of the island’s residents.

However, as a legendary flower and the ultimate goal, the strategy to achieve it was particularly difficult. So, not many people had actually bloomed the flower. As far as Yuwon knew, only one person had.

SparrowChirp, Lee Yuwon.

In other words, just me.

“It wasn’t that hard.”

Maybe because obtaining the ultimate flower, the ‘Happy Flower’, was surprisingly easy, Yuwon quit the game without much hesitation as soon as the flower budded, making the ten years of playtime seem pointless.

Complete character deletion. It was a decision he could make because he had seen the end of the end.

That was just three months ago. In fact, he regretted deleting his character as soon as he faced the harsh reality outside. He thought it would have been nice to log in occasionally and enjoy a leisurely life.

[Musecko Cave]

Escape the mysterious cave. You might find a beautiful world?

And now, Yuwon was staring blankly at the guide window in front of him.

“Musecko Cave…”

The familiar world unfolded before his eyes. He couldn’t tell if it was a gift or a curse. But one thing was certain. He was the only one here who knew this game.

He was confident that the life hunters gathered here wouldn’t know about such a ridiculous game—

“I know about this place.”

Yuwon was startled and looked at Yoon Chanyoung.

“We’re trapped inside a game called ‘Happy Flower’. There’s no time to explain in detail.”

Yoon Chanyoung seemed impressive. To reveal such a secret hobby so casually, especially in a place that might be his lifelong workplace.

“So, there’s something the courier needs to do immediately.”

The first person Yoon Chanyoung sought out was the courier.

Once you enter a gate, the inside is cut off from the outside. You’re trapped inside until the dungeon is cleared. However, there’s a way to communicate with the outside in emergencies. An esper with the ‘communication’ trait connects the inside and outside.

Mail courier. That’s the reason for the existence of the communication ability.

“There’s a farming game called ‘Happy Flower’ generated by AI. Tell them to bring the person ranked number one. No one else is useful.”

It was a very correct but also troubling judgment. Yuwon was indeed the only person who had bloomed the Happy Flower in that farming game.

So Yuwon thought. Yeah, only I can solve this. Since Yoon Chanyoung came out as a gamer first, even if I step up now, no one will mock me for playing the same game.

“Um…”

With that judgment, Yuwon, who had been shrinking in the back, bravely took a step forward.

“Don’t just stand there. Don’t you know it’s a serious matter?”

Yoon Chanyoung pushed Yuwon back.

“Ouch!”

Yuwon lost his balance and fell on his butt, but no one cared. Instead, another team member quickly filled the spot where Yuwon had been standing and asked a question.

“Esper Yoon Chanyoung! You said no one else is needed, but wouldn’t it be good to ask the second and third ranks just in case?”

Questions began to focus on Yoon Chanyoung. No, there’s no need for that.

Yuwon felt frustrated, as he was the only one who had completed the final quest in that game. The second rank was his alternate character, and the third was a follower who wanted to learn from him…

“I’m the third rank.”

What?

Yuwon, who was about to stand up, sat back down. Through the people, he saw the face of his colleague Yoon Chanyoung break into pieces.

“Only that person can clear this dungeon.”

The character of ‘Nongsin’, ranked third, was overlaid on Yoon Chanyoung’s face.

“Write it down. Bring the first rank here.”

Yoon Chanyoung’s eyes sparkled as he said that. The team leader tried to mediate for a moment, but Yoon Chanyoung continued.

“Oh, the current first rank isn’t that person. They deleted their character and ran. It’s a user named ‘SparrowChirp’.”

The moment his character name slipped out of that guy’s mouth, Yuwon snapped to attention and stood up. He pushed through the people and squeezed into the front to watch the document being written.

“Esper Yoon Chanyoung, with all due respect, wouldn’t it be faster to bring the game developer rather than just the first rank?”

“Just ask them to come with Chirp Chirp.”

A chill ran down his spine. That crazy guy called him by a nickname.

The team leader began drafting the request based on the information Yoon Chanyoung provided.

“We’ll request the game rank one SparrowChirp, along with developers and game strategists as mercenaries. Any objections? …Esper Lee Yuwon?”

“Yes?”

He had been reading the text so closely without realizing it.

“Any objections?”

“No.”

“Then please step back. We’re in the middle of an important discussion.”

“…Oh, okay.”

“If there are no more objections, I’ll send it like this.”

“Oh, team leader. If SparrowChirp refuses, ask them to at least bring their personal information first. And—”

Why do they need personal information for clearing a dungeon? It’s not even a game guide document. Surprisingly, no one pointed this out.

“This gate will be a long-term gate. To prevent manpower shortages outside, entry should be restricted to the requested personnel only.”

The mail courier begins delivery.

Soon, the mail courier, holding the organized document, headed outside the gate.

“By the way… where do we find the stranded people? The cave looks big.”

“Everyone, stranded people aren’t important right now, so forget about them for a moment.”

Attention turned to Yoon Chanyoung.

“This place, Musecko Cave, is a treasure hunt map.”

Yoon Chanyoung grabbed the stem of a giant four-leaf clover not far away. Then he pulled it out by the roots.

‘You’ve obtained a ‘Cool Gloves’.’

A pair of gloves came up with the roots. Yoon Chanyoung glanced at it and tossed it aside as if it were a worthless item.

“Wow… it really feels like a game. It’s a relief we have Esper Yoon Chanyoung.”

“There’s a time limit, so spread out now and pull up every plant you see to gather items.”

“Where should we gather after we’re done?”

“When the time is up, we’ll be moved outside the cave. We’ll gather and talk then. No more questions since we’re short on time.”

Yoon Chanyoung’s briefing ended there. The effective time for Musecko Cave was about an hour. And they had already spent ten minutes before sending the courier.

“Let’s go!”

The team members ran towards various paths in the cave.

Yuwon, left alone, soon exited Musecko Cave.

In a slightly different way.

You have escaped Musecko Cave!

You have arrived at Happyland.

The way Yuwon exited the cave was simple.

First, he went to the edge of the cave and tapped the walls.

“…Here it is.”

It looked like he was tapping to check the ripeness of a watermelon. It was a method to find thin walls in Musecko Cave.

Once he identified the location, Yuwon dug with his hands. It was truly a mole-like skill.

Covered in dust, Yuwon emerged from the cave to a view of the blue sea, shimmering waves, white sand, and the sunlight on the beach. A beautiful resort scene unfolded. But now wasn’t the time to sit and admire it.

Yuwon dusted off his hands and ran. He had already spent about 30 minutes digging the tunnel.

Since hitting and pulling plants yielded items, Yoon Chanyoung perceived Musecko Cave as a treasure cave, and so did the travelers guided by him.

[Musecko Cave]

Escape the mysterious cave. You might find a beautiful world?

“Doesn’t anyone read the content?”

But the essence of the place was a quest map. One that required escaping within an hour. There was an exit door at the end of the cave. But reaching it within the time limit was nearly impossible. So it remained an event map that was okay to fail.

Yuwon entered a thicket. He pulled up every plant he saw.

— You’ve obtained a ‘Plant Caretaker’s Bag’.

— You’ve obtained a ‘Yellow Needle’.

— You’ve obtained a ‘Rice Thief Crab Shell’.

— You’ve obtained a ‘Seedling Shovel’.

— You’ve obtained a ‘Large Shovel’.

The items obtained outside the cave were all of much higher quality than those inside.

“Got it, large shovel.”

He planted the large shovel under the largest plumeria tree on the island. He had to reach the roots as quickly as possible.

As he hurriedly shoveled, beads of sweat formed on Yuwon’s forehead.

I can do it. I can…

“Oh, is it done?”

Just as Yuwon reached for something dangling from the root.

You’ve obtained a ‘Mysterious Egg’.

The time limit ended, and the <Musecko Cave> quest concluded.

Yuwon let out a sigh of relief. He succeeded by a hair’s breadth.

Musecko Cave held a secret unknown to the world. It was a hidden event map where, if you managed to escape the cave and dig up the roots of the oldest plant, you could obtain a top-tier pet.

Boom!

The cave collapsed, and people were forcibly moved to where Yuwon was. Amidst the loud noise, the screams of team members were mixed.

“Ahh! Help! My leg is trapped!”

“Neck! Neck! Neck!”

From people trapped under rubble to those who fainted. It was chaos.

“Hey! Lee Yuwon! What are you doing? Aren’t you going to help? Why are you spacing out?!”

“Oh, yes. I’m coming.”

“It’s so heavy! Hurry up!”

Through the dust from the stones being removed, Yoon Chanyoung’s figure was visible. Amidst the chaos, he was calmly organizing the items he had obtained.