IGPB 01

Chapter 1

Yesterday was the most depressing day of my entire life.

I, who worked as a zookeeper at Eco Land, found out that the panda I’d been taking care of—Ruru, my very first charge—had been scheduled for repatriation.

“No, Ye-eun, listen to me. Ruru only just managed to adjust here, and now they’re telling me to send her back to where she came from? Does that make any sense?”
“What the heck, are they crazy? Did you talk to the management team?”
“Of course I did! But they said it’s not something a lowly employee like me should meddle in! This damn company! Ughhhh… I can’t live without Ruru…”
“Sigh… Haneul, cheer up! And stop drinking so much. Hey, why don’t you try this with me instead? It’s a game with tons of animals in it. You’re an ani-maniac, right? Here, link.”

Kka-tok! (message sound)

[You’ve been invited to play the farming-healing RPG game “Animal Park.” <Click here to join>]

Honestly, I wasn’t in the mood for games.
But when I saw a character in the preview that looked just like Ruru, I clicked download as if under a spell.

That’s all it took.

And then…

╭♥°˖✧ ♥ ✧˖°♥╮
[Game Tutorial: The Beginning of a New Journey]

You are Zoé Blanche, the only heir of a fallen barony.
Unfortunately, your parents met an untimely death in an accident,
and you have inherited a small cottage and a little garden where you can farm.

This is your new home.
From this small but cozy place begins Zoé Blanche’s “new story.”

Meet new animal friends and explore the village!

Warning: The cuteness of your friends may cause heart palpitations.
But beware… sometimes, unpredictable and dangerous beings may appear…

Now, begin your new journey as Zoé Blanche.
Good luck, Player! ଘ(੭ˊ꒳ˋ)੭✧
╰♥°˖✧ ♥ ✧˖°♥╯

…Ye-eun, I’m screwed.

Somehow—I got sucked into the game itself.

 The Monsters in the Game Are Too Cute

I woke up in the morning just like any other day —
so how on earth did I end up inside a game?

I stared blankly at the floating tutorial text above my head, unable to process the 0% probability of what had just happened.

“…What’s with that weird warning message?”

The small, suspiciously tiny text was driving me crazy.
Good thing my eyesight was decent.

“So… this is really the world inside Animal Park?”

It felt like I’d somehow ended up in the game I played yesterday, but there hadn’t been any setting about being a fallen noble’s daughter. That made everything even more confusing.

“I definitely got drunk last night and… oh, wait. Don’t tell me…”

As I dug through my hazy memories, something flashed through my mind — a system notice.

‘After the upcoming maintenance, the beloved “Animal Park” will be reborn as “Animal Park 2.”’

That’s when I realized it.
I was inside the newly updated Animal Park 2.

[<System> Quest generated! Quest generated!]

“Ahhh! What the—!”

The blaring system alert startled me so badly I nearly dropped to the floor.
I quickly tapped at the floating screen, and a new window appeared as if it had been waiting.

[<System> Quest Generated: “A Clean, Happy Home!”]
Clean up your dirty house!
Reward: Gain a new skill
Failure: Suffer from chronic rhinitis for 365 days
You will also have a continuous “runny nose” debuff until completion.
Warning: If the quest isn’t completed within 30 minutes, additional debuffs will be applied.

“…Chronic rhinitis? You’ve GOT to be kidding me. What kind of cursed game is this?!”

No matter how much I screamed, the system window vanished — and the next instant, mucus started dripping from my nose.

“Snnrff— What the— snrfffk!”

One word, one handful of snot.
Realizing this was serious, I finally took a proper look around the room.

The furniture was grimy and worn with age, the wallpaper was yellowed, and there was mold everywhere.

The place was so dilapidated it could’ve been the set for a haunted-house vlog.

‘…Maybe I should just abandon the house altogether?’

Puff!

Suddenly, cleaning tools materialized out of thin air — the system’s way of saying get to work.

Resigned, I grabbed a broom with both hands, sniffling miserably from both nostrils.

At least there was no one around to witness how ridiculous I looked.

“…I hate this. I really do! Snnrk!”

Ugh… why did I have to be scrubbing floors while literally drowning in snot?

I raised my broom and swung it toward the air in protest.

“Hey, evil system! Make me a rich lady in a mansion instead! You hear me?!”

But the system didn’t reply.

Why did I have to be the daughter of a fallen baron of all things?

My parents were dead, and all they left behind was a collapsing shack and a tiny vegetable patch.
Even if the family had fallen, we were still nobles!
So where did all the money go?!

Tears— no, more snot —welled up as I sniffled and glanced around again.

From a cozy one-room apartment to a rotten wooden hut…
My reality hadn’t improved at all.

This was supposed to be a healing game.
Hey, GM— you good at fighting?

“Phew… at least there’s one thing I like about this place… sniff.”

I wiped my nose on my sleeve and turned toward the small mirror on the wall.

“This… incredible beauty? Snnrrk.”

Snow-pale skin, silky pink hair, eyes like sparkling aquamarine gemstones.
There was a mystical glow to them that almost seemed otherworldly.

My pixelated avatar had turned into a goddess-tier beauty.

Alright, credit where it’s due. At least they buffed my looks.
But seriously, why stick me in a haunted shack?

Just as I was grumbling at the system, I heard a sound.

Rustle.

“…What was that?”

I was on the second floor, but the sound had come from below — someone moving around.

Could someone be here? No, my parents were gone, and as a fallen noble, I didn’t have servants.
So there shouldn’t be anyone else.

A lump formed in my throat.
I couldn’t stand not knowing, so I gripped my broom tightly and crept downstairs.

“…There’s nobody.”

I checked every corner of the house, but it was completely empty.
The eerie stillness made me shiver.

I-it’s fine. It’s a healing game, remember?

“Snrrk— Achoo! Snrk! Achoo!! Snff—Achoo!”

[<System> Time limit exceeded. “Infinite Sneezing” debuff applied. Please complete your quest immediately.]

The new debuff shattered whatever fear I had left.

“Alright already! I’ll clean! I’ll clean! Achoo!”

[<System> Zoe Blanche has completed the quest “A Clean, Happy Home!”]

• Title obtained: Dust Exterminator

  • Effect: Dust takes twice as long to reappear after cleaning.

• Reward: Sweep & Shine Cleaning Master Skill obtained.

• Stats increased: +5 to Strength, Stamina, Agility, and Luck.

“It… finally stopped.”

After an eternity of scrubbing, I was at last free from the cursed rhinitis debuff.
I collapsed onto an oak sofa covered in linen and stared out the window.

“I was just cleaning, but the sun’s already setting…”

Lost in chores, I hadn’t noticed time passing.
Now, coral-colored sunlight flooded through the glass.

Ignoring the beauty of the sunset, I stared at the blinking quest-complete window.

“‘Dust Exterminator’? Wow, thrilling. I’m overjoyed,” I muttered flatly.

And that +5 stat bonus? Barely noticeable.
All that labor for this?

I clicked my tongue at the stingy system.
Then curiosity got the better of me.

I kind of wanted to see my base stats.
Not because I was scared earlier, no. Because maybe—just maybe—I had some amazing hidden power.

You know the cliché:
Reincarnated into another world, turns out to be overpowered!

Grinning at the thought, I whispered softly toward the air.

“St… stat window…”

Usually, that line opened it up in games.
But of course—

Nothing happened.

“Damn it.”