I’m a Young God, Won’t You Raise Me?

As expected, I didn’t like getting beaten up.

However, when facing The Cell Block X as the physician, the fastest and most effective method was to let the prison guards beat me up from the very first day.

The Cell Block X had a system exclusive to the physician.

It was the Suspicion and Affinity system.

Unlike other games, where you usually only had to manage affinity levels, here you also had to pay attention to suspicion levels.

These values were tracked separately for each NPC and ranged from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 100.

The events and endings that were triggered varied depending on those values.

If the prison guards’ suspicion level was high, the chances of them dragging you to a place without surveillance cameras to beat you up increased significantly.

But if their suspicion level was too low, no matter how kindly you treated the Creatures, it was difficult to raise their affinity.

Because they suspected you were on the guards’ side.

To obtain the True Ending as the physician, it was necessary to maintain an appropriate level of suspicion and affinity with the prison guards, while achieving Suspicion 0 and Affinity 100 with the Creatures.

You had to be especially careful with the guards.

Not only did a high suspicion level lead to a Bad Ending, but so did having both suspicion and affinity high, or even just having high affinity alone.

In short, the prison guards were troublesome characters—you couldn’t treat them too well, but you couldn’t treat them too badly either.

‘Getting beaten up from the very beginning is a good investment for the future.’

If you were injured by the prison guards, the Creatures’ affinity increased.

Since earning their favor was very difficult at the beginning, this was, in many ways, the best strategy.

“As always, Mr. Gunbam is very bold.”

Dominic evaluated my method with an extremely polite expression.

It was obvious that it wasn’t a compliment.

But if it meant I could get out of this place sooner, then a simple beating didn’t matter to me.

As I left the quarters, a corridor shrouded in darkness stretched out before me.

Even after turning on the flashlight, it only illuminated a few steps ahead; it didn’t really feel like it was lighting up the place.

I silently walked down that hallway, steeped in a gloomy atmosphere.

The prison was divided into the inmate block and the prison guard block, and the physician’s quarters were located in the farthest corner of the guard block.

My destination was the prison guards’ break room.

Except for those on duty, they usually stayed there until late at night, playing cards or smoking.

I intended to go there and provoke them.

As I walked down the corridor carrying nothing but the flashlight, I sent a message through the system to Kwak Hanmuk.

Captain Kwak, are you alright? I was assigned the role of physician. Please come see me tomorrow.

Since I had to let myself get beaten up today, I asked him to come the following day.

‘Now that I think about it, Dominic is also a prison guard.’

I became curious about his values.

Naturally, since he wasn’t an NPC, his suspicion and affinity levels shouldn’t affect the ending.

Even so, I thought I’d probably be able to see them, so I discreetly checked.

Dominic (Prison Guard)

— Suspicion: 999

— Affinity: 999

…Huh?

When I saw those numbers, which were completely different from what I had expected, I was stunned.

‘Wasn’t the maximum supposed to be 100? And why is his suspicion so high?’

I had expected to find Suspicion 0 and Affinity 100, so I couldn’t help but be bewildered.

“Mr. Gunbam.”

They say that a guilty conscience startles at everything.

The moment Dominic called out to me, I felt my heart stop.

I cautiously answered the prison guard with 999 Suspicion.

“…Yes?”

“What is it that has made you so curious?”

Could checking someone’s values also record who had done it?

After what had happened with character registration, I thought something similar was happening again.

But Dominic spoke in a voice full of amusement.

“It seemed that Mr. Gunbam wanted to check something about me, so I decided to mention it.”

“It’s just that physicians can see certain values.”

I honestly admitted that I had tried to check his stats and that the result seemed to be an error.

Dominic let out a soft chuckle.

“I doubt something like that is sufficient to measure me.”

Dominic was an existence that defied all logic on his own.

Trying to measure him with simple numerical values had been arrogant on my part.

Even the slight unease I had felt upon seeing his Suspicion 999 disappeared completely.

Seeing my embarrassment, Dominic tried to reassure me.

“If there is anything you are curious about, simply ask me. I will gladly answer.”

These values were tracked separately for each NPC and ranged from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 100.

Of course, I couldn’t ask him.

So, Mr. Dominic, using a scale from 0 to 100 as a reference, what exactly would your suspicion and affinity toward me be?

So I simply replied that it was nothing.

As I approached the prison guards’ break room, the corridor gradually became brighter.

I put the flashlight back into my inventory and continued walking as I thought.

In the game, the event began the moment you entered.

But in this real Trial, it wouldn’t be that simple.

While thinking about what I should say to make sure I received a proper beating, I arrived in front of the break room.

Loud laughter could be heard from the other side of the door.

The guards were playing games while chatting cheerfully.

I still hadn’t decided what to say and was lingering in front of the door when—

“Is something the matter?”

A cold voice came from behind me.

Startled, I immediately turned around.

The first thing I saw was a gray metal mask.

The Chief of Security was looking down at me.

Ding.

The notification for a change in values sounded.

Thinking my suspicion had increased, I glanced sideways at the system window.

Suspicion +8

Affinity +1

“…?”

An unbelievable scene appeared before my eyes.

Suspicion and affinity had increased at the same time.

It made sense for suspicion to rise.

After all, it was my first night in the prison, and I was standing in front of the guards’ break room.

But why had affinity increased as well?

‘Could it be a bug?’

Then again, on second thought, maybe he was excited because he was about to get the chance to beat me up.

In any case, affinity had only increased by one point.

And right now, what mattered was getting beaten up.

After giving it some thought, I decided to go through with my provocation.

“I’ve come to protest what happened today…!”

Unlike how determined my words sounded, my voice trembled slightly.

The lips visible beneath the mask immediately twisted.

“You’ve come to protest?”

The Chief of Security repeated my words in a mocking tone before throwing the break room door wide open.

Then he shoved me inside.

Since they were people accustomed to fighting Creatures, their strength was extraordinary.

I nearly fell to the floor. Only after stumbling several times did I manage to regain my balance.

Then I raised my head awkwardly.

“……”

Every prison guard in the room was staring at me.

Although half their faces were covered by metal masks, I could clearly feel the weight of their gazes.

“Huh? Isn’t that the doctor?”

One of the guards threw the cards in his hand onto the table as soon as he recognized me.

The Chief of Security closed the break room door behind me and answered in my place.

“He says he’s here to protest about what happened today.”

The moment they heard that, all the guards burst into laughter and began getting to their feet one after another, laughing mockingly.

Those heavily built figures looked down at me from above.

At that moment, I started regretting it a little.

Unlike in the game, this time I was the one who was going to take the beating in person.

Just thinking about it already made my body ache.

‘Will it be in the bathroom or the showers?’

Since there were surveillance cameras in the break room, it was almost certain they’d take me to one of those two places to beat me.

Just as I was wondering which one it would be—

“Hey, uh, hyungs. Hold on.”

From an inconspicuous corner, a guard suddenly stood up.

‘Was there another guard here?’

After hurriedly putting out his cigarette in the ashtray, he strode toward us.

He also had half his face covered by a black metal mask.

However, a lock of red hair stuck out from beneath his cap.

Thud!

The red-haired guard slung an arm around my shoulders, almost as if he had rammed into me.

“I’ll be the one to properly educate this very young doctor, since I’m the rookie guard. So you hyungs can just relax.”

He spoke with the air of a street thug.

The next moment, he locked my neck under his arm and punched me hard on the head.

“Ugh!”

It hurt so much that tears sprang to my eyes.

The other guards burst into laughter.

One of them lightly smacked me in the stomach with the back of his hand as he said,

“Doctor, make sure you receive your education properly. Starting tomorrow, try to do better, alright?”

Amid the mocking laughter, the red-haired guard grabbed my arm and practically dragged me out of the room.

Even after we left, he remained completely silent.

He didn’t speak until we had gone a considerable distance and entered a dark corridor.

I was the one who spoke first.

“Captain Kwak…?”

Only then did Kwak Hanmuk abruptly turn toward me.

He removed his mask.

His gray eyes had turned completely cold.

“Goyo.”

“Yes?”

“What the hell were you trying to do just now?”

“…Ah, well…”

I had never imagined Kwak Hanmuk would be a prison guard.

In The Cell Block X, the same role was never assigned twice.

Since Dominic had received the role of prison guard, I had assumed Kwak Hanmuk would have a different one.

‘Could it be because he hasn’t been acting?’

After the introductory scene, Dominic hadn’t done anything at all; he had only put on the cap.

Besides, he had even teleported out of the area assigned to the guards, so it was entirely possible that the system had made a mistake.

In any case, having Kwak Hanmuk as a prison guard made everything much more convenient.

I explained the plan I had in mind.

“…So I think it would be enough if you gave me some moderate injuries, Captain Kwak.”

After listening to me, Kwak Hanmuk put a hand to his forehead and muttered,

“Goyo, you really are a complete Albam.”

Then he bonked me on the head with one of the beads from his rosary.

“Looks like Albam needs another bonk.”

He had already hit me once with his hand, and now again with a rosary bead.

Although it seemed a little unfair, I obediently accepted the bonk.

Only then, somewhat belatedly, did I tell him I was glad he was safe.

“Because of Albam, I’m not in my right mind anymore. A member of the Trial Response Agency thinking about letting himself get beaten up? What you should be thinking about is beating the hell out of them!”

“I’m sorry.”

When I lowered my head to apologize, Kwak Hanmuk’s expression finally softened a little.

“You promised Captain Mo you wouldn’t do anything dangerous again.”

“But what I was about to do wasn’t risking my life…”

“Want another bonk?”

“…No.”

Carefully watching his reaction, I gave him a summary of the situation.

I informed him that Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyuno, Lieutenant Won Taebeom, and Pasung’s CEO Cha would be entering the Trial, briefly told him what was happening outside, and shared the information I knew about The Cell Block X.

After listening to me, Kwak Hanmuk frowned slightly.

“This Trial is at least five stars. If things go badly, it could even be six.”

While he seriously reflected on the problem, I hesitated again and again.

There was something I had wanted to ask him for quite some time, but it felt completely out of place given the situation.

“Gunbam, what’s wrong?”

He must have noticed it on my face because Kwak Hanmuk asked me directly.

In the end, I couldn’t hold it back.

“Captain Kwak… do you smoke?”

“Me? No.”

“Then… just now…”

“I’m an occasional former smoker.”

“……”

I didn’t understand how that was different from being a smoker, but at least my curiosity had been satisfied.

No wonder he had been staring at the ashtray on the rooftop earlier.

So that was why.

It was an insignificant detail, but since it was about Kwak Hanmuk, I decided to remember it anyway.

“But look, he’s even wearing a cap now.”

When Kwak Hanmuk noticed him, I glanced sideways at the Pudding Slime.

With that little prison guard cap and his soft glow, the little slime was unbelievably adorable.

“Depending on the Trial, accessories like this are sometimes added.”

“Oh, really…?”

After spending a while watching the slime, Kwak Hanmuk escorted me back to the physician’s quarters.

He practically shoved me into the room and warned me in an almost commanding tone.

“Don’t do anything stupid, and get some sleep tonight. I’ll gather as much information as I can about the prison guards.”

What mattered wasn’t the information, but the suspicion and affinity values.

But I had the feeling that no matter how much I tried to explain it, Kwak Hanmuk wasn’t going to budge.

After saying goodbye to him, I had no choice but to go to bed.

The Pudding Slime naturally climbed onto my chest.

In Slay to Plate, since he had always slept on that straw mattress on my chest, he seemed to have developed that habit.

Now, every time we went to sleep, he turned my chest into his bed.

Since he barely weighed anything and felt pleasant to the touch, I didn’t mind either.

With the Pudding Slime settled comfortably on my chest, I fell asleep.

Thus ended the first day, Sunday, in the prison.

And the next day, Monday.

As I began my weekly schedule as the physician,

I came face to face with Je Hyuno.

As the thirteenth Creature inmate of Block X.