I’m a Young God, Won’t You Raise Me?

The reason I deliberately brought up Pasung was simple.

Je Hyuno was hostile toward both Trials and Suitables.

He had no reason to show mercy to a Suitable who didn’t even belong to the Trial Response Agency.

Up until now, he had tolerated me largely because I was part of the Trial Response Agency’s Special Operations Team. Otherwise, he probably would’ve already torn me into several pieces.

Everything had happened so suddenly after that meteorite fell from the sky and we were hurriedly pulled into the Trial.

Since I assumed Je Hyuno hadn’t yet heard from Samra whether I would be renewing my contract, I decided to send him a Message.

After reading it, Je Hyuno tilted his head toward me.

The glossy surface of his protective goggles moved a little closer to my face.

Since the area was dimly lit, it felt as though a black shadow had spilled over me.

“Goyo.”

His deep, muffled voice sounded like a lazy whisper.

“Did you sign a contract with the Trial Response Agency?”

It was a rough tone, more befitting a beast than a person.

I glanced sideways at the prison guards surrounding us.

Even though the Creature had just spoken, none of them seemed surprised.

Since Je Hyuno was being recognized as a Creature, to them his voice was probably nothing more than a monster’s growl.

I replied in detail through the Message system.

When we get out of this Trial, I plan to sign the contract. If Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyuno cooperates with me a little, I promise we’ll clear this Trial quickly, and I’ll sign the contract as soon as possible.

I sent the Message at top speed, almost as if I were rapping.

Then I carefully watched Je Hyuno’s reaction.

Definitely.

The atmosphere seemed to relax a little.

I let out a sigh of relief inwardly and very carefully walked past him.

Then I opened the already-unlocked door to Cell No. 13 all the way and called out.

“Creature Patient No. 13. Please come over here.”

“Pfft…”

A muffled laugh could be heard.

It was Kwak Hanmuk, who hadn’t been able to hold back his laughter while watching the scene.

Dominic also added a comment after seeing me play the role of a doctor.

“Since Mr. Gunbam’s subordinate is in a rather unstable condition, it would be a good idea to take this opportunity to combine his treatment with a counseling session.”

Since Dominic had been a psychiatrist, I couldn’t help but completely agree with his suggestion.

Although, if Je Hyuno’s mental condition could actually be cured, the Trial Response Agency would’ve already exhausted every possible means to treat him long ago.

With my heart pounding, I watched Je Hyuno.

He looked at me while holding the cell door, and suddenly the lights on his protective goggles lit up.

^ ^

It had been a very long time since a simple emoticon had made me this happy.

While I was still thrilled to see it again after so long, Je Hyuno started walking toward me.

And obediently stepped into the cell.

“…!”

The Creature that had been violent enough to kill a prison guard just moments ago was now obeying without resistance.

The guards began murmuring among themselves in confusion.

While everyone was still stunned, Kwak Hanmuk extended his hand toward the other guards.

Apparently, he’d already taken part in a bet.

Since he had most likely bet on my survival, it looked like he was about to win a good amount.

Thinking that I’d have to ask him to treat me to something delicious later, I stepped into the cell with Je Hyuno.

In reality, the hardest part was only beginning.

Since the text that had appeared in the Weekly Schedule after completing the mission indicated that today there really was a Patient No. 13, I had to treat the corresponding rule in the manual as true and act accordingly.

I had to treat Patient No. 13 kindly.

But I had no idea how Je Hyuno would interpret my behavior.

‘Well… at least the emoticon came back on his goggles.’

I decided to trust that emoticon and keep going.

At this point, it was best to take the opportunity to complete the medical rounds as well.

“Patient No. 13. Could you sit here, please?”

I pointed to the chair, and Je Hyuno obediently sat down.

His cooperative attitude gave me a lot of confidence.

Encouraged by that, I took out my stethoscope.

Please bear with me for just a moment. I’ll really be done in no time.

Of course, I didn’t forget to send him the Message before doing so.

Very carefully, I placed the stethoscope against Je Hyuno’s chest.

Tap.

That slight touch alone was enough to make my hand tremble.

I was prepared to run away the moment I heard a metallic sound.

But Je Hyuno remained completely still.

After pretending to perform a quick examination, I hurriedly removed the stethoscope and exclaimed,

“Everything is normal! You’re in perfect health!”

I immediately took a medical chart out of my inventory.

Patient Record Chart : A chart used to record the patient’s condition. Take special care when completing a Creature’s medical history.

Since I wasn’t a real doctor, simply writing Normal was enough.

After finishing the record, I swallowed hard.

Only one final obstacle remained.

Treating him kindly.

In the original game, this was an action performed in front of a completely empty space.

But now there was an actual Creature No. 13.

And on top of that, that Creature was Je Hyuno.

That made the difficulty skyrocket.

With almost solemn determination, I took an item out of my inventory.

Then I very carefully placed it on Je Hyuno’s lap.

“……”

Je Hyuno lowered his gaze to the object resting on his legs.

It was a yellow candy.

Well.

It wasn’t actually candy, but a nutritional supplement.

Children’s Nutritional Supplement: A candy-shaped supplement with a refreshing lemon flavor. It can be consumed by both humans and Creatures.

After looking at the children’s supplement, Je Hyuno slowly raised his eyes to me.

I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted,

“I-I only give these to Creature patients who behave well…!”

My voice echoed throughout Block X.

I hadn’t actually spoken that loudly.

But because the entire place was completely silent, my voice ended up carrying much farther than I had expected.

Dying of embarrassment, I slowly opened my eyes.

Je Hyuno was still staring at me.

The lights on his protective goggles lit up again.

O O

…Did he like candy?

Two enormous circles had appeared on his protective goggles, but I couldn’t tell what they meant.

Since he’d said he was going to eat an entire cake with Kwak Hanmuk, I assumed he liked candy too.

In any case, I’d survived.

It seemed that, between the two of us, there was at least a little camaraderie now.

I quickly finished the examination and left Cell No. 13.

Clang!

The barred door shut.

I turned to look at Je Hyuno on the other side of the cell.

He remained sitting there in silence, as though he were perfectly playing the role of an inmate.

Watching him confined in such a small, oppressive place, I felt the urge to get him out of there, even though I had been the one to lock him inside.

Without realizing it, I found myself staring at him.

Then, suddenly, another thought crossed my mind.

Why was Je Hyuno in the Trial Response Agency?

Even if Jang Seokyun had offered him a contract he couldn’t escape from, I still found it hard to believe that someone with Je Hyuno’s personality would have accepted it.

‘I want to ask him but he probably won’t answer.’

The best thing I could do was focus on clearing The Cell Block X as quickly as possible.

Playing the role of an inmate couldn’t be easy for Je Hyuno, and I wanted to get him out of this prison as soon as I could as well.

I let out a deep sigh inwardly before turning back toward the prison guards.

I saw Kwak Hanmuk mouthing something that ended with -bam.

Just as I was trying to figure out whether he’d said Albam—

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

The notifications for stat changes all started ringing at once.

There were so many that it was impossible to tell where they were coming from.

The system windows also began appearing on top of one another until they overlapped completely, making it impossible to tell which change belonged to whom.

It wasn’t just the prison guards’ values that had changed.

The Creatures’ values had changed as well.

It made perfect sense.

Everyone had seen how I treated Creature No. 13.

But what was strange was the magnitude of the increases.

Affinity +9

Affinity +30

Affinity +62

Suspicion +18

Suspicion +67

Affinity +55

Suspicion…

As I frantically checked the system notifications, I froze.

‘Affinity +62?’

That increase was absurd.

And the +55 that appeared afterward didn’t make any sense either.

There were far too many double-digit increases.

That was impossible.

Changes that large almost never happened.

Besides, Suspicion usually rose easily, but Affinity was much harder to increase, so the whole thing felt like a mistake.

‘Wait whose Suspicion +67 was that?’

When a value exceeded fifty points, your relationship with that character changed drastically.

Most likely, it would trigger a quest.

And if it involved an important character, that quest could have an enormous impact on the ending.

Instinctively, I checked the Chief of Security’s values.

Chief of Security

— Suspicion: 80

— Affinity: 58

…What the hell?

The last time I’d checked, back in the infirmary, he had Suspicion 13 and Affinity 3.

Now both values had skyrocketed.

‘So the Suspicion +67 and Affinity +55 belonged to the Chief of Security?’

It was so ridiculous that I actually found myself slightly opening my mouth.

I could accept his Suspicion increasing.

But why the hell had his Affinity also risen so much after I treated a Creature?

It made no sense.

But I didn’t have time to analyze those values.

“Lamb.”

A chill ran down my spine, and I looked up at the Chief of Security.

In The Cell Block X, when a prison guard’s Affinity toward the doctor increased—

And worse yet, when both Suspicion and Affinity increased at the same time—

It was never a good sign.

“Would you accompany me to a quieter place for a conversation?”

“Um… well. Since we’re already here, I could finish the rounds with the other Creatures first…”

The Chief of Security smiled.

“This isn’t a suggestion.”

I’m done for.

Completely done for.

The Chief of Security walked over and placed a massive hand on my shoulder.

The force of it made me hunch over.

“Let’s go.”

“…Yes.”

As he practically dragged me away, I hurriedly sent a Message to Kwak Hanmuk.

And the moment I entered the Chief of Security’s office with him—

Bang!!!

He grabbed the back of my neck and slammed my body onto the desk.

“Ugh…!”

A pained groan escaped my throat.

Fortunately, I’d been expecting something like this, so I’d turned my head slightly.

Thanks to that, I barely managed to save my face.

Otherwise, at the very least, I would’ve ended up with a bloody nose.

While I remained pinned against the desk, Dominic spoke in an alarmed voice.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen such a rude individual. Mr. Gunbam, don’t you think he should be punished?”

It was obvious Dominic still believed I could fire laser beams.

As for me, I was nothing more than a defenseless human being pinned against a desk.

“Lamb.”

The Chief of Security pressed me down from behind and asked,

“Can you communicate with Creature No. 13?”

I’d replied to Je Hyuno only through Messages precisely to avoid reacting to his words in front of them.

But the Chief of Security had been far too perceptive.

I decided to feign ignorance.

“What are you talking about…? Ack!”

The pressure increased even more.

My chest was compressed so tightly that it became difficult to breathe.

Little by little, oxygen began to leave me, and my vision started to blur.

“Mr. Gunbam?”

Dominic’s voice sounded farther and farther away.

Just when I thought I was about to lose consciousness—

The Chief of Security loosened his grip.

I sucked in a huge gasp of air.

While I panted for breath, he looked down at me.

“Did you know? This prison is always short on prison guards.”

“……”

“With a little training, perhaps you could become a fine companion, Lamb.”

So that was the quest.

When the Chief of Security’s Suspicion and Affinity reached a certain level, a special quest was triggered.

It was a quest that, if I had any choice, I would’ve never wanted to experience in reality.

But it seemed I wasn’t going to escape it.

The Chief of Security grabbed the back of my neck and dragged me again.

He headed toward one corner of the office.

A massive metal hatch was embedded in the floor.

He lifted it with one hand.

Beneath it was a shaft descending deep underground.

It looked like a ventilation duct, but it was wide enough for a grown man to fall through without any trouble.

An unsettling darkness emanated from the opening, whose bottom was impossible to see.

“Lamb. I’ll be waiting for you.”

He whispered into my ear.

Then he shoved me.

“Ugh…!”

Without the slightest hesitation, he threw me into the shaft.

In an instant, all the light disappeared.

Darkness completely enveloped my body.

Even so, the first thing I did was feel around my head.

I was worried that the Pudding Slime had fallen off.

The moment I felt that soft, gelatinous texture beneath my hand, I let out a sigh of relief.

And just as a green flash crossed my field of vision—

I took a deep breath.

Splash!

I plunged into a viscous neon-green liquid.

The sticky substance covered my entire body.

I’d already prepared myself mentally.

But feeling it directly on my skin was far more disgusting than I’d imagined.

I cursed inwardly as I began frantically paddling.

My doctor’s coat wrapped itself around my body, making it difficult to move.

Even so, I managed to swim.

Doing my best not to swallow too much of the liquid, I swam with all my strength until I reached solid ground.

Completely drenched, I collapsed onto the floor and spent a few seconds catching my breath.

“Hah… hah…”

Then a system window appeared before my eyes.

◆ Sub Quest: Become a True Prison Guard.