I’m a Young God, Won’t You Raise Me?

One of the quests I hated most in all of The Cell Block X had begun.

But once it started, there was no way to cancel it.

The first thing I did was check on the Pudding Slime.

I reached up toward my head, and his gelatinous body slid into the palm of my hand.

I lowered my hand to get a better look at him.

“……”

Dominic had turned neon green.

He was completely soaked in that fluorescent liquid.

I almost burst out laughing at the sight of him like that, but I managed to hold it in.

He didn’t seem to be in a very good mood.

With a worried expression, I gently began wiping him off with my hand.

“Are you alright? I’m so sorry. This all happened because of me.”

While pretending to clean him, I took the opportunity to satisfy a small personal desire.

I kneaded his soft little body a bit and, while I was at it, briefly took off the prison guard cap I’d been so curious about.

I’d always wanted to know what it was made of.

It wasn’t soft like a slime.

It was an entirely ordinary cap.

After restoring Dominic to his bright Pudding Slime appearance, I carefully put the cap back on him.

He stayed perfectly still while I fussed over him.

When I finished, he vigorously shook his ears to fling off the last drops of the liquid.

Then he looked up at me and said,

“Watching over Mr. Gunbam has proven to be much more difficult than I imagined.”

Apparently, he couldn’t understand how a god could end up being bullied by beings who, by his own standards, were so insignificant.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Dominic. I’ll become stronger as soon as I can.”

At my response, Dominic let out a small laugh.

I had no idea what he’d found amusing.

Then, without another word, he gave a little hop and settled back onto my shoulder.

In truth, this wasn’t the time to chat with Dominic.

Time was extremely important in this place.

I took off my doctor’s coat and twisted it as though wringing out freshly washed clothes.

As the neon-green liquid dripped onto the floor with a steady plop, plop, I finished reading the quest window.

◆ Sub Quest: Become a True Prison Guard.

The Chief of Security, who is always searching for new prison guards, has developed both a special affinity toward you and a deep suspicion of you.

He wishes to make you one of his comrades, and in order to dispel his doubts, he has decided to put you through a test.

You must prove your innocence by diligently completing the training program for new prison guards.

However.

There is no way of knowing whether this is truly the correct path.

Training Progress as a New Prison Guard… 1%

“Haah……”

After reading the entire quest, I let out another sigh.

The place where the Chief of Security had thrown me was the training center for new prison guards.

When both Affinity and Suspicion reached high levels, he would try to recruit you as a comrade by sending you here.

Every time you completed a stage of the training, your progress as a new prison guard increased.

However, there was a catch.

No matter how much progress you made in the training, after a certain amount of time your progress would inevitably reach 100%.

The cause was the neon-green liquid you fell into the moment you arrived.

The neon-green liquid, one of the prison guards’ fundamental components, was infectious.

The more you drank, the higher your starting percentage would be.

The less you drank, the lower it would be.

‘Once you come into contact with it, infection is inevitable…’

Even so, because I’d been extremely careful, I’d started with the lowest percentage possible.

Only 1%.

I vigorously shook off the remaining neon-green liquid still clinging to my body.

You have decided that you must not participate in the training program for new prison guards.

I already knew that perfectly well.

But if I didn’t complete the training, there was no way out of here either.

‘If you don’t have a solution, then keep quiet. You already make enough noise inside my head.’

The system window stopped appearing.

As always.

It never did anything useful and only got in the way.

Besides, I had no intention of actually becoming a prison guard.

I walked down the dark corridor.

After walking for quite a while—

Whoosh!

Suddenly, everything lit up.

Without realizing it, I had arrived in a small square room.

With a mechanical hum,

a massive monitor descended from the ceiling.

Welcome to the ????th New Prison Guard Training Program!

The screen changed, and a long block of text appeared.

The purpose of this training program is to develop the physical endurance, unwavering sense of duty, and strict judgment that every new prison guard must possess.

Maintaining order within the inmate block and reforming the minds of the prisoners will never be an easy task.

However, it is a noble mission of tremendous value.

The training you receive here will help you cast aside your weakness and become the strongest shield and the most powerful weapon in this prison.

We sincerely hope you complete this program and are reborn as an outstanding prison guard.

After that lengthy welcome message, a short sentence appeared beside a text box.

Enter the trainee’s name.

I couldn’t help letting out a small laugh.

The monitor was nothing less than a touchscreen.

It was technology far too advanced to fit with the rest of the objects in the prison.

Whenever objects that seemed to belong to a different era appeared in a Trial, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of unease.

I reached out and typed in my Trial name.

Trainee: Lamb.

Before pressing the Confirm button, I stared at my name for a moment.

They said that a Trial name reflected the characteristics of the Suitable or possessed some sort of symbolism.

My first name had been Gunbam.

Since it had originally been the nickname I used in the game, I had never given it much thought.

‘Although I did think I’d like to change it to something cooler.’

And after becoming Lamb, I hadn’t even had time to worry about my name.

I knew that, although rare, a Trial name could change, so I simply accepted it without thinking too much about it.

Why Lamb?

Along with my curiosity, I also felt a little irritated.

If they were going to change my name, they could at least have given me one that sounded cool.

But no.

They named me after an animal.

While wishing they sold a Name Change Ticket, a loud metallic noise rang out.

Clang.

A metal locker in the corner of the room had opened.

The trainee must change into the appropriate attire.

I walked over to the locker.

Inside was a large towel and a complete prison guard uniform.

Since I was soaked from head to toe in the neon-green liquid, I was extremely grateful to have clean clothes.

I dried myself with the towel and put on the entire uniform from head to toe.

With the cap and the riot baton, I looked ready to start working at the prison immediately.

Only one thing was missing.

The metal mask.

The explanation for it had already appeared on the monitor.

The metal mask will be issued once you have completed the entire training program.

Honestly.

I had no interest in wearing a metal mask.

After all, I already possessed an incomparable accessory.

The Prison Guard Slime.

If this had been a game, it would have been a legendary-tier item.

‘Normally, the cuter an item is, the harder it is to obtain.’

I placed the slime back onto my shoulder after setting him aside while changing clothes.

Dominic complimented me.

“That uniform suits you very well, Mr. Gunbam.”

“Thank you very much. It suits you too, Mr. Dominic. That cap looks incredible on you.”

I took the opportunity to discreetly praise the cap once more before returning to the monitor.

A calm melody, similar to the music from an interactive guide, began playing from the monitor.

Soon afterward, a new screen appeared.

Welcome, Trainee Lamb.

Your training will now officially begin.

The first lesson will be “Basic Knowledge.”

An image of a stormy sea appeared on the screen.

In the middle of the ocean stood a prison on a solitary island.

Then new text appeared.

The criminals imprisoned in this facility are divided into two categories: humans and creatures.

All of them are extremely dangerous criminals.

And there is only one way to reform their minds.

Force.

With the exception of Creature Inmate No. 6, communication with the other creature inmates is impossible.

Therefore, they must be subdued through force with even greater determination.

The screen displayed an illustration of several prison guards beating an imprisoned creature with their batons.

The drawing was exaggerated and cartoonish.

It could even be described as cute.

Then another metallic sound echoed through the room.

Proceed to the next room to learn creature suppression methods.

A crack appeared in the wall.

Then the wall opened like a door.

At the same time, my prison guard progress also increased.

Becoming a True Prison Guard… 5%

I entered the next room with my teeth clenched.

Another monitor was waiting for me there.

Strike the creature model forcefully at least ten times using the riot baton.

Beneath the monitor was a plant made of thick vines intertwined in a circular shape.

It was about the size of a large teddy bear.

No matter how much it was struck, it made no sound.

But I knew exactly what it was.

It was part of Creature Inmate No. 1.

It was still connected to his nervous system.

Every blow inflicted upon it caused him real pain.

And yet they used it as training material.

The monitor displayed another message.

Violence is the only way to reform the minds of extremely dangerous creatures.

I couldn’t help letting out a bitter laugh.

When the player first begins The Cell Block X, they possess no information about the creatures.

Just like the human inmates, the player believes the creatures are also dangerous criminals.

As a result, players usually choose cruel options when dealing with them.

However, as you complete multiple playthroughs using different roles and unlock various endings, you gradually begin to uncover the truth.

It is precisely in the Doctor’s Bad Ending—the ending where he exterminates all the creatures—that the truth is finally revealed.

“Doctor Gunbam in truth, there isn’t a single person here who committed a crime.”

“We no longer have the strength to proclaim our innocence to others. We don’t even believe anyone wants to listen. But at least to you, Doctor Gunbam… we wanted to tell you about the injustice we suffered.”

“Because we don’t want you to remember us as evil beings.”

After hearing Creature No. 6’s final words and obtaining that Bad Ending, new information begins to unlock.

There wasn’t a single creature imprisoned there who had committed an atrocious crime.

The prison on that isolated island, supposedly built to confine the world’s worst criminals.

Was actually a facility for extracting biofuel from creatures.

They used human criminals to conceal the truth from the outside world while exploiting the creatures.

Exactly twelve creatures were imprisoned there.

With the exception of Creature No. 6, none of them could freely communicate with humans.

They imprisoned them.

They stole their freedom.

And they subjected them to violence despite the fact that they were incapable of defending themselves.

And the Chief of Security.

Knew the entire truth.

He was absolute trash.

“……”

I took a deep breath to calm myself.

I pulled out the riot baton and walked toward the vine plant.

Then I gently placed my right hand on it.

The moment I touched it.

I felt a faint tremor run through the plant.

It was trembling.

The tremor of someone who knew exactly what kind of pain they were about to suffer.

I raised the baton.

And struck my own hand.

“…Ugh!”

Even though I had been prepared, it hurt quite a bit.

Suppressing my groan, I struck myself again.

The trial of hitting the creature ten times had a small loophole.

As long as you remained in physical contact with the creature, even if the blow landed on your own body, the system still counted it as a strike against the creature.

It hurt a little.

But it was the only way to complete the training without losing Affinity with the creatures.

‘I just have to endure ten hits.’

For the system to count it, the impact had to reach a minimum level of force.

I swung the baton with all my strength once more.

By the time I had landed around six strikes—

Rustle… rustle.

The vine plant suddenly began to move.

For a moment, I thought I had somehow missed with the baton and flinched.

But that wasn’t it.

The soft vines gently wrapped themselves around my right hand.

As if they were trying to stop me from striking myself with the baton again.