I’m a Young God, Won’t You Raise Me?

I looked at the vine plant with a slightly puzzled expression.

I couldn’t understand why it had suddenly started acting like that.

It seemed to be trying to stop me from continuing to hit my hand.

That had never happened in the game.

Normally, by the time you received the Rookie Prison Guard mission, the creatures’ Suspicion levels were already quite high.

Perhaps the out-of-control increase in everyone’s values from earlier had triggered some kind of abnormal phenomenon.

I grew curious about Creature No. 1’s values.

However, they could only be checked while standing directly in front of the creature; it wasn’t possible to view them through a detached part of its body.

Escaping the training center came first.

To continue striking, I carefully tried to push aside the vines wrapped around my right hand with the baton.

But the vines stubbornly continued clinging to me.

A message appeared on the monitor.

Strike the creature model. (Current Progress: 6/10)

If I didn’t quickly complete the required number of strikes, the trial would be considered a failure.

After hesitating for a moment, I swung the baton again.

I thought that with a single hit, it would let go on its own.

Smack!

A dull impact echoed through the room.

The vines shuddered and began trembling.

I waited for them to release my right hand.

But, for some reason, they wrapped themselves around it even more tightly.

They even climbed up to my wrist, forming a thick layer of protection.

“……”

It wasn’t as though it wanted us to split the blows between us.

What the hell was this?

I couldn’t understand why it was so determined to take the hits itself.

‘Besides, I have a way to restore my body afterward.’

But there was no way for me to communicate my intentions to it.

So I had no choice but to finish the remaining strikes by hitting the vine plant directly.

When I landed the tenth blow, the monitor played the sound of applause.

You have completed the creature model striking training.

I frowned slightly, wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand, and let out a sigh.

At the same time the training ended, a system update appeared.

Becoming a Rookie Prison Guard… 13%

I put the baton away and looked at the vine plant again.

After the final blow, it had become completely withered.

I had deliberately struck it with only enough force for the system to register the hits, but it still must have hurt.

I gently stroked the vines.

Then the stems, which had remained motionless until just moments ago, slowly twisted and climbed up my arm.

I gathered them into my arms.

They had a little weight to them, but I could still carry them with one arm.

I intended to return them to Creature No. 1.

Creature No. 1 could freely detach parts of his body and reattach them at will.

If I brought them back, he would probably reconnect them himself.

Fortunately, they weren’t too heavy.

The plant seemed to enjoy being held in my arms, slowly settling into the position that was most comfortable for it.

Proceed to the next room to learn about Neo.

The wall opened, revealing a doorway.

Before moving on, I discreetly glanced at Dominic.

He had been unusually quiet for quite some time now, and it unsettled me.

‘By now he should’ve said something.’

From the moment I started striking my own hand with the baton, I had already been prepared for one of his comments.

I knew perfectly well that Dominic disliked methods like this.

I had even imagined on my own what he would probably say.

“You’re really going to injure your own hand for such an insignificant creature? Understanding Mr. Gunbam is no simple task.”

Something along those lines.

But strangely enough, Dominic hadn’t said a single word.

He hadn’t even let out one of those dissatisfied “Hmm”s that he normally would’ve made by now.

I watched him closely.

And then I realized something was wrong.

Dominic was staring fixedly at the vine plant.

His gelatinous body wasn’t moving.

His ears weren’t twitching.

His usual sparkling glow wasn’t scattering around him.

He simply remained perfectly still, watching it.

At that moment, an odd sense of déjà vu washed over me.

The Dominic before me looked very much like Samra whenever he stopped pretending to be human.

As though he had peeled away the thin layer concealing his true nature.

A chill slowly crept down my spine just as that thought began to take shape.

Plop.

The slime’s gelatinous body began moving again.

“Let’s proceed to the next room. If we remain here, the door will eventually close.”

Hearing Dominic’s calm voice, I hurriedly checked the doorway.

Once the order to proceed had been given, remaining still for too long was considered disobedience.

If that happened, you would be confined there until your mind had been completely reformed.

I had to keep moving before it was too late.

As I walked toward the next room, I kept glancing sideways at Dominic.

He had returned to moving with his usual elasticity, so at least for now, he seemed to be fine.

Even so, that uneasy feeling refused to disappear.

As soon as I entered the next room, the monitor descended from the ceiling with a mechanical hum.

On the screen appeared a glass vial filled with a neon-green liquid.

This is the fuel that can be extracted from creatures.

It is called .

The vial began to rotate slowly on the screen.

After spinning several times, allowing the neon-green liquid inside to be clearly seen, a few words appeared.

Neo is a resource with limitless potential and the foundation God has prepared for a new era of humanity.

The screen displayed illustrations showing everything that could be accomplished with Neo.

From curing diseases to strengthening the human body, and even using it as fuel for spacecraft.

They showed in vivid detail how much happier humanity had become thanks to that miraculous substance.

A child who could not walk rose from his wheelchair to embrace his parents, while scientists who had once lived in despair advanced toward a new world thanks to Neo.

It was a scene capable of deeply moving anyone.

If I hadn’t known Neo’s true nature, I might have been moved as well.

At present, there is only one method of producing Neo.

It consists of obtaining the cooperation of creatures.

Humanity and creatures maintain an excellent relationship founded on mutual cooperation.

Illustrations of humans and creatures living together peacefully appeared one after another, overlapping across the screen.

Then—

Crash!

They all shattered into pieces.

However, there is no need to treat such atrocious criminals as people.

Now the screen displayed illustrations of creatures committing every imaginable crime.

Murder.

Arson.

Looting.

One horrifying scene after another unfolded.

The creatures were depicted as grotesque monsters, while the humans, drawn in an adorable style, appeared as completely innocent victims.

They must pay for their crimes.

Extracting Neo from these criminal creatures is no different from recycling waste.

For a moment, I looked down at the vine plant I was carrying in my arms.

I was glad that Creature Inmate No. 1 was a plant-type creature.

Although it could feel touch, it had no vision.

At least it wouldn’t have to witness such utter nonsense.

Neo is also an indispensable fuel for us prison guards.

To confront such dangerous criminals, prison guards have obtained evolved bodies.

And Neo is essential to maintaining those enhanced bodies.

At that moment, a pedestal rose from the floor.

Resting atop it was a glass vial filled with the same Neo that had just appeared on the screen.

Neo has been prepared for the Rookie Prison Guard.

Consume it immediately.

“Ugh.”

Knowing how Neo was obtained made my revulsion even stronger.

But there was no way to avoid it here.

I had no choice but to drink it.

I removed the aluminum seal from the vial.

My right hand still wasn’t in very good condition, so opening it took some effort, but I eventually managed.

I took one deep breath.

Then I poured the Neo into my mouth.

Gulp.

I could clearly feel the liquid sliding down my throat.

It was slightly viscous, so it didn’t go down smoothly, leaving behind an unpleasant sticky sensation.

I placed the empty vial back on the pedestal.

I didn’t feel well.

I could feel my mind becoming slightly calmer.

As though it had been waiting for that exact moment, the monitor once again played thunderous applause.

You have completed Neo consumption.

Without moving anything but my eyes, I checked the system window.

Becoming a Rookie Prison Guard… 53%

Simply by drinking Neo, my progress had jumped by 40% in one go.

The hand that had been battered by the baton recovered instantly.

My right hand was completely healed again.

The first lesson, “Basic Knowledge,” has been completed.

Proceed to the next room to begin the second lesson.

Just as I was about to move on, I looked down at the weight resting in one of my arms.

That weight was beginning to feel inconvenient and bothersome.

A sudden urge came over me to throw that burden onto the floor.

That’s what creatures are.

“…Ah.”

I blinked rapidly.

I was horrified by the strangeness of the thought that had just crossed my mind.

The moment my prison guard progress exceeded 50%, the way I thought had clearly begun to change.

Even in the game, I had found the process of becoming a prison guard unsettling.

But experiencing it firsthand was far more disturbing.

I couldn’t stand the feeling that something was trying to change me.

“……”

My head felt as though it were burning with a fever.

I needed to be careful not to let myself be swept away by the prison guards’ mentality.

I would try to keep my progress from increasing as much as possible.

Even so, by the time I finished the training, it would probably reach 98%.

My goal was to reunite with Captain Kwak Hanmuk before it reached 100%.

‘I sent him a message just before the Chief of Security captured me.’

By now, Kwak Hanmuk was probably already looking for me.

Taking deep breath after deep breath to stay calm, I walked toward the next room while continuing to cradle the vine plant in one arm.

The second lesson will be “Practical Training.”

Unlike the previous rooms, this one was quite spacious.

A massive monitor occupied an entire wall, and in the center stood a ring like those in a combat arena.

Instead of ropes, it was surrounded by thick steel chains, making it appear even more ominous.

In the first lesson, Trainee Lamb achieved excellent results.

Now you will learn in greater detail how to reform the minds of creatures.

Here, you will face holograms of every creature confined within the prison.

You will first battle each of them and then learn their weaknesses and the proper methods of subduing them.

Once prepared, Trainee Lamb should step into the ring.

I carefully placed the vine plant on the floor.

The moment it left my arms, its vines began twisting restlessly.

But I couldn’t fight while carrying it.

“Wait.”

Even though I knew it couldn’t hear me, I said it anyway.

Then I stretched briefly while checking the condition of my body.

Neo didn’t merely restore the body.

It also strengthened it.

The reason prison guards could stand against creatures was, to a great extent, because of Neo.

I still didn’t possess the strength of a true prison guard.

But it was more than enough to defeat holographic creatures.

‘Besides, I’m not actually going to get hurt.’

Ordinarily, a rookie prison guard faced those creature holograms with no prior information.

He would be defeated again and again, learning frustration and hatred toward them.

After suffering crushing defeats, he would learn the proper methods of subduing them.

And thanks to all those accumulated negative emotions, he would eventually accept even the cruelest techniques without question.

But I already knew every method for neutralizing creatures.

There was no need to repeat each battle twice and waste time.

I intended to defeat every one of them on the first attempt and complete the training as quickly as possible.

However.

For a while now, I had felt a strange heat building up inside my body.

My head was beginning to spin.

Was it because I had drunk Neo?

On top of that, an unpleasant feeling kept tormenting me.

I wanted to finish this training as quickly as possible.

I stepped into the ring.

At that instant, holograms of creatures began appearing across the arena one after another.

Amid cheering, words appeared on the screen.

The creatures Trainee Little Lamb will face.

The screen remained still for several seconds.

Then it displayed a new line of text.

Introducing Creature Inmates No. 1 through No. 13.

With an expressionless face, I swept my gaze across the thirteen creatures.

Then my eyes stopped on the hologram of Creature Inmate No. 13.

My tightly sealed lips let out a bitter laugh.

“Ha…”

The unpleasant feeling that had been building inside me for quite some time exploded all at once.

I felt my eyes burn.

Who dares treat one of my family like this?

T/N:

I’ll use both terms ‘family’ and ‘subordinates’ throughout the translation to add some variety.