I'm a Young God, so Please Raise Me - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 2
I was just as startled as the other person. There were two reasons for my shock.
The first reason: Mo Hae-in.
Mo Hae-in was one of the major characters in the Akasha World, the shared universe connecting the creator’s games.
Akasha was a story that began when catastrophe suddenly befell Earth one day.
At 0:00 on February 29th, Korean Standard Time, a meteor shower poured down across the entire world.
It was a meteor shower that had never been predicted by astronomical observation.
The suddenly formed meteor shower was like a festival of light. Humans marveled at the beautiful spectacle, but….
It was a calamity that had come from beyond the stars.
The calamities that crashed into Earth hatched in random order and form, creating spaces of alternate dimensions.
These spaces, much like other worlds, operated under rules resembling a game.
Like a game, one collected items and completed Quests to clear the stages.
If one failed to clear within a certain time limit, the calamity would detonate, transforming the surrounding area into the same form as that calamity.
It spread an infectious virus that mutated both inanimate objects and living creatures alike.
It was a true catastrophe, utterly inexplicable by modern science.
Humanity regarded these extraterrestrial calamities as divine trials and named them “Trials.”
With the hatching of the Trials, humans also awakened special talents.
Beings capable of perceiving System windows came into existence.
They were called “Compatibles,” and through their System windows, they could clear the Trials.
The Player awakens as a Compatible in the Akasha World and enters various Trials.
Each Trial entrance was designed as if playing a different game genre.
Mo Hae-in was a soldier belonging to the Trial Response Agency, an external agency under the South Korean Ministry of Defense.
Captain Mo Hae-in, an elite of the Trial Response Agency, would appear to assist the Player within Trials or show up at the ending to converse with them.
I couldn’t help but be astonished seeing a character I’d only ever viewed in pixels come alive before my eyes.
And the second reason: the System window.
‘Mo Hae-in’ is a registrable character. Would you like to register?
Staring at the System window emanating a hazy glow, I recalled what I’d seen just before losing consciousness.
[You are the system of the planet ‘Earth.’]
A message visible only to Compatibles of Akasha.
The thing commonly called a “system” that guides Quests in Trials or provides various notifications.
Me? The system itself…?
This was something I’d never experienced despite playing countless games in Akasha.
Nothing made sense, but I had one plausible hypothesis.
Perhaps I had somehow entered into the game itself….
Like the game possession that commonly appears in subculture media, in other words.
The headache that had barely subsided under the weight of this incomprehensible situation throbbed again.
For now, I ignored the suspiciously glowing registration System window. I couldn’t just register something I didn’t understand.
As I continued to ignore it, the registration System window gradually faded away on its own.
I thought it was finally gone, but suddenly it began displaying a new window.
‘Han Go-yo (Gun-bam)’ has entered the 【Happy Smile Factory】!
◆ 【Happy Smile Factory】 Main Quest: Clear the Factory of Murderous Toys with the true ending.
You have entered your first trial as a system.
You must prove the system’s capabilities by clearing the true ending.
Quest success means survival!
The consequences of failure are unknown.
However, you have a feeling that something terrible will happen to the losers.
…What kind of insane nonsense is this?
After checking the system window, I did my best to maintain my composure.
While trying not to reveal any strange behavior, I heard voices in conversation.
“Lieutenant Park, there was no entry application for HesFactory, right?”
“Absolutely not. I’ve checked multiple times.”
“Then they must be a civilian.”
Click-click—Mo Hae-in moved her claw hand and looked at me.
On her left arm was a toy arm made of plastic.
The toy arm with its claw hand like a claw machine was an item obtainable from the Happy Smile Factory, and it was also what had strangled my neck just moments ago.
Both the system window that had appeared before my eyes and the toy arm were at a level that could never be created with special makeup.
While I grew dizzy at the thought of being truly inside a game, Mo Hae-in looked me up and down.
“You’re quite unusual, aren’t you?”
As she tilted her head to the side, her short bob hair swayed gently.
I understood why she was scrutinizing me with suspicion.
It was extremely rare for civilians to get caught up in periodically managed trials.
There were mercenaries who accepted contracts and cleared trials, and smugglers who snuck in coveting items obtainable from trials, but cases of someone entering alone like this were almost nonexistent.
Trials were trials in the truest sense.
Because lives were at stake, the standard was a minimum of two people entering for backup.
Since smugglers had inferior equipment compared to the government or private companies, they usually rushed in with a dozen or so people to make up for it with numbers.
Of course, as someone who had played through the game, solo entry was my standard.
In any case, it seemed I wouldn’t receive good treatment if I just sat still. I put on a frightened expression.
“Um, where is this place…?”
Since the current situation was genuinely confusing, I didn’t need to act hard—a convincing expression formed naturally.
Mo Hae-in, who had been weighing me on a scale and measuring me from all angles, raised her eyebrows.
And she gave an answer that would have knocked me unconscious if I were truly a clueless civilian.
“A toy factory where insane murderous toys roam around.”
At her bold answer, I gasped—and the man beside me chuckled softly.
“There are murderers, sure, but don’t worry. We’ll get you out safely.”
He said we’re soldiers, and showed me his military ID.
“Trial Response Agency…?”
“It’s under the Ministry of Defense, but it’s new so you probably don’t know about it.”
Anyway, civilian memories are erased once they leave the trial, so he was just saying whatever.
I nodded at the man’s words while observing the work uniforms of both people.
Employee: Sand
Employee: Sample
Mo Hae-in wore an orange work uniform with “Sample” written on her name tag, while the man wore a yellow work uniform with the same label.
However, Mo Hae-in’s name tag was slightly different.
The Smiley face on her tag was not smiling.
Instead of a curve, a straight line formed her mouth—a shape that didn’t belong in the Happy Smile Factory.
The Smiley on the name tag was a kind of life counter.
At the Happy Smile Factory—or HSF for short—employees were given three chances, and with each critical mistake, the Smiley’s expression changed.
From a happy smile to an expressionless face, and then to a sad smile with downturned lips.
The sad smile state was the final chance.
Make a mistake there, and it was game over.
I couldn’t believe a character like Mo Hae-in had already lost a life from the very beginning.
“What was that loud noise just now?”
I asked in a timid voice, as if probing carefully.
My honest impulse was to demand what insane thing she’d done, but unfortunately, I didn’t get an answer.
“Civilians don’t need to know.”
Mo Hae-in cut me off coldly and pulled something from her inventory, tossing it to me.
I caught it reflexively—it was a toy arm identical to the one Mo Hae-in was wearing.
Cherry Picker: You can unleash the power of Happy Smile! Share in the happiness!
“Put it on.”
At Mo Hae-in’s command, the man’s face twisted in irritation. He clearly didn’t like the idea of sharing a valuable item with some clueless civilian.
It didn’t really matter to me.
“That’s all right.”
I had no intention of accepting the item anyway.
“I don’t know much about this, so wouldn’t it be better if the experts used it? Besides, it’s a bit scary.”
I gestured with a clenched fist, suggesting that the flashlight on my belt would be enough, and that I’d just follow along from behind.
The man looked satisfied with my response, while Mo Hae-in narrowed her eyes as if looking at a strange fellow.
I’d refused the item because of the true ending.
The Happy Smile Factory had multiple endings, and the conditions for the true ending were particularly strict.
‘First, I couldn’t equip the toy limbs I obtained during the game.’
As you progress through the game, NPCs give you toy limb items one by one.
Players naturally equip them because they ‘appear’ to be essential in the game.
They’re incredibly convenient items, but if you greedily replace all your limbs with toys, the bad ending triggers immediately.
You become a toy employee at the Happy Smile Factory and work there forever.
Mo Hae-in should have known at least this much.
But seeing that she’d equipped the toy arm, it seemed she didn’t know about the true ending.
I decided to follow Mo Hae-in and the man while working toward the true ending conditions.
It wasn’t just because of that strange system window’s threats.
‘If I can only see one ending, it has to be the true ending.’
I was a firm believer in the happy ending.
In most games, the true ending is the happy ending.
Whenever I played Archive games, I always finished with the true ending after seeing all the other endings.
I could only feel at peace watching the characters happy as the game concluded.
‘That man is curious too, though.’
I had a decent memory.
I loved Archive enough to remember even the smallest details, but this man with the nickname “Sample” was a first.
I’d never seen him in the trials, nor in the post-ending credit scenes.
It wasn’t particularly strange.
Characters died in trials, got trapped forever, or survived but were quarantined after viral infection—whichever way, it was common.
This man called Sample was probably a character who disappeared from Archive’s world before I even noticed.
Mo Hae-in stared directly at me as she spoke.
“Park, you put it on.”
“Yes!”
The man quickly took the toy arm and attached it to his right arm.
As he brought the item over his arm, his human arm vanished and the toy arm took its place.
He clicked the claw hand smugly, showing off.
“If you want to live, just follow behind me.”
Mo Hae-in clicked her tongue without comment and walked ahead.
I followed her alongside the man, quietly shifting only my eyes to the side.
Smiley was embedded in the wall.
Smiley, with its smiling face, was the main toy of the Happy Smile Factory.
The colorful plastic toy doll had arms with claw hands identical to the items provided to players.
Upon entering the factory, you first encounter NPC Smiley, but unlike the standard mass-produced toys that are 15 centimeters tall, NPC Smiley was one meter in size.
About the size of a small child.
I would fight Smiley later, but for now it was just exchanging dialogue and receiving the toy arm item before moving on.
I had no idea why he’d launched an attack and lost his life.
Judging by Mo Hae-in’s expression, which didn’t look pleased, I suspected the man had made some kind of mistake.
Smiley, with its head embedded in the wall, had its toy arms and legs drooping limply to the floor.
A crackling mechanical sound emanated from Smiley.
“W-welcome-everyone-to-the-Happy-Smile-Factory-let’s-all-be-happy-happy-….”
It wasn’t a pleasant sight.
It was an NPC I’d grown somewhat attached to while gaming, but seeing it half-broken in person bothered me.
I had a feeling Smiley would visit me in my dreams tonight.
Unlike me, the man and Mo Hae-in didn’t seem to mind. The man approached with a friendly smile.
“Let’s exchange names! Park Sung-gyeon. Call me Lieutenant Park.”
“I’m Han Go-yo.”
“And that’s Captain Mo Hae-in over there….”
“Lieutenant Park. Are we on a field trip?”
“I apologize.”
Park Sung-gyeon quickly apologized and closed his mouth, but his eyes rolled with displeasure.
Seeing that expression, I roughly understood why he was a character I didn’t know.
It seemed he had died in a Trial accident.
If luck wasn’t on his side, today could be the moment he caused that accident.
As Park Sung-gyeon walked forward with a hardened expression, I bent down, pretending to tie my shoelaces.
While doing so, I picked up a handful of candies scattered about the place.
They were candies with a hexagonal nut shape drawn on the wrapper.
Nut Candy: Click-click, toy repair in progress….
Nut Candy, easily found throughout the map, was a recovery item for Haspec.
It supposedly tasted like nuts when eaten, but unfortunately I couldn’t try it myself.
It could only be used while equipped with toy arms or legs.
I passed by Smiley’s side and quietly dropped the candy onto his claw-shaped hand.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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