Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The Heroine Saves the World
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"That's why."
I could barely get the words out amid this unbelievable reality.
"This is the National Awakener Hospital? The one near the Muak Mountain fixed dungeon?"
In Sejong Wall, Muak Mountain was home to a dungeon rich in mana stones, which served as a substitute for fossil fuels.
Instead of hunting the boss monster and sealing it off, the Awakener Association managed it directly, keeping it open like a golden goose of a mine.
It was the very dungeon where the protagonist, Kang Han, worked as a miner in the early parts of the novel.
The doctor, who had been looking at me like I'd asked something obvious, paused to think before turning the question back on me.
"Hmm. You remember your own name, right, Nayeo-ju?"
"Yes."
"Your age?"
"Twenty-three."
"Could you tell me your registered address?"
"Uh..."
This time, I couldn't answer right away.
I knew this was the world of Sejong Wall, but I couldn't be sure my home was in the same place here.
Still, I recited my original address for now.
"Seoul, Mapo-gu, XX Street, building XXX."
"No major memory issues, then."
If the doctor was right, my name, age, and address were all the same—the only thing that had changed was the world.
Seeing my dazed expression, the doctor spoke in a soothing tone.
"You did hit your head when you fell, Nayeo-ju, so some confusion is normal. No headaches or nausea?"
"Nothing like that..."
"We'll monitor you, then. Get some rest."
"Wait, hold on."
I stopped the doctor, who was scratching his head and heading out.
"When I hit my head... was that in my home bathroom?"
"No memory of the accident, huh. I was the one who took you when you were brought in on a stretcher. From what I heard..."
The doctor glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then whispered.
"You collapsed from excitement after winning the lottery?"
"What?! The lottery?!"
I quickly checked the lottery ticket in my left hand.
No wonder the name "Mega Lotto" felt unfamiliar, and the receipt looked a bit off!
"Shh. What if someone hears?"
I clapped both hands over my mouth.
The doctor lowered his voice even more.
"To be precise, you passed out from excitement right after claiming the prize and leaving the bank."
"Gasp! Oh god! I-I think I'm about to faint again!"
Good job, me!
At least I held out until the money hit my account!
"Deep breaths, deep breaths. Speaking of, that was the Mega Lotto win, right? First prize, 250 billion won."
"Two... two hundred fifty billion?"
I'd won 250 billion in the lottery?!
"Insane."
I followed the doctor's instructions with deep breaths, then smacked my forehead.
"Ow!"
It hurt. And if it hurt, it wasn't a dream, right?
"Whoa, no more shocks to the head."
The doctor clicked his tongue and fetched water from the large fridge in the corner of the room.
The ice-cold water cleared my head a bit.
Fancy hospital rooms really were on another level.
"Oh, right."
One more question left.
"Did you put me in this nice room because I'm a lottery winner?"
I'm Nayeo-ju, and I'm no pushover.
If you think you can fleece me, you've got the wrong girl.
"Nah, not usually."
"Then why...?"
"Oh, you don't remember that either. You grabbed me before collapsing and kept begging."
"What did I say?"
"'I've got money now, so put me in a special room, please.'"
"Oh."
Sounds like something I'd say.
"Anyway, you're incredibly lucky!"
"Ah, thank you. Must be all the good deeds I've done. Just claiming my reward."
"..."
What? Why the cold stare?
"Anyway."
The doctor, who had given me a chilly look for a moment, flipped through the chart in his hand and added,
"Not just the lottery—there's one more thing. Where did you say we are, Nayeo-ju?"
"National Awakener Hospital, you said earlier... Huh?"
Now that I thought about it, something was off.
In the novel, major guilds had their own medical centers, and this Awakener Hospital was where unaffiliated hunters went when injured.
I remembered Kang Han and his Justice Guild comrades coming here often in the early parts.
But why was I here?
"Your portable wave scan showed you've awakened. You'll need to go to the Awakener Association for a full measurement, but per protocol, awakeners can't be treated at regular hospitals, so we transferred you here."
The doctor, checking the time, rattled off the rest.
"Rest up, and if no issues, discharge tomorrow. See you."
"D-Doctor...!"
What am I supposed to do now?!
But with quitting time near, he left without looking back.
"Possession, lottery win, and now awakening?"
Too much at once—my head throbbed.
I gripped my hair with both hands, and that's when I noticed the "National Awakener Hospital" printed on my patient gown.
I stared blankly at it for a moment, then turned on my phone.
Like everything else revolved around me, my familiar phone hadn't changed.
I opened my usual banking app.
"Holy shit, it's real..."
The balance, which had been a few hundred thousand won before bed, now had eleven digits.
"250 billion 830 thousand..."
Yes.
Unlike reality, no 33.3% tax was deducted—the full prize had landed in my account.
With countless gates, their monsters, and dungeon byproducts expanding the economy, the nation was flush with taxes from hunters and guilds. No need to nickel-and-dime lottery winners.
Trembling, I opened the search app for one last check.
A few typos later, I typed:
<Kang Han Justice Guild>
And just like that, results poured in.
<Justice Guild Can't Escape Blame for 5th Dungeon Break>
<Downfall of Justice Guild Heir, S-Rank Kang Han>
<Four Major Guilds Instead of Five—National Power Decline?>
<Justice Guild Sells Sejong-ro Building to Pay Debts>
"It's really here."
No more denying it.
I went to sleep, and the world—everyone but me—turned into Sejong Wall.
No, I'd changed too.
Suddenly an awakener, lottery billionaire.
Lottery. Right, a whopping 250 billion won Mega Lotto.
No taxes.
"Ugh..."
I checked the balance again with shaking hands.
Then I pounded the bed and wailed.
"Fuck!"
Not satisfied, I flopped back and thrashed.
"My 250 billion! My hard-earned 250 billion!"
The bed creaked loudly with every flop.
"What good is winning the lottery! What good is 250 billion in the bank!"
This was the world of Sejong Wall!
Dreamless, hopeless Sejong Wall!
Sejong Wall, which would all go to hell in a few years!
Even if I bought a building in Gangnam with this money, it meant nothing.
Why?
Because it'd all vanish anyway.
Even dumping it all into a spaceship to flee to Mars? Useless.
In Save the World from the Apocalypse, "apocalypse" meant total annihilation.
The entire dimension would cease to exist.
"No way! Absolutely not!"
If it had never happened, fine.
But letting me taste 250 billion then yanking it away?!
What's the point of 250 billion cyber cash in a game about to shut down?!
"Waaah! Sob sob!"
I was furious. 250 billion, and I couldn't even spend it.
After venting into my pillow for ages, I shot up.
"You think I'll just give up my 250 billion that easily?!"
If the world where I could spend it was doomed, then I'd stop the doom.
Paid readers saving the world from launch to finale? A cliché for the ages!
No matter what it took, I'd save this world.