The Heroine Saves the World

“Wait, hold on.”  

I could hardly form words, still struggling to process this unbelievable reality.  

“You’re saying… this is the National Awakener Hospital? The one near the fixed dungeon on Muaksan Mountain?”  

In *Sejong Barrier*, the novel I had read, Muaksan was home to a dungeon rich in mana stones, a vital energy source replacing fossil fuels.  

Instead of sealing it off after defeating the boss monster, the Awakener Association managed the dungeon like a goldmine, keeping it open to harvest resources.  

In the early part of the story, the protagonist, Kang Han, worked as a miner there.  

The doctor, who seemed slightly puzzled by my question, tilted his head and then responded with another.  

“Hmm, Miss Hana, do you at least remember your name?”  

“Yes.”  

“And your age?”  

“Twenty-three.”  

“Can you tell me your registered home address?”  

“Uh…”  

I hesitated.  

While I knew this world was the one described in *Sejong Barrier*, I couldn’t be sure if my address in this world would match the one I had back in reality. Still, I decided to give it a try.  

“XX Street, Mapo District, Seoul.”  

The doctor nodded. “It seems your memory is intact.”  

So, my name, age, and address were all the same. The only thing that had changed… was the world around me?  

Seeing my confused expression, the doctor gave a reassuring smile.  

“You did hit your head when you fell, so it’s understandable if you feel disoriented. Are you experiencing any headaches or nausea?”  

“No, nothing like that…”  

“Good. Just rest, and let’s monitor you for now.”  

“Wait, hold on.”  

I stopped the doctor just as he turned to leave, scratching his head.  

“When you say I hit my head… was it in my bathroom at home?”  

“Oh, so you don’t remember the incident.” The doctor gave me a knowing look. “I was on duty when you were brought to the ER. According to what I was told…”  

He glanced around cautiously, then whispered as if sharing a secret.  

“You collapsed from excitement after winning the lottery.”  

“What?! The lottery?!”  

I immediately checked the crumpled lottery ticket in my left hand.  

Ah, so that’s why the ticket looked so strange. It was from something called *Mega Lotto*.  

“Shh! Keep it down!”  

Oops.  

I clamped both hands over my mouth as the doctor leaned in closer, lowering his voice even further.  

“Apparently, you were so thrilled after collecting your prize at the bank that you fainted on your way out.”  

“Oh my God! I feel like I’m going to faint again!”  

What a legend I am.  

At least I managed to stay conscious long enough to deposit the money into my account!  

“Deep breaths, deep breaths. By the way, you won first place in Mega Lotto, right? 25 billion won.”  

“Twenty… twenty-five billion?”  

I won 25 billion won?!  

“This is insane.”  

Following the doctor’s advice, I took a deep breath, then slapped my forehead to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.  

“Ow!”  

The pain was real.  

Which meant this wasn’t a dream.  

“Careful now—you shouldn’t be hitting your head like that,” the doctor scolded gently, clicking his tongue as he grabbed a bottle of water from the large fridge in the corner of the room.  

The icy cold water helped clear my mind a bit.  

This hospital room… it really was top-notch.  

“Oh, right,” I said suddenly, remembering something else. “Am I in this fancy room because I won the lottery?”  

No way was I going to let them take advantage of me. I wasn’t some easy target.  

The doctor chuckled. “No, it’s not because of that.”  

“Then why…?”  

“You don’t remember? Right before you collapsed, you insisted that I put you in a VIP room because you ‘had money now.’”  

“Wow.”  

That did sound like something I would say.  

“Well, in any case, you’re really lucky!”  

“Thanks! I guess it’s karma for all the good deeds I’ve done,” I said smugly.  

The doctor gave me a blank look, then flipped through my chart.  

“There’s actually more I need to tell you… Do you remember where you are?”  

“You said earlier… the National Awakener Hospital, right?”  

“Yes, exactly.”  

Something suddenly felt off.  

In *Sejong Barrier*, large guilds had their own medical centers. Awakeners who didn’t belong to a major guild came to places like this hospital when they were injured.  

I distinctly remembered Kang Han and his comrades from the Justice Guild frequently visiting this hospital in the early part of the story.  

But why was I here?  

“As per your brainwave scan, Miss Hana, it seems you’ve awakened. You’ll need to visit the Awakener Association to have your abilities assessed, but due to hospital policy, all newly awakened individuals are treated here rather than at regular hospitals.”  

The doctor glanced at the clock and rattled off the rest of the information quickly.  

“If everything looks good, you can be discharged tomorrow. Take care!”  

“W-wait! Doctor!”  

What was I supposed to do now?  

But the doctor, eager to finish his shift, left the room without a backward glance.  

“Possession… winning the lottery… and now awakening?”  

It was too much to process at once, and my head throbbed with confusion.  

I clutched my hair in frustration, noticing the words “National Awakener Hospital” printed on my patient gown.  

After staring blankly at it for a moment, I grabbed my phone.  

Despite the strange new world around me, my phone looked the same.  

I opened my bank app.  

“Holy sh*t… it’s real.”  

The balance, which had been a mere few hundred thousand won before I went to sleep, now had eleven digits.  

“25 billion… and 830,000 won.”  

I couldn’t believe it.  

Unlike reality, where the government took 33.3% in taxes, the entire prize amount was in my account.  

Why?  

Because in this world, thanks to the massive wealth generated by monster gates, dungeons, and hunter taxes, the government no longer needed to tax lottery winnings.  

With trembling hands, I opened my browser to confirm one last thing.  

After several typos, I managed to type:  

**“Kang Han Justice Guild.”**  

Search results flooded the screen.  

– *Justice Guild Held Responsible for 5th Dungeon Break*  

– *S-Class Hunter Kang Han’s Fall from Grace*  

– *From Five Guilds to Four: A Sign of National Decline?*  

– *Is Kang Han Truly S-Class?*  

– *Justice Guild Sells Headquarters Amid Debt Crisis*  

“It’s real.”  

There was no denying it anymore.  

I had fallen asleep in my world, only to wake up in *Sejong Barrier*.  

And not just that—I had become part of this world.  

I was now an awakened individual… and a lottery winner.  

A 25-billion-won lottery winner.  

Tax-free.  

“Argh…”  

I checked my bank balance again with trembling hands, then slammed my fists on the bed, tears streaming down my face.  

“Damn it!”  

I kicked and thrashed on the bed, making the metal frame creak noisily.  

“What good is winning the lottery? What good is having 25 billion won in my account?”  

This was *Sejong Barrier*!  

A world with no hope, no future.  

In a few years, everything here would be destroyed.  

Even if I bought a building in Gangnam, it would be meaningless.  

Why?  

Because everything would eventually disappear.  

Even if I poured all my money into space exploration to escape to Mars, it wouldn’t matter.  

In *Save the World from Destruction*, “destruction” meant the complete erasure of existence.  

This entire dimension would cease to be.  

“No way! I won’t let that happen!”  

If I hadn’t known the taste of 25 billion won, it might have been different.  

But now that I had seen it, I couldn’t just let it slip away.  

What was the point of holding 25 billion in a dying world?  

Sobbing into my pillow, I suddenly sat up, a fierce determination in my eyes.  

“You think I’ll give up 25 billion that easily?”  

If the world was ending, I just had to stop it.  

After all, there’s always a chance for the reader who knows the plot to save the world.  

No matter what it takes, I’ll save this world.