Episode 1
“You, become my guardian.”
Lee A-yoon, age 26.
One day, I woke up to find myself a three-year-old.
Opening and closing my tiny, maple-leaf-sized hands, I thought to myself—
Recalling the last moment of my previous life, when I was hit by a car and died, it seemed that I’d been reincarnated.
‘At least my name’s still the same as before. That’s lucky.’
I thought hard about it.
Maybe when my brain wasn’t fully developed, I couldn’t recall my past life. But once I matured enough, my memories resurfaced.
‘I may not be completely grown, so I can’t fully resist the instinct to think like a toddler… but still.’
Anyway, I had always been quiet and well-behaved, so from that day on, I became an even easier-to-handle three-year-old.
In the orphanage, that was quite an advantage.
The teachers adored me for being the calm, rarely-crying child who could even keep the other kids in line.
Naturally so. I was cute enough already—and now had the soul of a graduate student inside me.
‘Compared to flattering my professor, living in an orphanage is nothing.’
Easily becoming the orphanage’s little star, I made up my mind.
‘I’ve decided.’
With the memories of my previous life, I was going to walk a smooth, perfect path!
But…
‘Ugh.’
Barely a day after making that decision, I suddenly came down with a mysterious high fever and collapsed.
‘Maybe it’s because I remembered my past life all at once?’
After a long night of worried nurses tending to me, I was eventually taken to a university hospital.
“Tethenim… (Teacher…)”
“A-yoon, are you hurting a lot?”
Teacher Eun-ah gently brushed my forehead, worry in her eyes.
“Just hold on a bit longer. The doctor will come soon and make you feel better.”
“Oway.”
“What a brave girl you are.”
As I wheezed softly and waited endlessly for my turn—
Boom!
“!”
A sudden loud crash made everyone waiting jump and look up.
“What was that…?”
People glanced around uneasily—until someone came running.
“A gate!”
They shouted.
“A gate just opened!”
Huh?
Right on cue, everyone’s phones started buzzing at once.
Teacher Eun-ah quickly checked her phone.
[Emergency Alert] A Gate has appeared in Yeongeon-dong, Jongno-gu (Seoul National University Children’s Hospital).
Nearby residents, please evacuate immediately following instructions.
‘Eeh?!’
Peeking at the message, I froze in disbelief.
‘A gate appeared?’
Why was something out of a fantasy novel happening in real life?
While I was stunned, people started whispering nervously.
“A gate… in a hospital?”
“Are we gonna be okay?”
Amid the rising panic, the PA system blared.
“Attention, please. Due to the Gate that has appeared within the hospital, all regular operations are suspended.”
Holding my breath, I listened.
“Until Hunters arrive, please evacuate calmly to designated safe zones. Patients and guardians, follow staff instructions carefully…”
Hunters? A Gate?
‘I thought I was reincarnated into a normal world?!’
Wait—hold on. If a Gate appeared in a children’s hospital… no way…
My tiny hands clasped over my mouth.
‘I remember now!’
This was exactly how the novel I’d read recently began.
The title of that novel was—
“How to Destroy the World.”
“How to Destroy the World.”
Just the title alone could crush dreams and hope. It was a dark fantasy novel that wasn’t very popular.
Actually, to be honest, I might’ve been its only reader.
‘Sometimes it barely got any views at all.’
The story was simple: the corrupted male protagonist destroyed the world, step by step.
In other words—I’d reincarnated into a doomed world from the very start.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’
But that wasn’t even the biggest problem.
“Uwaaah…”
“Mommy, I’m scared…”
We were now taking shelter in the hospital’s underground parking lot.
Between the sounds of crying children and anxious parents, I desperately tried to recall the novel’s plot.
‘Right. I remember now.’
In the original, this “Children’s Hospital Gate Incident” was described as a catastrophe where countless people died—
Because confusion delayed the Hunters’ arrival.
‘If things go wrong, we’ll die too.’
Just then, someone suddenly stood up.
“This is crazy. I’m taking my kid home!”
“You can’t!”
The nurse in charge tried to stop them.
“A Gate isolates this area from reality. Leaving the shelter is dangerous!”
“And who are you to say that? Are you the manager here or something?!”
‘Ah!’
The moment I heard the word “manager,” something clicked in my mind.
‘Right! The Administrator—he existed!’
In this world, there was an Administrator of the World System.
Formally called the Administrator of the Laws of the World (世界律의 관리자)—
The arrogant being who presided over the world from the moment the Tower appeared.
Awakeners—or those with the potential to awaken—had the special right to contact this Administrator.
And right now, that was the only being who could help.
‘I don’t know if I have awakening potential, but let’s assume I do.’
There was just one catch.
To call upon the Administrator—an existence far beyond mortal reach—
you needed to know his true name.
‘That’s fine. I just remembered it.’
So, what now?
I thought for a moment, my little brain working hard, then glanced around.
Teacher Eun-ah frowned nervously.
“A-yoon? What’s wrong?”
I picked up a small pebble from the ground.
Then, squatting down quietly, I began to draw crooked lines on the floor.
“Are you drawing, A-yoon?”
“No. I’m writing.”
“Writing?”
“Yes.”
My tiny fingers weren’t yet steady, so forming letters was hard—but I managed.
When I finished, I stared at the wobbly letters and silently whispered the name to myself.
‘■■■■ ■■■■ ■■…-nim.’
Thump.
The moment I called that name, my heart pounded so violently it shook my whole body.
At the same time, golden light began to radiate from the lines I had scratched on the floor.
‘Whoa, it’s working!’
Just as I was getting excited—
Pssshhh.
‘Huh?’
The light fizzled out, like cold water poured on a fire.
‘D-did it fail?’
But I didn’t have time to feel disappointed.
Boom! Crash!
“Kyahhh!”
Part of the ceiling of the underground parking lot collapsed—
and a gigantic monster emerged.
“Grrraaa…”
“M-Monster!”
Dungeon Break.
That’s what they called it when monsters from a dungeon crossed over into the real world through a Gate.
‘We’re doomed…’
Thud!
As the monster stepped forward, people screamed, grabbing their children and running.
“A-yoon!”
Teacher Eun-ah lifted me into her arms—but I already knew how this ended.
‘They’ll die. All of them.’
Pale as a sheet, I could only stare blankly as the monster approached.
And then—
“…Found it.”
CRASH!
With a thunderous roar, someone descended sharply through the shattered ceiling.
A person!
He was clearly a Hunter—muscular, battle-hardened, carrying a massive greatsword.
‘A Hunter? But… how? They weren’t supposed to make it in time!’
But before I could think any further—
‘Huh…?’
“A-yoon? A-yoon!”
My vision blurred, my neck went limp, and everything went dark.
At that same moment—somewhere far, far above.
[A mere fragment of an unfinished human knows my name…?]
A voice clicked its tongue in irritation.
[She won’t come out of this unscathed. Might even die.]
After all, invoking a True Name without the capacity to handle it often ended disastrously.
But if she survived…
[…Fine. I’ll watch for now.]
It was the whim of an ancient, supreme being—long bored of eternity.
