One day, Andrew found himself mysteriously transported into the game world.
The game was called World of the Otherworld.
It was an open-world medieval game where players needed to build and grow their own faction.
Upon arrival in this world, Ian was born in a pretty remote village.
And the first mission the system gave him was:
[Main Quest: Become a Lord]
Though Andrew was the illegitimate son of a noble family, no one acknowledged his noble bloodline, and he had no inheritance rights.
Plus, he had no special skills, so starting from scratch to become a lord wasn't going to be easy.
If you were to rate this in terms of game difficulty, it would be at least an S-rank start.
But Andrew didn't let it faze him.
"It's no big deal," he shrugged.
So far, he'd spent almost a thousand hours playing this game.
While he couldn't guarantee he'd end up as king, being a lord was definitely within reach.
At worst, he'd get stuck with the title of baron or viscount.
"What's the big deal?"
At first, Andrew thought this was an easy challenge, but it didn't take long for him to realize he was wrong.
"Go! Go!"
On a dimly lit road, a man was galloping away.
After the intense battle earlier, Andrew's already battered body was covered with even more wounds. His blood slowly soaked through his robe.
Ignoring his body's screams of pain, he kept himself from passing out by sheer willpower.
But the soldiers chasing him didn't seem willing to let him go.
"Catch him! He went that way!"
"Alert the others! We can't let this guy get away!"
Andrew cursed his luck.
Clearly, the guy leading the chase was an expert.
From the way he moved, it was clear he knew how to handle an ambush.
As the footsteps around him grew louder, the trap was almost set.
"Damn it!"
This whole mess wasn't even Andrew's fault.
It all started when Andrew's family, the Taylor family, pissed off the emperor.
Once the emperor ordered the execution of the Taylor family, Andrew became a target too.
Even though he was an unacknowledged bastard, the emperor wasn't planning to spare him.
"That tyrant…"
It was a feudal society, so collective punishment wasn't unusual, but mass execution wasn't the norm.
Supposedly, many nobles in court opposed the emperor's decision.
But the emperor pushed through, ignoring all opposition.
Thanks to him, Andrew hadn't had a good night's sleep in a month.
At that moment, the lead knight shouted.
"Andrew Taylor, as a knight, don't you think it's shameful to run like this?"
"Draw your sword and let's settle this like men!"
"Are you kidding me?"
Andrew almost exploded.
A fair 1v1 was fine, but bringing all these people along was just ridiculous.
"Who said that? Hiding behind everyone, afraid others might see how scared you are!"
Even though the odds were slim, Andrew still tried to provoke the knight into a fair fight.
"You're asking for it!"
The taunt worked. A heavily armored royal knight broke through the ranks.
Seeing the knight take the bait, Andrew casually flipped him the bird.
The knight lost it, yelling,
"Catch him! No, kill the traitor! Whoever does gets the reward!"
Andrew was surprised.
Usually, nobles preferred capturing people alive in battle.
Why?
Simple.
Killing someone just breeds hatred and gets you nothing.
But capturing them? That meant rewards, information, and influence.
Although Andrew was an imperial traitor, his fate might still change depending on the emperor's mood.
So, it made more sense for the knights to try to capture him alive.
That's why, despite Andrew's lack of skill, he'd managed to survive against these heavily armored knights for so long.
But once the order to kill came, everything changed.
Andrew could feel the knights' eyes on him—full of malice.
"Kill!"
The knights who'd been using nets started shooting arrows and crossbow bolts without holding back.
Arrows skimmed Andrew's face, leaving bloody streaks.
With a cold chill running down his spine, Andrew nocked an arrow and fired back.
No matter what, he had to break through!
"Whoosh!"
He watched as a knight fell, the shot landing perfectly.
Nice.
Shooting on the move was his specialty.
[Perfect shot! You gained experience.]
[Due to level restrictions, your archery can't be further upgraded.]
[Please level up to level 20 or higher to continue.]
The system's cold notifications killed his brief sense of victory.
Thanks to the NPC template, his body had level restrictions—he couldn't go above level 20.
That meant his skills couldn't ever reach 'mastery' or higher.
He knew a lot, but was a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.
This limitation was one of the reasons he couldn't succeed in this world.
"Damn system, why's there a stupid restriction?"
While complaining, Andrew tried to ride his horse out of the encirclement.
Luckily, his earlier shot made the knights hesitate, giving him a small window to escape.
Maybe, just maybe, he could make it out!
"Don't be scared!"
"Whoever brings me his head gets 1,000 gold!"
Just when it seemed like he was getting away, the lead knight threw out a gold bribe.
Immediately, the knights, previously slowing down, now charged at him like they were in a feeding frenzy.
Crossbow bolts rained down from all directions, while spears kept stabbing at his horse.
"Clink! Clink!" The sound of impact rang through the air as Andrew's sword kept swinging, knocking arrows away and defending against each attack.
"Swoosh!"
Suddenly, an arrow from his blind spot pierced his body.
The pain made Andrew groan.
He could dodge once, but not a thousand times.
Humans have limits.
With another bolt striking his back, his body wavered, and a fatal gap opened up.
"Fire!"
With the command, crossbow bolts fell like raindrops.
There was no avoiding it. He couldn't survive.
Andrew closed his eyes, resigned to his fate, murmuring,
"If I had another chance..."
Though he hated to admit it, he'd given up on trying.
He'd become apathetic, just letting life pass him by.
But dying because of collective punishment was something he couldn't accept.
If he could start over, he would change everything...
"Thud, thud!"
Blood sprayed as arrows pierced his body, and Andrew fell off his horse, limp.
Slowly, his vision started to fade.
[The beginner tutorial is over. Loading main storyline.]
[Data transfer complete, level restriction removed.]
[Load complete. Second campaign begins.]
Before Andrew could respond to the voices in his ears, a bright light enveloped his body.