In the darkness, Andrew slowly regained consciousness.
When he opened his eyes, the blurry vision made it hard to tell what was real and what was fantasy.
"Am I still alive?"
What happens when you die in this world was still a mystery.
Would he be reborn in another world, or would he just disappear forever?
Andrew blinked, and the surroundings slowly came into focus.
The bow and arrows hanging on the wall, the leather being sewn on the table, the sun-dried deer antlers… everything around him felt so familiar.
"Is this the house I had when I was a hunter?"
Andrew hadn't always been a knight in this world.
Before, he had been the village hunter.
As the illegitimate son of a nobleman, he spent his childhood with his mother and grandfather.
After his mother passed away, he learned hunting from his grandfather.
It wasn't until his noble father found him that he became part of the aristocracy.
However, due to being unacknowledged, he was eventually kicked out of the family and became just another knight.
Now, he was in that very same house from his past life.
"This can't be a dream, right?"
Andrew pinched his own face hard, and the sharp pain made him frown.
"Looks like it's real."
Rubbing his sore cheek, Andrew tried to recall his last memory.
He remembered being on the verge of death...
He thought he heard something in the final moments.
Though the memory was fuzzy, he recalled the conversation.
[Tutorial completed, loading main storyline.]
[Data transfer complete, level restriction removed.]
[Loading complete, second campaign begins.]
"Second campaign!"
In an instant, Andrew snapped to attention.
The tutorial?
Did that mean the 20 years he'd spent before were just a tutorial?
"Hah, ha ha…"
A mix of emotions rushed through him as he awkwardly chuckled.
He felt both anger and relief, glad to be alive but frustrated at what had happened.
But either way, he now had a chance to start over, and that was enough.
Andrew grabbed the bow and arrows from the wall and walked out the door.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…"
The biting cold wind made Andrew shiver, reminding him that it was still winter.
Snowflakes danced in the air, and the trees were covered in snow. The whole forest looked like a vast, white sea.
But Andrew didn't immediately go back inside.
He wanted to test if the system's claim about the level restriction being removed was true.
Looking up, he spotted a few birds perched on the tree branches.
"Chirp, chirp…"
Andrew slowly pulled back the bowstring and carefully aimed.
As a former knight, he was used to shooting from horseback.
Hitting a stationary bird wasn't a challenge for him.
But that wasn't the important part.
"Please, just let me do this!"
Andrew nervously spat out a prayer under his breath.
He let the arrow fly, and that's when he heard the sound he'd been waiting for.
[Perfect shot! You've gained experience.]
[Your character's level has increased to 21.]
[Your archery skill has advanced from 'Beginner' to 'Skilled']
"…!"
Overcome with joy, Andrew couldn't help but tremble.
The level restriction was finally gone—his long-standing shackles had been broken.
After waiting so long for this moment, Andrew couldn't contain himself and screamed with excitement.
"Yes! This is it!"
Up until now, the level cap had caused him so much frustration.
Not only could his level never increase, but no matter how hard he tried, his skills stayed stuck at the "Beginner" level.
Finally… he could level up again!
He was so excited that he almost wanted to dance.
"Cough, cough, calm down."
Taking deep breaths, Andrew tried to control his overjoyed emotions.
He had more important matters to attend to.
First, he needed to figure out exactly when it was, so he could plan for the future.
"It looks like I need to head back to the village first."
Andrew picked up his freshly hunted game and prepared to head out.