It was still dark before dawn.
A plain carriage was already waiting outside the side gate of Leo Palace.
This was the “dignity” the royal family granted him.
No farewell ceremony.
No family seeing him off.
Not even the palace guards stood nearby; their eyes were filled with undisguised disdain, not even bothering to spare him a second glance.
This wasn’t a prince going to his fief—it looked more like a prisoner being escorted out of the city.
Leo didn’t really mind.
He hadn’t expected those plastic family members to suddenly perform some touching annual show of brotherly respect or filial piety at the last moment.
That would’ve been far too fake.
A few servants silently loaded the traveling supplies onto another cart.
Leo glanced over.
The belongings were pitifully few.
A few boxes of shabby-looking clothes, some basic daily necessities, and a small chest of gold coins.
The Royal Messenger had said this was King’s “generous” reward—enough for him to settle in the fief.
Leo did some mental calculations.
With this money, even tightening his belt, it would last at best two or three months.
Stingy.
Really damn stingy.
What surprised him more was that someone actually volunteered to go with him.
Besides Alfred, the old butler who had watched him grow up, there were four servants.
Two maids, one cook, and one groom.
They all had families but were now quietly standing by the carriage, showing no sign of backing out.
Their eyes held an astonishing determination.
“Your Highness, we will follow you.”
The lead maid, a girl named Lila, seemed to have summoned all the courage she had in her life and stepped forward to say this.
Leo looked at them.
And then at their families behind them, whose faces were equally resolute.
Somewhere deep inside, something in Leo’s heart was gently stirred.
In this cold palace filled only with schemes and calculation, this might be the only proof of humanity left by that unlucky original owner.
“Following me means you’ll live a hard life,” Leo said calmly.
“Are you sure you’ve thought this through? It’s not too late to change your mind now. I won’t blame you.”
“We’re not afraid!”
They answered in unison, voices soft but perfectly synchronized.
Leo looked at them and suddenly smiled.
He didn’t say anything more, only nodded heavily.
“Then get on the carriage.”
The carriage started moving.
The wheels clattered over the cold stone road with a “clunk-clunk” as it slowly left the cage he had lived in for eighteen years in name only.
Strictly speaking, “he” had only been here for a day.
Leo—Earth office drone—had just reported in yesterday.
He didn’t look back.
There was nothing worth looking at.
The journey from the capital to Blackwood Ridge was unimaginably long.
The carriage rolled from dawn to dusk.
Except for brief rest and resupply at noon, it barely stopped.
Only then did Leo realize that the horses in this world were a completely different species from those he knew.
These were called Windscale Horses—remarkable endurance and absurdly fast speed, running almost twice as fast as horses on Blue Star.
To keep up with such speed, carriages were built especially sturdy.
But sturdy or not, the cheap model he rode in had almost no shock absorption.
As for whether the nobles’ luxury carriages were smoother?
Yes, but he didn’t have the money.
At first, Leo was a bit curious, lifting the curtain to look at the scenery outside.
From the excessively lavish capital, to neatly arranged farmlands, then to sparsely inhabited wilderness.
By afternoon, his mind had but one thought.
When the hell would this broken carriage stop?
His butt was completely numb, feeling as if it had been beaten with a wooden stick tens of thousands of times—numb and sore at the same time.
His body’s constitution really was terrible.
After a full day of jolting, he felt as if all his bones were about to fall apart.
“Your Highness, have some water.”
Alfred, the old butler, handed him a water pouch.
His face looked grim but still maintained the butler’s dignity.
“Thanks.”
Leo took it weakly and gulped down a big mouthful.
The cold water revived him slightly.
Leaning against the bumpy carriage wall, he watched the rapidly passing scenery outside and began to plan the road ahead.
Once he arrived at the fief and settled in, the first thing to do was to find a way to break the Talent Lock.
This was priority number one.
But the problem was: how?
In the game, the original owner had broken free only after his territory was overrun by monsters, watching everyone around him torn to pieces before his eyes, forced through sheer despair and hatred.
The price was soul corruption and sanity consumed by hatred, turning him into a vengeful Undead Mage.
Did Leo have to repeat that?
No way.
Never mind if he could survive that living hell—if he was lucky enough to live through it, he couldn’t afford such a cost.
He didn’t want to become a monster with no emotions, obsessed only with revenge.
What would be the point of living then?
Was there any other way?
Leo racked his brain but couldn’t think of a solution.
After all, he was just a player, not the game’s designer—how would he know how to crack such a core system?
Maybe…
Once the Letter of Severance sealed with the royal wax arrived in a few days, he could just abandon the fief and run away?
Find some picturesque small town and, with his ridiculously handsome face, make a living as a traveling bard scamming food and drinks, or work as a tavern waiter—at least he could live quietly.
The thought just surfaced, but he immediately crushed it.
What a joke.
With his weak body that couldn’t carry or lift anything, he’d probably shake and spill drinks if he worked as a waiter.
At that point, forget relying on his looks—he might not even escape being kicked out.
Difficult.
What a hellish start.
While Leo was lost in these random thoughts, the carriage gradually slowed.
“Your Highness, we’ve arrived.”
The rough voice of the groom came from outside.
Leo threw back the curtain.
A slightly cool breeze mixed with the smell of earth and rotting plants hit his face.
It was completely dark; the night hung like a huge black velvet cloth, with only a few faint stars overhead.
By the dim light of the carriage lantern, he finally saw his future fief.
A… small town?
Maybe it was better called a village.
A few dozen crooked wooden houses scattered sparsely along a bumpy dirt road.
The entire town was pitch black and lifeless.
Only a few households showed faint candlelight through their windows.
The air was thick with an indescribable scent of poverty.
The villagers seemed startled by the carriage’s arrival.
Some heads peeked out from dark houses, casting glances filled with a mix of curiosity, numbness, and fear at these unexpected visitors.
At the end of the town stood a stone building.
It looked much grander than the dilapidated houses nearby—probably the so-called Lord’s Mansion.
“Not bad. At least there’s a solid roof. No need to sleep on the streets.”
Leo twisted the corner of his mouth in a self-comforting smile.
Alfred had already gotten off the carriage, directing the servants to unload the pitiful supplies and negotiating with a gaunt old man who had come, seemingly the village head.
Leo didn’t bother with the trivial matters.
He jumped down, stretched his stiff body, and took a walk alone around the village.
The soil looked barren, and there were almost no decent crops by the roadside—only some half-dead weeds.
In the distance, the outline of the Monster Forest crouched in the night like a giant beast stalking prey, radiating an ominous aura.
Everything here clearly spelled two words:
Hopeless.
Dragging his exhausted feet, he returned to the relatively sturdy Lord’s Mansion.
The servants had already lit candles.
They were briskly cleaning the thick dust off the rooms, dispelling the musty smell.
Leo randomly picked a room that looked like a study.
A maid had just finished wiping down a heavy stone table.
He collapsed onto the seat and could no longer hold himself up.
He laid his body on the table in complete exhaustion.
The cold stone surface cleared his muddled head from the jarring journey a little.
But his heart grew even colder.
What now?
The money would only last a while.
There were only a few people, all with families to care for.
The fief was so poor it might as well ring bells—mice would probably cry leaving.
Outside lay the Monster Forest, ready to erupt at any time.
And above his head hung the Severance Sword of Damocles, ready to fall.
And he himself was a powerless “waste.”
In an instant, the helplessness of death by overwork in his previous life and the desperation of being trapped in this one surged over him like a tsunami.
He felt unprecedented fatigue.
Was he really going to abandon this place, these few who trusted him, and run away like a coward?
But if he didn’t run, was he just waiting to die here?
Maybe he should take them all with him?
Leave this damned place and find a new life somewhere else—that might be more hopeful.
But a prince expelled by the royal family, with a group in tow, where could they run? They’d likely be trouble wherever they went.
Just as Leo’s thoughts fell into a deadlock and his entire body was about to go numb,
“Ding.”
A faint but incredibly clear electronic chime suddenly sounded deep in his mind.
That sound—he was more familiar with it than anything.
It was the notification sound from the game he had been grinding for two days and nights—heard every time he leveled up or received a quest!
Leo abruptly lifted his head.
His body that had been slumped on the table instantly sat up straight, eyes wide as copper bells.
A hallucination?
Auditory hallucination from exhaustion?
Then,
A line of virtual text glowing with a faint blue light, visible only to him, slowly appeared before his eyes like a divine message.
【Game System Activation Successful.】
【Binding to host… Binding successful.】
【Host detected in distress, Newbie Gift Pack has been granted.】