I was a Nerfed Hero in Another World

The conversation between the four of us continued for a few hours after taking our leave from the village. But considering the distance from the demon and our carriage, we had to stay for the night. Our team needed some rest for the time being.

The four of us could switch shifts when the night comes, but it was not a great idea. If we ever encountered the demon-but one of us did not rest well, we would all be in trouble.

Our team should have plenty of rest before testing our strength against our enemy. Until then, the demon could wait on its ground. And if anything happens, I still have my system that could alarm any enemy coming in our way.

All of us found a cave near to the road. The tunnel had around a hundred feet, enough to cater for four of us inside. We all agreed to stay inside the cave and sleep until we rejuvenated our strength to the fullest.

If we wanted to defeat someone stronger than our team, we had to do everything we could to win. It was like a preparation inside the game where the party would suit up and fight for that ultimate battle.

But the game and real-life became one in this world. If I died in the game, I would restart to the previous checkpoint. However, if we die in this world, we would die in real life.

As we entered the cave, I suggested they barricade the entrance with woods with holes. We made sure that the woods did not have any bugs that could creep onto our beds and then our bodies. When Merleen heard those warnings, she screamed and went behind my back with shivering arms.

I couldn't help but laugh at Merleen's frightening figure after hearing my words.

We also made sure we pre-cooked our meals before entering inside. We cannot produce fire inside the cave, since it would create smoke that would suffocate everyone! And that smell would attract nearby animals or monsters, which would lead to unnecessary fights. And if we exhausted our energy before we could battle against the demon, that would only spell doom on our plates.

Our team also took gigantic leaves we could use as our temporary beds. It was better than sleeping on the cold floor with nothing but our skin to keep us warm. If I also had to guess it right, the temperature in this cave was whopping around thirteen degrees Celsius. That atmosphere would freeze a normal guy living in an Asian country.

(Author's note: Since some Asian countries don't have winter seasons, thirteen degrees Celsius would be pretty much cold for us/them)

Besides resting our energies, we wanted to avoid the monsters lurking in the night. According to Meliodas, there were tons of monsters roaming around this place when the moon rose to the highest. Fenrir also mentioned that there were other dire wolves that we could brawl if not careful.

"We just need to sleep for the night before meeting the demon. All of us should rest well without stressing ourselves with something unimportant. If we lose this fight against the demon, we die. We don't have any second chances….," I announced, and met everyone's gaze.

"You heard the man. We need to rest until the sun comes right up. If I were you, I would hit the sack and…. sleep for tonight."

After saying those words, Fenrir finally hit the snooze button and went to the dream world. She did not even try hiding it and showed everyone that she would rest without us.

I sighed in relief, knowing that Fenrir trusted this team. Since if she didn't, Fenrir wouldn't sleep openly in front of us, considering that she would leave her body vulnerable for everyone.

"Arthur…. can you sleep with me?" Merleen asked, which sounded…. inappropriate.

But instead of declining her offer, I nodded at the mage girl and replied, "Sure. But before that, I'd Like to talk to Meliodas about something."

As soon as I mentioned his name, Meliodas stepped his foot forward and exclaimed, "Do you need me with something?"

I nodded at the bard and replied, "Yes. You are in need of a dire upgrade. Head to bottom. Systemic. I want you ready when facing anyone, besides that demon."

The bard just tilted his head to the side and asked, "How on the Magique would you do that?"

(Author's note: How on Earth are you going to do that XD instead of Earth? I used Magique because that's their world…. you get the joke….)

"I will grant you the power to amplify all the skills you learned throughout your journey. This prowess would also enhance all your abilities, attacks, defence, and your class as a bard."

"You can do that?"

"I can."

After our exchange, I summoned my system and found the [add party] box in my setting. Upon clicking the button, a window appeared before me, which became visible to Meliodas.

"Oh, you haven't given Meliodas a system? I see!" Merleen exclaimed, as she went ahead to the bed before me. "Oh, don't worry, Arthur! I won't sleep yet. I will wait for you."

With those reassuring words, I continued my explanation to Meliodas about the window in front of us. "We call this system. Merleen and Fenrir know and have this system. Even the king of Caerleon and his mercenaries had this system. And now, I'm giving it to you."

"Why? Why would you entrust me with this power?" Meliodas asked, while gazing into my eyes. "I am not worthy of having this power. And I don't know if I would become worthy to wield one."

"Nonsense, Meliodas. You're my friend. That's the only qualification you need to have. And you passed with flying colours," I remarked, and pushed the window in front of him. "Now, all you have to do is press that button. The one you're looking at is called a window. Windows have texts you could read or view. If you prefer it that way, you could read the texts first before accepting my offer."

Just like what I proposed, Meliodas nodded at me and browsed the texts inscribed inside the box. It took him around a few seconds before reading the entire thing.

"Experience? Party? Levelling up? What do these words mean?" Meliodas asked, while scratching his head.

"Oh, you'll know eventually. For now, just press that button and-."

Before I could even complete my sentence, Meliodas pressed his fingertips on the button and accepted my offer. Within a few moments, the box changed, with a status description appearing in front of Meliodas.

That status description included his name, class, and powers, as we all had as players. As stated by the system, whoever wields this power would become a player and would benefit as one. Since Meliodas became a player just like me, he would also level up and learn some skills without having a mentor.

Well, it was better to have someone teaching those skills, considering a master would guide that person. However, we did not have one and never met one on our journey.

I was as close as a mentor could be to these people who recently owned the system.

I did not want to peer through the descriptions that the system gave to Meliodas. The only important thing was that he had his own system. And it would depend on him how he would manage that.

I was not a babysitter to these people to manage their skillset. I could be their guide in using the system, but I prefer my teammates and comrades to learn it with their own experience. It wouldn't be fun if you had a guide telling you what to do at every second.

"I will teach you everything I know. But you have to learn it like the rest of them," I said, and pointed my fingers at the two girls sleeping in their make-shift beds.

"So they too have systems that increase their powers? Hmmm. I suppose I could feel my arcane overflowing inside of me. It's like…. every cell inside my body became as light as a feather. If I sing a song right now, maybe the sound would reach around a kilometre if I focus well," Meliodas mumbled to himself, while gazing at his harp.

"You do you, Meliodas. Okay, here's all the things you need to know about the system."

I explained everything to Meliodas like the game would narrate to their consumers. I needed to tell Meliodas about the levels and skills he could learn after getting stronger. Meliodas raised a couple of question marks above his head when he heard about this information. But after countless explanations that reached around a few minutes, Meliodas finally had a surface level knowledge about it.

"I see. So I have to address these quests to level up and increase my strength. And these skills will automatically enter my mind and would allow me to use them during fights? Interesting. Such peculiar prowess unlike any other!" Meliodas confessed, as he flipped through the windows one after the other.

"Before anything else, Meliodas. We have to sleep tonight. We need your strength to fight the demon tomorrow," I suggested, and forcefully dragged him to his bed.