I was a Nerfed Hero in Another World

"I told you, you wouldn't win against me," Afenos snorted, but he still reached out a hand to help me stand.

I took his helping hand and replied, "You got lucky. That's all."

I got my first defeat playing this game, excluding the ogre that nearly killed me. Since the day I transferred and lived inside this world, I turned into a puny adventurer. All I could do was transform myself into a punching bag, or someone else running around the field, distracting monsters like the ogre.

Those turbulent days of me fighting against thousands of foes turned into dust as I faced my enemies with this character of mine. With my nerfed abilities, leaving the weaker spells inside me, I became unsure what to do with my life.

"Hey, Arthur… Is something wrong?" Rain, who had been staring at me for a while, voiced her concerns.

I turned around and shook my head, telling her that there was nothing to worry about. Rain reluctantly let my anxious expression pass, knowing that she could do nothing for now.

After the sparring match against Afenos, he and I went to the dummy target and crossed our arms. Although Afenos and I were not on grand terms, we knew that the two of us needed to become stronger than we were once before. We did not pull each other down like a crab.

If someone had a plan to increase our strength, that person should share that information right now.

"Do you have anything in your mind, Arthur?" Afenos painfully asked.

The look on his face as he queried that question to me was priceless! Those narrowed eyes and curled mouth going downwards, Afenos really hated me as a person to rely on in times of need. I could hear him whispering in his head, cursing me for my ugly face right now.

"Yes. But you might not want to hear about it, since I would be the one teaching you, Afenos. Everyone knows how much you hate me and my face, hmm?"

"You're damn right, Arthur. But for now, we could develop a truce."

After our exchange, the two of us took five steps back and faced each other. My eyes narrowed down as soon as I met Afenos' gaze. That kid did the same and let out a long exhale.

"What are you guys doing?" Rain asked.

"Doing a ritual."

"Doing a ritual."

Afenos and I answered in sync as we heaved out yet again another sigh. We had no other choice but to work together and improve our abilities to defend the village. I, who planned on defeating the demon lord soon, needed to learn countless abilities and spells.

Teaching something to Afenos might help me gain some passive abilities or even understand more about the arcane in this world. Although I was a player of Magique, I did not know how the actual magic works in this world. The world acted like in the game, but there was more than that!

"Do you know about the notifications or windows? Do you even see those things, Afenos and Rain? It's like a flying rectangular box that pops up every time you use a skill or level up." I asked.

If Afenos and Rain wanted to become stronger, they needed to access their system. The power of this system might change their understanding of magic and spells. Since these two knew little about them, maybe accessing these features would increase their statistical powers.

Afenos tilted his head out the side, wondering what I was doing with my hands. Even Rain, who watched from afar, might have changed her perspective by looking at me. The two of them raised a thousand questions on their heads, begging for an answer.

"What do you mean by windows? Like the ones we have on your shack?" said Afenos.

Rain butted in and raised multiple questions at once. "Arthur, Arthur, what do you mean by leveling up or using a skill? Does this include cooking skills? That's a skill too, right?"

"No! The transparent one floats in front of you! That screen! And levelling up is something that…"

It was my first time to feel helpless while living in this world-like game. These NPC, like what I had expected, knew nothing about the system and its benefits. Afenos and Rain could use spells and abilities, but did not know their capabilities of using that prowess.

"Fine. I'll show you something. Watch," I instructed the two.

I gestured my hand for the two siblings to move a few steps backwards. Afenos and Rain heeded my commands and stepped back, a couple of centimetres away from me. After telling them the okay sign, I let out an exhale and aimed my hands at the dummy.

"[Phoenix Sphere]!" I shouted.

Within a few seconds, a ball of fire with the shape of a Phoenix appeared from my palms. It zoomed in straight towards the scarecrow. As soon as my spell collided with the target, a burst of flames devoured the strawman.

"See? I can summon spells, just like a mage. But I am a knight. I can't use spells willy-nilly… Hey! Afenos! Are you even listening?"

"How did you do that?" Afenos exclaimed, cutting me off from my sentence.

"Did what?"

"You know, that fire thingy that had the shape of a bird!"

"Afenos, I don't think that's just a bird," Rain interposed, as she turned her attention to me. "Was that the spirit of the Phoenix…? Wait, let me rephrase my question. Are you the reincarnation of the Great Phoenix, Arthur?"

The Great Phoenix was actually the three mythical beasts that governed this code. I tried battling them once and failed to achieve my goal. Those monsters were too strong for me to handle. I did not have any party while raiding their den, but I doubted that would do something to those godly creatures.

I shook my head and answered, "No. But I have a title called 'The Descendant's Hero'."

Afenos and Rain looked at each other with a confusing look carved into their eyes. These two were trying to figure out and decipher my words for the past few minutes, hoping they could understand. However, no matter how hard they tried, nothing went inside their brains.

'Maybe these two are non-player characters. These NPC cannot see their systems and status identifications?' I pondered the thought.

But before I could even consider that idea, Afenos looked at the burned dummy target once again. He clenched his hands and curved it like a ball, with a determined look painted on his face. He raised his hand and mimicked my words.

"[Phoenix Sphere]!" Despite his awesome posture, nothing came out of Afenos' hands.

Upon sauntering him behind, Afenos glowed a brilliant light, enveloping everything in his surroundings. It took him a complete minute before the light faded away. Rain tried calling out for him, since she became worried about her brother. I, who wanted to help Afenos, also sauntered beside Raun.

But as soon as we saw his figure, a notification popped in front of me.

[Congratulations on helping Afenos reach his potential!]

[Since Afenos could manage his system, Magique grants you an ability!!]

[The system sent the skill packs offered to your inventory! Please check it soon!]

'Skill packs? Offer? Afenos' potential?' None of this made sense to me.

However, upon looking at my fore, the screen I desperately tried explaining appeared before his eyes. The window also affected Rain, since these two were siblings. It was a logical explanation, considering that these two had the same blood.

[Congratulations on helping Rain reach her potential!]

[Since Rain could manage her system, Magique grants you an ability!]

[The system sent the skill packs offered to your inventory! Please check it soon!]

Since it had turned to this, I would inspect those skills later, after dealing with these two. If Rain and Afenos got the hang of using these systems, their power would increase! They might take down the ogre we had trouble dealing with before.

As my eyes wandered ahead, blue shards that looked like water welcomed my eyes. As I observed Afenos' surroundings, everything surrounding him turned into ice. The temperature also decreased as I could witness Afenos' chilling breath as fog came out of his mouth. Even after a few seconds, these eyes refused to thaw despite the sun still shining upon us.

"Afenos… Rain… Guess what. Look behind you," I croaked, and urged them to swivel behind.

The two siblings turned around and gazed at the block of ice nestled on the strawman. Afenos jerked back as soon as he met the frosty scarecrow, afraid of what happened. He even thought that someone planned on attacking us and told Rain and me to fall back.

"Relax, Afenos. What you did right now was thanks to your system. You have the power to control ice…" I explained, and gave him a nod.

It took the ice five minutes before it melted back to its liquid state.