I was a Nerfed Hero in Another World

The morning finally came with the sun barging through the window. All the roosters outside crowed the hardest as the sound blared through inside my room. However, instead of feeling delighted, my thoughts weighed me down and pressed me on the bed.

"Mhmg… What time is it?" I grumbled, while reaching out my hand at the sides, hoping to shut the alarm before it goes off.

Much to my surprise, the obnoxious sound never got out of my flank. As I opened my eyes, the room that I became accustomed to did not welcome my eyes. Instead of the movie and band posters, the wooden planks and the window on my right were the first things I saw.

"All of those things happened… None of this is a dream."

I chewed on my words as I got out of bed. Everything around me shifted, reminding me I was not on Earth but in a different world. A world filled with magic and unique people I needed to learn and survive.

However, I must carry out my duty… I was the Descendant's hero. If there were a person who must wield that Excalibur, it would be me.

I looked at the window for the last time before taking my leave. There was no point in addressing the family that sheltered me inside their house…

It would be painful for them to see me off and never return to this village.

Those three family members were still sleeping inside their rooms. And if they were not asleep, that should not pose a problem to me. Getting out from that window would save me some time before meeting them in the living room.

But before anything else, there was a voice calling out for me. My body jerked backwards upon hearing someone call for me in the living room.

"Are you going so soon, Arthur? You could at least join us for lunch before leaving…"

I let my guard down and heard someone talking behind the door. There was a hole that made the person from the other side peek through from the inside. That person saw me doing things to depart soon.

"I'm sorry…, Aferous."

"No, no, don't be sorry. Nobody's forcing you to stay. Whatever your decisions would be, my family will always wait for you here. Tell us if you need anything," Aferous replied.

Whatever Aferous proposed, that person could not give me the sword. My goal was to vanquish the demon lord and retrieve Excalibur. Staying inside here in the village was not worth my time.

"You can't give me what I want… sorry."

After our exchange, I turned around and continued organising the things I needed to do.

I packed all my stuff and prepared everything that I would need on my journey. Although inventory was a thing inside this game, I could not unlock that feature yet. I did not have the levels to unlock it yet, and I did not know when I would use that skill.

Since I took everything for granted during my gaming days, I did not know these things had levels to get. I got it easy and received everything to live in Magique. I also dealt with different things that were far more prominent when I was still an active player.

And now that the situation had changed, there was nothing I could do but wait for the [inventory]. That ability might feature itself and unlock it by the time I reach a certain level. So, for now, I would use the bag given by Aferous to me as my temporary storage.

"Goodbye, Arthur… I hope you return and defend our village… We need you."

I did not dare to give Aferous my answer. I could not even help myself from looking at his worried gaze behind my back.

As soon as I finished suiting up, I raced through the window like a burglar. I headed towards the woodland and avoided stepping my foot on the road. I got myself out of the line of sight from the villagers and ventured out of the village.

The conversation that I had with the two siblings and Aferous remained glued to my heart. They became the notes that I never wished for, constantly reminding me to return to the village. I would love to follow my heart, but I wished to stay with my brain. I had no reason to defend that village, and those villagers couldn't stop me from getting away.

There was still a part of me that wanted to stay by their side and see what would happen. Despite knowing that we could fail, trying our best to fend off those monsters would be the journey itself. As long as we were together, the townlet might have the chance to defeat the enemy forces.

However, I left them to rot in their own grave. Those villagers were as good as dead as soon as I fled from the village. None of them knew how to access their system, since I never taught them. I left that lesson for Afenos and Rain to teach.

It was not my responsibility to teach the civilians about the system. My job was to finish the demon lord that has the sword. This village was just an extension of that goal or a side quest that I need not finish.

Even if I helped them, that village would reward me with a small amount of gold that I could use in the future. But that would risk me from dying to the horde.

The scenery surrounding me changed. All the green trees became dark green, with the soil turning grey. I knew that the place was closing before me as my feet kissed the mushy ground. Even the boulders that should have the colour black on their surface.

After reaching countless unfamiliar boulders and trees, the training site that the community marked greeted my eyes. It was a forest that gave off a unique aura that I had never felt before! Even my system reacted, sending me notifications and alerts that I entered a different site.

[Warning! You have set foot on Alderley Edge's Dungeon!]

[Monsters in this area are all level 10-100! You need approximately to be a level 10 adventurer with a party to kill these monsters!]

The system painted its windows with a bloody-red colour, telling me that this was off-limits to outsiders. However, this had been the case countless times for players that wished to level up with immense speed.

Some players told the community board that this place increases the arcane capacity of the players, while others explained it had constant healing capabilities. As it had turned out, I can confirm those rumours as facts as I witnessed my mana and health regeneration grow.

"I only need to survive for a couple of weeks to level until level 30," I murmured, and gripped my Clarent sword tight in my hands.

Despite my bold attempts at farming in this place, my character remained low-levelled. I did not level up upon staying inside that village. My mind and body only received headaches and insults, especially from the brat's perspective. However, that bitter truth that Roger, the adventurer, said still got stuck inside my head.

If I wanted to become a hero, protecting them would be the utmost priority. However, I did not and chose to farm experience here.

Just like any other game, killing monsters in this area would give bountiful rewards and experience to the characters that slew them. There were also various things that players needed to figure out, like sharing experiences, collectables, and other items dropped by these monsters.

The party leader, or the highest rank in the group, would distribute these valuables to the members. It would halve the experience points, making farming slower. (author's note: Farming is a term that players use when they are doing repetitive actions to gain experience)

But right now, that did not apply to me. I was the only one present inside this dungeon. I will have all the experience of myself as soon as I kill some monsters along the way.

So the question right now was…

"How can I kill them?"

I knew that ogres, enlarged bats, goblins and hobgoblins live in this area. As soon as they would smell my human scent, all of them would flock over in my direction. That part was the beauty of this place. Players did not have to find monsters and kill them. All those beasts would come to me.

I only had fifteen seconds to strategize a plan to kill these creatures. All I had with me was a level sword, beginning equipment, and a wounded heart. The only thing that I could pray about was the patterns that these animals had upon fighting players.

"If only these monsters have the same fighting style, maybe I could win?" My statement came out as a question.

I was unsure if I would win this match. The only thing that I could do now was to fight the monster's head-on.