I was a Nerfed Hero in Another World

"I-I know… but this is not the right time for us to talk about that, you know?" I said, and motioned my hands for the two of them to get out of this place.

Afenos wanted to rebuke for more. But upon seeing the situation at hand, he gave me a nod and carried her unconscious sister onto his back.

However, before Afenos could leave me for good, he glanced once again and asked, "How about you? What are you going to do?"

The boy looked at the eight remaining ogres, with one leading them to our doom. Afenos gazed back at my figure and flashed me a worried expression.

"I'll work things out. For starters, just leave this place and bring Rain to safety. I will buy you some time, okay?"

After our exchange, four of the ogres charged straight towards me, while the other four went for the two siblings. I, who knew this would happen, went to the sides and threw myself at the other four monsters.

"JUST GO, AFENOS! Take Rain to safety! Please!" I begged the little boy to stare at my figure.

Although it was difficult for Afenos, he finally realised our condition. Even though he disliked the idea, that boy had no choice but to abandon me behind. But I knew it was for the best, since those two could heal themselves for the time being while I distract the monsters.

And besides, Rain was not waking until now. She was more like a liability than a force that the ogres could reckon with, especially with those numbers. That leader, who called himself Uruk-hai, knew that we were in a tight spot to fight against them.

"I will be back for you, Arthur… I promise," Afenos said, and went ahead towards the bleak road.

I returned his gesture and gave him a nod. I had no time to see Afenos off since eight ogres glared in my direction. They wanted to chase for the two siblings, but I did not let them through.

"Your foolishness would lead to your destruction. Take that man out. I want to enjoy every second torturing you, Arthur," the Uruk-hai exclaimed, while motioning his hands to the squad of ogres marching in my direction.

"[Phoenix sphere]!"

I started small and tried forcing half of the group away from my sight. But unlike Rain's magic prowess, my spell was not enough to create a disturbance to the ogre's focus. Instead, those monsters became agitated, turning into rabid dogs chasing after their bones.

And I was the ogre's target. I was their bones or plaything that they were after throughout this battle.

I reached out for my Clarent sword and blocked the incoming attack of the ogre in front of me. The monster's arm was even longer than my entire body, making it more arduous for me to maintain my posture.

But that was not the end of my nightmares.

As I glanced at the sides, an ogre slammed its body in my direction, leaving me tumbling elsewhere from the battlefield. I was fortunate enough to obstruct the ogre's blow using my left arm. I lessened the damage taken by my body, but I was unaware of the outcome of my actions. The left side of my body turned numb, rejecting any surge of pain or tingling sensation that I should experience.

My left upper appendage became immobile from the blow. It was still a good thing that I could still move my legs despite receiving a devastating assault. Under normal circumstances, I should be dead right now.

But I wasn't. It was thanks to my sword and my reaction time in this game that kept me alive.

All of this was just the performance of two ogres. Six of them watched me suffer and did not take part in the skirmish. But that theory proved me wrong as all of them came running in my direction, with their hands directed towards me for a punch.

I was still thankful that the damage I received was from my left hand, not the other. I was a right-handed person, and I wielded my sword in my good hand. Although my swaying arms would obstruct me from moving, it would not be enough to hinder me during the battle.

I dashed straight towards the mob like a madman, with my blade readied in my hand. If other people observed this scene, they might think that I had given up fighting these bastards.

Since I bit off my luck before I could chew, I wanted to test something against these ogres. Although they outnumbered me by eight times, I still had the upper hand.

All of those beasts moved like a turtle, thanks to their sizable mass. Adventurers and soldiers might think that these ogres ran fast, but they didn't. All the monsters here had identical patterns in the game, which made veteran players swim through the storyline.

The battle between the ogre, Afenos, and me from before proved my point. That pattern also showed up from the farming site when I fought the worm.

All of them followed the script made by the game developers. And even if these monsters didn't have any codes, they still had stupid attacks and defense patterns that normal adventurers could take advantage of!

Any time an ogre attacks, it would swing its arm and pound the first thing it sees. If the ogre notices any spell or assault that would endanger its body, that monster could use both arms to defend itself, especially the neck.

It was a rule of thumb for players to slice the ogres in the game. All we had to do was to smash the buttons and let the game do its thing.

However, I finally understood the meaning behind those instructions. While pressing the slash attacks, the characters in the game cut off the neck of the ogres. And now that the game became a reality, slashing the ogre's neck was their sole weakness.

I did not know if that theory would work with mages and other weapons, but it would not hurt to find out. But those players or characters would need an immense amount of arcane or durable weapons to penetrate the ogre's skin.

My Clarent was a special sword built to fight against tougher enemies. Although I did not read the information about it, since it did not have one in the first place, Clarent was an awesome sword for combat. It was on par with Excalibur and Caliburn, two legendary swords in this game.

After organising these details inside my head, I applied them on the battlefield. Three ogres lifted their arms and attempted to pound them onto me. However, I already saw their attacks from miles away, giving me a few seconds to dodge the strike.

Upon rolling in the corner, four ogres charged straight towards me, with the other two kicking at my figure. I somersaulted and dodged all four attacks from the ogres.

However, there was one ogre I missed throughout that match.

"GAH!"

A hovering boulder hit me from the back as my body collapsed on the ground. Upon squinting my eyes, the remaining ogre used the rocks on its sides as catapults for a long-ranged attack. That stone hit me despite staying countless feet away from the monster.

As soon as I slammed my body against the cold ground, the seven ogres rushed to the scene and ganged me up like a worthless dog. The numbing sensation from my left arm disappeared as I heard a few of my bones cracking near my ears.

A jab towards my abdomen, my femur cracking, muscles getting stretched; this happened instantly. A splash of blood zoomed through my mouth as my body uncontrollably coughed out everything I ate before. I could even guess that half of my ribs got broken from the fight, but I relentlessly kept my conscience open, waiting for the time to escape this onslaught.

"Enough! You've had your fun, my servants. Let Arthur rot himself to death here in the wasteland."

With Uruk-hai's command, the eight ogres withdrew from the scene. Like their leader had mentioned, those beasts left me on the ground. They knew that my body had already scrambled into pieces.

Despite my reckless attempts, I forced the movable parts of my body and crawled towards Clarent. I knew that my chances of winning were close to zero… but it was never impossible.

… But this was not some kind of fairy tale. If I die here, the world will end and take my body with it. This world was not just a game. It was my reality, and I needed to save the village… I wanted to save Afenos and Rain…

[Processing system…]

[Clarent Sword Activated….]

[Processing system 2%....]

The notification appeared before me. I knew nothing about this, since I did not cast any spell besides [Phoenix sphere]. I just pushed it aside, hoping that it was a reminder for me to die.

"[Tundra]!" Just before I closed my eyes, a child's voice echoed behind me, followed by a chilling touch of wind.