I was a Nerfed Hero in Another World

Merchant passed down the decision unto me, knowing that I was the hero of this town. However, there was not a time that I took up any responsibility in my past life. So everyone letting me decide made my world stop time.

I had two potions resting in my hands, and it was my responsibility to decide who would live.

But that was not the plan I wanted to follow. These potions would only heal two people temporarily. And since these bottles only had 40% potency, which was not enough to cure diseases. That part would only vanish the symptoms these people felt, but not the entire sickness.

"This is not my job, but I have to do it!" I said, and activated my inventory.

Just like I had expected, my bag had a feature that allowed me to combine materials. And on the first page, there was a section meant for creating potions.

"This is so exciting! It feels like I'm an alchemist! But…. why did I not use this before?" I asked myself, while pondering my question.

My question had a simple answer. It was because I became too overpowered to use potions. I did not have any circumstance to drink one of those, since my passive abilities regenerated both my arcane and health. And when the enemy cornered me, I would always use my ultimate to ensure my victory.

I already knew the game, so I had this knowledge compared to these people. It was as if I was a cheater in this world, defying death and morbidity. However, I needed two things before conducting the perfect potion for the families; herbs and magic. Those two variables would unlock the potion creation using no materials needed.

I needed to create a potion of my own before mass producing it using my magic. If I unlock that blueprint, I could finally create potions-with the highest potency using only my arcane.

Using the pre-made potion of Merchant would not have any effect on the potion creation inside my system. The blueprint needed my work with my own arcane. So I could create those flasks.

The only downside to that was my lack of mana. If I was the only one making these potions, I could only create ten potions a day without resting. I had the mana capacity of a freaking villager, despite being a magical knight that could cast spells.

"That's where Merleen would show up!" I murmured, and continued preparing the materials I needed to bring outside.

Merleen had mammoth-sized mana that could feed the entire ancient mana beast. She actually surpassed the greatest mage player I came across with, considering the additional mana rings the mage possessed. Since Merleen had excess mana, she could produce millions of potions at once using her magic. We won't have to worry about distributing limited editions of these flasks if that time comes.

However, thinking about our future did not solve our current problem.

And that was my fundamental problem. I did not know about mixing and looking for those herbs, even if I knew the map. The herbs in this shelter were also not the correct ones that my system indicated. If I could not create a potion of my own, there was no way we could make our plan work! So I turned my head to Merchant and asked my concerns, hoping he could help me locate those plants.

"I found these herbs around the village. But you need to dig up holes to see them growing underground. These herbs are not rare to find, but you need exactly ten leaves to make one potion," Merchant answered.

"Then help me go look for them!" I asked, while raising my voice.

Merchant shook his head and showed his skin to me. His legs got covered with blood, oozing down to his feet. I could only gasp upon witnessing such a grotesque sight of an injured leg nearly decaying.

"I want to help you, Arthur. But I could barely walk right now."

Just as Merchant said that, he fell to his knees, desperately trying to stand on his feet. I rushed to his aid and tried helping him get up. However, my assistance did little, considering that his skin got severely damaged.

It was what Merchant mentioned. He could barely move a muscle with that wound, obstructing his movements.

"But I can't just whine about it right now…. These people need me more than anything in the world. Everyone is fighting our battles, including you, Arthur."

Since I had two potions left at my disposal, I grabbed the spare flask and shoved it at Merchant. With surprised eyes, Merchant chunked down the liquid and gulped it in one go. He did not have any moment to think about the situation. That bloke just drank all the potion's contents and chugged it like a freshly brewed beer.

"W-What have you done, Arthur! You could've used it on your body! Y-You might need it in battle!" Merchant cried, while coughing out his saliva.

A grin emerged on my face as I safeguard the remaining potion in my inventory. "You don't have to thank me, Merchant! It's all for you!"

I stood from the ground and carried onward to the door. "Now, stop idling around and stay with me!"

But before I could exit the door, the people behind me groaned in pain. Despite Galehaut and his family all working together, they could not cater to these injured people. They needed an extra hand to fetch some apparatus and herbs for these people.

"I'd love to join you, Arthur... But these people need me, too. I can't just abandon them for now."

I could not retort after hearing that phrase. It was only rational for Merchant to mend the wounds of these people since he was a villager living in this town.

"Don't feel sorry. I would have done the same thing if I were in your position," I replied, and went to the door.

However, the door opened on its own and blasted me with elemental dark magic. I tumbled to the ground and slammed my body against the wall, destroying it into pieces. Fortunately, the building remained intact and did not fall apart.

I groaned in pain as I picked my body back again from all the rubbles pressing down on me. Upon lifting my face, the tyrant king's figure welcomed my eyes, together with his soldiers behind his back.

The king glared at the ground and found the empty flask rolling to the side. He averted his gaze and glared at me for the second time, wishing to tear me apart.

"You…. You have something from me," the crown growled, and pointed at me. "Kill everyone besides Galehaut and Merchant. That includes all the villagers inside this place."

My Clarent still had its powers coursing through my veins. But because of my recent injuries, the power became less every minute. However, despite these disadvantages, I wanted to do things right. I rushed towards the king and tried hitting his head using the pommel of Clarent. However, his dark magic was faster than me, grabbing my hands before I could attack him.

"I commend you for trying, Arthur. But your friend insulted me and my governance," the king whispered, and tossed me to the side.

"Why are you doing this?! Why are you killing your own people! Isn't it the king's job to protect them?!" I growled, while gripping my sword. "Look at the surrounding villagers! They are battling against an illness you made! You did not provide them with enough food and shelter, yet you taxed them like dogs! Are you really a king, or are you a murderer?"

My words looked like they hid a nail in the king. After hearing my words, the ruler enveloped his body with his dark magic and sent daggers in my direction.

"One, because these people are eating away our resources. If you're aware of our situation, famine has hit the entire nation. We don't have any means of feeding worthless people…. It's better to kill them off than letting them slowly suffer. It hurts me to say it, but that is my saving grace for these villagers," the king explained. "As for your second question, your name irritates me... It's the same name that killed my wife!"

After saying his speech, the king hurled a shadow ball in my direction. It was a sphere coated in black energy and magic strong enough to destroy a building. It could get stronger if the king imbued more mana to the ball. However, if he planned on doing that, he would also suffer from the arcane influx. Since the ruler was not a mage, he needed to use a reasonable amount of magic when fighting.

I held my ground and raised Clarent in my hands, hoping that I could stop it. But god knows that I would not withstand the blast… I could only limit the area of damage this spell would create.

But that thought seemed unnecessary, considering that a mercenary showed up in front of me.