The Eighth Hero

Chapter One

We Began Our Adventure Together

In the small regional land known as the Middle-Domains, a collaboration of many more smaller domains, tyranny reigned.

The sentient races that lived there, the humans, the halflings, the elves, and the dwarves, were suppressed by a great evil. That evil was known as the Overlord and he commanded an army of goblin, orcs, trolls, undead, and demons to do his bidding.

The races banded together in their time of need and rebelled against the evil. They called themselves 'the Alliance' and named the Overlord's forces as 'the Scourge.'

Wars were fought. Battles were won and battles were lost.

But the war never ended.

The Overlord had a near infinite supply of goblins and undead, while the forces of the Alliance simply continued to dwindle away.

Hope was dying.

But then an old wizard returned from the distant lands back to his homeland of the Middle-Domains and brought light back with him. The respected veteran of adventuring and heroism gathered seven other individuals and together they stood against the Scourge.

Maple Underbell was small even for a halfling. Many said that her size was because that girl did not eat much. She often ate little and many cases it even bordered among being starvation. Yet, despite being so weak with hunger, she always wanted to be the bravest hero of them all, even though her real talents lied in singing songs and weaving tales. She was a bard and the littlest of heroes.

Oronel Greenhaze was a beautiful elf. She was the absolute best of their race. She was accurate enough with a bow-and-arrow to hit pin-sized targets hundreds of yards away and also had incredible hearing. She had a strong sense of duty and was almost always serious, yet inside she was soft and deeply valued camaraderie. She was a ranger and the most elegant of heroes.

Sir William Penthrone the Black was the sole heir of the Penthrone Royal Family. She was raised as a man and raised as a warrior. She learned of her divine right in life and the powers she wielded because it. She was enforcer of her family's laws and called 'the Black' because she had harden her heart and spared mercy to nobody. Yet all she wanted was to be like a woman and live a free life. She was a paladin and the coldest of heroes.

Goldo Golderson was a miser of a dwarf. He held a tight grip and kept an intensive record of everything that was on his person. He would always make use of all his possessions beyond the common sense of feasibility. He salvaged and hoarded everything he could carry and had a mind more intelligent than most. Yet he had a big heart and would always lend a helping hand to others without asking for anything in return, all he needed to know was that he could properly finish the job and receive a thank you at the end. He was an inventor and the humblest of heroes.

Jewel the Blessed was the richest of people. She was abandoned as a child with but a single jewel and her adopted parents had named her thus. She grew up and attained the title of 'the Blessed' because good things almost always came her way. She avoided all kinds of accidents and had all types of riches fall onto her lap. She could give away her fortune and it would have a find to come back to her in double the amount. Yet she did not believe that life should be served on a silver platter, she wanted to earn the things she was given. She was a bandit and the luckiest of heroes.

Kalim the Guardian was the strongest of humans. She was a slave brought over from the lands far beyond and her freedom was bought by Jewel. The two became inseparable friends, perhaps even secret lovers, but whatever the case she was venerated as the 'the Guardian' for always protecting Jewel. She was tough, fast, and strong and could challenge even trolls with her strength, yet did not enjoy fighting or the death that surrounded her. She was a berserker and the mightiest of heroes.

Myorzo the Grand Wizard was the oldest of men. His stories, his adventures, his legends, everything about him was simply more than any one person could hope to tell. When someone says 'the Wizard' or 'Grand Wizard' then it would always certainly be him. Yet he was a simple old man, he was kind and friendly like a grandfather and liked to brag about his family. He was a wise wizard and the most experienced of heroes.

I was born a nameless slave and had a peculiar and unique condition that made me both a woman and not, because of that I was never dumped into the life of a whore but instead sent to fight in the arenas. I fought and fought and fought and killed and killed and killed to survive and then one day a wizard on a journey back to his homeland had arrived at the coliseum and gave me my freedom. Yet even with freedom, I chose to follow him until the day I died. I was a gladiator and the quietest of heroes.

We eight banded together and became the new hope of the Middle-Domains and fought alongside the Alliance. Through life and death our bonds had transcended friendship, family, and love. We were heroes.

Battles upon battles, we slowly pushed back the Scourge to their final fortress of the Dark Tower and sought out the Overlord who presided in his throne.

Ascending up the tower, floor by floor, we reached the throne room for our final confrontation.

But we were truly not prepared for this battle.

Maple and Goldo were severely burned, Oronel was blinded, William and Kalim suffered broken bones, Jewel was cursed, and Myorzo and I were tired and exhausted. The Overlord too was nearing the end of his strength but still had more than enough to finish us off.

I provided a single distraction and received a broken arm. In that moment Myorzo had cast a powerful lightning spell against the Overlord's destructive fire spell. The two powers collided but the Overlord was slowly losing, in desperation he began the collapse of his own Dark Tower to bury us all alive.

"RUN! HURRY! ESCAPE WITH YOUR LIVES!" Myorzo frantically shouted.

We wanted to stay, we wanted to finish the fight, but the old wizard refused us.

"GO! BEFORE I HAVE TO GIVE YOU KIDS A PROPER BONK ON THE HEAD!" he chuckled out.

Solemnly and reluctantly we escaped.

Goldo in his toughness ignored the burns, he had face tougher in his own experiments that exploded, and carried Maple. Though blinded Oronel could still 'see' the world around her and moved just as well as she did when she had sight. Jewel supported Kalim and I supported William.

Downwards we went as the tower shook and tremble but we continued to escape as fast as we could.

Then the floor beneath William and I had given out and together we would have fallen, but I threw her out of the way and so I fell alone. I see shock on their face and I hear their shouting but now I have dropped too far away from them.

Ah.

My body hits stones and stones hit my body.

I fell but not in a straight fall. I am 'rolling' down the Dark Tower. My flesh bruises, my skin and muscle are flayed, my bones crack, my limbs bend in angles, my body bleeds, my eye-sights, hearing, and feeling of pain become dim, yet I continue to live.

It feels like an eternity as I continue spiraling down.

And then the world suddenly stops.

Where am I? I do not know.

Ah. Am I dead? I was always afraid of dying. I thought it would be more painful. Yet I feel calm and relaxed.

I'm sorry.

I know we all promised to make it out alive and together but it seems that I can't keep our promise.

What was it again? You'll kill me if I die?

That's fine. As long as you guys survive then you can punish me as you like.

We wanted to make a story with a happy ending and I ruined it.

I'm sorry.

...

And then I was dead.

...

Black. There is nothing but the black void as I weakly open my eyes.

Slowly my senses return.

First is touch. I feel cold, naked, and confined and cannot suppress a shiver. I feel blood rush inside my body as my breathing picks up.

Ah, am I inside a stone coffin?

Next my smell returns and it is the scent of death. I lick my lips and swallow my saliva and wince at the strong taste of blood and iron.

I cannot tell if my sight or hearing have returned.

But am I alive?

Shortly, I hear sounds from the outside. It is gibberish to me. My hearing is disoriented as though I had just stood next to a cannon-fire.

The cover is moved and dim light shines in but it still hurts my eyes. The cover is removed completely but all I can see is brown, blue, yellow, and black blurs.

"Rub some acids in her eyes, that'll freshen her up!" said a old voice.

A brown blur leaves and shortly returns rubbing this 'acid' over my eyes. It is painful and burns, my eyes tear and that clears my eye sight. Slowly, I begin to recognize the shapes.

Before me are several of the goblin creatures that served the Overlord during the war.

Instincts flare up but my body cannot react. It stiffens and aches and I cannot move at anything but a snail's pace.

I am helpless.

"I see you're awake, master. Come now, there is much evil to do be doing!"

I weakly climb out as the goblins assist me but still I trip and hit the floor.

"Give it a moment, you've been sleeping for a very long time. The tiredness will wear off and your muscles with grow limber again!"

I narrow my eyes at the speaker. It is a old-looking goblin draped with a ragged cloak and a glow-stone above its head.

It sees my hostility and answers amused, "I am Gnarl, Minion Master and devoted Servant of Darkness."

Why?

And as though it had read my thoughts, its answer smoothly.

"Because you are the Overlord."

Author Notes

My apologies in advance. I am recalling the game from memory, and I am not replaying the game while I am typing this fanfic, so canonical dialogue is going to be a bit... 'iffy.'

Anyone who has read my other work, Zero's Noble Overlord, up to Chapter Seven should have been aware that I was working on another story. The Eight Hero is it. I know, it's not any of the ones listed my profile, sorry.

Readers of Zero's Noble Overlord, please don't worry, I consider ZNO to be my main-project and this TEH to be a side-project. If we pretend that my schedule was 4 hours free then I would be spending 3 hours on ZNO and 1 hour for TEH. So, yes, TEH will have a slow update pace.