The Hero Slayers [LitRPG, Portal Magic]

Information

Status

Ongoing

Year

2023

Author

O. S. Marrow

• Announcement: The Hero Slayers Book 1 is out now!
  Jul 8, 2025
• Announcement: The Hero Slayers Book #1 is now available for pre-order!
  Jun 23, 2025
• The End: An Author's Note
  Jun 14, 2025
• 5. The OK-ish Escape
  Jun 22, 2023
• 4. A Matter Of Knife And Death
  Jun 21, 2023
• 3. Not Quite So Screwed After All
  Jun 20, 2023
• 2. A Life In Ashes
  Jun 19, 2023
• 1. What A Waste Of A Perfectly Good Town
  Jun 19, 2023
• -- Fan Art --
  Aug 8, 2023
• -- Maps --
  Aug 8, 2023

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• MaerBearRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Love this story! Everyone should check it out. I rarely like LitRPG these days but this story was so refreshing.
  What do I mean by refreshing?
  It is hard to put into words. It's just something I feel, you know? It's not that none of the story elements have ever been done before, but more the way they are blended and the way the writing style supports that... It hits the beats I enjoy, but still feels somewhat different. The characters feel real, and the stakes don't feel forced or contrived. Plus the humor is there, just enough, tongue in cheek, but not overdone.
  Hope that is helpful. Honestly, if you are reading this just go take a peak at the prologue and you should know if it is for you by the vibe of that chapter.
• CrazyEDRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  The plot in this litRPG is quite unusual because heroes are really NOT heroes, just very powerfull entitled characters that don't care about anything but themselves. Styk is going to do all he can to change that or rather thin out in the number of heroes. Quite a fun and eventfull journey.
• solowarriorRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Marrow posted a note on loopkeeper to say he had a new story we should read, and I thought it might be more like that story. It is not, but that is a good thing as it turns out because it's really good and well written and has a much faster pace.
  I love the characters of Styk and Val so far, they have an excellent dynamic that holds the story together.
  The system itself is quite standard but Marrow does fun things with it and some of Styk's approaches to using the skills he picks are hilarious. I was going to give the system 4 stars but Marrow has now added stat sheets to the end of chapters and it's much clearer now, so I have rated it 4.5 instead.
  Grammar is completely perfect and I haven't seen any issue with it at all.
  As for the story I think I touched on it already but it's a lot of fun. It's mostly about Styk having to start again and figure out a better way of progressing this time (and doing it quickly, due to a magic item he finds).
  In summary: it is a light funny read and you will love the characters immediately!
• Yog-sothsothRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Now this. This is some really high quality stuff.
  While I was thinking of when was the last time I enjoyed something so much, I thought about the latest nobody103 story. If that isn't glowing recommendation, I don't know what is. I really struggle to find something I genuinely don't like here.
  The wordbuilding is subtle, but is already exists, the system is brilliant, one of the best and most unique systems I've ever seen, the magic part isn't really touched all that much yet, but I can already feel it's done well, and the humor deserves a rating of its own, some of the jokes and situations actually managed to make me laugh out loud. Really, I wasn't able to stop, after I started.
  Style: The only thing I dislike here is the single quotation marks, but that's how it's appartenly done in UK, so it isn't a valid criticism. Other than that it's a pleasure to read. The writing feels natural, the words, sentences and paragraphs flow perfectly into each other, the "show not tell" rule is abided by and the descriptions are neither heavy, nor lacking. A solid, 5 stars style.
  Grammar: I have yet to see any major mistakes, though I'm not the most attentive person to such things. I'd say it's as close to perfect as it gets
  Story: The story is refreshingly unique, but at the same time familiar enough, so as to not be off putting. The premise looks like good ole Revenge Plot, but that's simply untrue. It seems like Big Bad already established, but there are a couple of chekhov's guns that promise a far more interesting, compicated conflict. The tone is rather lighthearted, but there are undeniable horrors out there too. I'd say that looks very promising.
  Character: I believe this is where story shines the most. The characters don't feel like characters, they feel like real people. Each of them is unique and recognizeable, I always know who is talking at any given moment of time. Everyone has a place in the gathering group, every new member organically complements preexisting team
• GunksBigStoneVault2Royal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Comedy adventure is a rare combination when it comes to fantasy on this site, and for good reason. No one seems to be able to do it right, but lucky for us fans of the genre this guy's figured it out. Impeccable friendly DnD campaign vibes with an incredibly designed system and a story that slowly reveals small details over time to create big results, all in all, pretty good. Read.
• AchoryRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  Well, aside from all the other wonderful elements that make up this story.
  The characters are a joy, toying with tropes but not falling victim to them. They feel genuine and unique, with motivations that are initially hinted at and have started to flesh out as the story progresses. Lore the barbarian is Best Boy. The banter between the party members never fails to make me chuckle. The villains, when we see them, make you feel somewhat sympathetic. Their aims aren't likeable, but you feel for the problems they're dealing with.
  The worldbuilding is superb, dropping hints about things here and there that only make me want to know more.
  The writing itself is solid, without a lot of errors or oddness that makes it hard to follow.
  But seriously, the fact that it feels like a D&D party is one of my favorite things about it. I even left a comment a few chapters ago saying so, iirc. And that's what lead me to typing a review in the first place. I usually don't, bc I'm lazy, but some recent things in the comments/author's notes made me want to at least read what reviews there are. And then I see two people specifically complaining that it started strong but they don't like the fact that it feels like D&D, and while I can shrug it off as a difference in taste, I'm flabbergasted. As an avid D&D player, reading stories that feel like D&D fill my little math rock-gremlin heart with joy.
  The only negative critique I can make is that sometimes the pacing is a bit... wonky. You'll go through slow periods that feel like they're dragging and then suddenly you're thrown back into the action at a breakneck pace. But even then, like... the action sequences themselves aren't rushed. They take their time, in an appropriate way, to build tension towards the eventual pay-off.
  Anyways, this story has been a delight so far and I'm looking forward to seeing it continue.
• Xavius_NightRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 4.5

  The story is phenomenal, very well written, and quite the roller-coaster; the main character, Styk, is an occasionally unreliable narrator, and the author uses that to excellent effect; there are times where, as a reader, you're mentally screaming at Styk to just stop and think, not act on impulse, because you recognized what's going on and he didn't - you could never get that without investing the readers in the characters.
  Every character that dies does so in a way meaningful to the story, and the characters additionally use everything to their advantage that they can - even overcoming traumas to do so. It's an excellent change of pace from some other stories I've read, where characters either ignore their restrictions or just ignore older abilities cuz they aren't as fun to utilize for the writer anymore due to being older.
• kleptomaticRoyal Road

  ★★★★ 3.5

  I really liked this book at the start, when things were more mysterious and more things were unexplained. Now it just feels repetitive, to be honest. It falls into the trap that many rpgs/litrpgs fall into: the grind.
  That being said, the writing is excellent - good grammar, flows well, etc.
  The story just isn't compelling anymore.
• DavePrimeRoyal Road

  ★★★ 3.0

  I quite enjoyed the premise of this story. I do love the Myth of Sisyphos, so I enjoy references to it in stories. Unfortunately,
  this is closer to an Idle Game with a Prestige System than anything resembling a sisyphean task. With the even larger increase in experience gain, as well as the keeping levels part (see ch 65), it really isn't that close to a boulder that rolls back down the hill.
  But Sisyphos aside
  there is the issue in ch 64 of clashing healing which the protagonists use to kill the Player but which conveniently is no issue at all with the two dying archers that were (badly) healed by Val.
  The characters are interesting, as is the world building.
  A thing (perhaps another plot hole) I've been thinking about using the limited information we have obtained so far is
  the lack of apparent admins in the this game world. If it is as I suspect and the setting is that the real world has ended and the reason players have become desperate is that they themselves now only exist as digital copies, then where are the 'Architects' (creators/admins/mods/...)? I doubt many could or even would want to resist that god like power, especially if the world outside has ended or is ending.
  And why haven't they then made the Players immortal? Allowing them to respawn? Or create more Sisyphos artifacts?
• bob7777Royal Road

  ★★★ 3.0

  Starts off strong - fun character, action packed opening, sets up a bunch of plot/mystery. Buuut then it becomes almost literally just a written out DnD story. Motivations for characters fade, including a band being picked up one at a time with either little reason or a short side quest. Most of these characters have little interesting about them, and its almost toungue in cheek how much they keep referring to previous adventures, that we have no context for (Infact I wouldnt be suprised if this whole story is infact a continuation of a DnD game the author played) Also the mysteries that seemed compelling arent pursued by the MC when directly presented with opportunities. The plot itself meanders from mini arc to mini arc, losing all the tension the opening set up.
  So again, its just DnD nothing wrong with that, and a lot of people will have fun. Hell I paid for the patreon before getting bored. My issue though is that the fun of playing, and allowances given to the DM to set up somewhat superficial plots especially as theyre making up 30-70% on the spot, the allowances given to player for not setting up nicely complex characters, and the allowances given to everyone to having a meandering adventure filled with odd little encounters and kind of comic relief-like side characters does not directly translate perfectly to novel form, even web series. Its fun for a little, but then gets old. I would suggest the author does some deep revision, as this genuinely could be great if a little more thought was put in.