Chapter 341
341 (Announcement at the end!)
"What the… where are we?" Usopp asked, blinking and looking around.
He wasn't alone either. With him was Sanji, Robin, Anchor, Cricket, Chopper, Bepo and lastly Law. All eight of them had similar reactions, turning their heads from side to side, wondering what just happened.
Just a moment ago, they were in Shandora, and Usopp had just set up the Belfry Bell to its original space. Right in front of the pyramid-shaped structure.
Doing that wasn't that hard, Usopp just had to shrink the massive structure, (The Golden Belfry Bell) before coming down to Shandora again, and placing it in place. Right after that, a small electric circuit came out of the ground, and started going through the city. The Straw Hat pirates who were on the ground, then suddenly found themselves here.
"This… did we get transported here?" Chopper asked, looking around. This was definitely not the City of Gold.
"It seems so…" Robin said looking around.
She and her crewmates found themselves in a bewildering place, that seemed to defy logic. The sheer size of the room was staggering; it could easily accommodate giants of Elbaf without making them feel insignificant.
At least 100 feet (around 30 meters) in height, and four times the length all around. Its dimensions were so vast that even Usopp needed to squint his eyes to see the room's end and ceiling. Though, it also might be because of the misty atmosphere around the area that gave the place less visibility.
The walls of the dungeon were also a blend of nature and technology as if the boundaries between the organic and the mechanical had blurred into an eerie harmony.
Ivy and twisted vines crept up the stone walls, their tendrils reaching out like ethereal fingers attempting to grasp at the unknown. Even the floor was filled with roots that dug themselves all around, with patches of grass everywhere. One tree stood tall —easily comparable to the largest of the trees of Upper Yard— and the roots of the towering tree had found their way into the cracks and crevices, creating an uncanny symbiosis between the living and the inanimate.
It was almost surreal that all the vines and roots were from the single tree that stood there. The tree was also stationed far left into the corner, standing like a mega-pillar in this place.
But what truly set this room apart was the presence of the enigmatic, small and yet electric circuits that ran like veins through the walls, floors and the stone pillars. The vines also reached the ceiling, and if one looked closely, they could see multiple spores near the stone pillars.
Thin circuits pulsed with a muted but undeniable energy, faint blue in color, filling the air itself and seeming to hum with a faint electricity, the ever-present buzz creating a disconcerting backdrop to the surroundings. Even Sanji was able to pick to up the electricity from around, and that made him put his guard up.
"This place… are we in a dungeon?" Usopp asked, making everyone in the room look at him. "What? We found an ancient city, fixed a broken bell, followed the instructions written on a… what's it called Phonogliph?"
"Poneglyph," Robin corrected. She was of course with her oni-mask as she had yet to fully trust her new crewmates and Cricket. But more than not, she was enjoying it. Being scary did have a charm to it.
"Yeah, followed the instructions on the Poneglyph… by the way, aren't those like hundreds of years old too? Anyway, my point is, this is definitely a dungeon." He said, crossing his arms with confidence, "I have read enough books to know that we are in a dungeon!"
"You guys can't be serious-ya?" Law questioned with a sweatdrop. Even Chopper and Bepo had to agree with him.
"Wait, if we are in a dungeon. Does it mean, we will find treasures here?" Cricket asked, before looking at Law, "You can't completely dismiss the idea… for all we know this place could be a dungeon."
"I usually don't agree, but we might…" Anchor said rubbing his chin, "Heh, we might even be able to find some rare weapons around here."
Even Robin had to agree that this might really be a dungeon. There were many lores around dungeons on where adventurers found their way into an ancient city, filled with treasures. But she never thought she would find herself in one.
The City of Gold, like dungeons, were considered rumors, tall tales said by people for fun and games. But like the City of Gold, this might also be real. Though, it also brought in the question of how dangerous it was.
Luckily the room was big, but they could see several tunnels at the end of the wall, so they weren't trapped here.
Speaking of danger, Robin looked to her side, where she found Sanji looking forward with a frown. "Is something wrong?"
Sanji blinked, before looking at her and shaking his head, "Nah, it might be just my imagination… anyway, this place is giving me the creeps." He said before looking at her and the others in the crew, "Everyone, keep your guards up at all times. I'm also keeping my Observation active… but you never know."
Usually, Sanji wouldn't have been this cautious, but he was for several reasons. The first being that him, Sparky, and Kuina were in charge of things if the captain or vice-captain weren't around. So, all the responsibility for this fell on his shoulders.
And that wasn't all, call it a gut feeling, but he was feeling a bit ominous about the whole thing. But it might have something to do with the electrical flow in the air, though, but Sanji didn't know where it came from. But that wasn't all…
His Observation Haki wasn't acting right. It was hard to explain… but it was…
"Is it me, or do you guys also hear that?" Sanji asked with a frown.
"Hear what?" Anchor questioned. Even Cricket found nothing.
"No… I can hear it," Usopp said, "That buzzing sound… it's very low. But it's definitely there." He then looked at the others, a bit confused, "You guys can't?"
Some shook their heads while some nodded. Chopper and Bepo were also able to pick it up because of being minks who had enhanced senses. But the others didn't.
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