The Secrets Underground

It's been five years since I became a slave, and since then a lot of things have happened in since. Me and Cherry got better rooms due to my continued success in the arena, which compensated for my rapid growth. When my body started getting used to using the full strength my half giant side gave me, I started to rapidly grow over the course of the next few months from 6' 6" lanky arm to a whole ass 9' 0" muscle man body. It was a pain when it came to clothing. I didn't have a talent for sewing, and even the skill in the system said no, so Cherry had to use the scraps of my clothes to make me a pair of fitting garbs until my captors got me new clothes. My growth has slowed thank god, but I still grew an extra 10 inches since then.

I fought a couple more former pirates in the arena, and some slaves who were just strong as hell. I amassed a total of 70 million Beri from the system rewards, getting between 10-50 percent of their bounty. Turns out I get a percentage of their bounty if I don't fight them when they are at their most healthy, with the minimum being 10 percent, and the max I found so far being 50. I spent some of the rewards on better defensive items I could hide using the system, but they didn't last long, due to me not having the skill or materials to repair them. After [Enhanced durability] boosted my Defense Points to 100, my skin became extremely hard to damage. Skilled enemies still managed to cut through, so I wasn't invincible.

I gained 20 levels since then, but not a lot of my skills have leveled up, due to my current situation. I let my hair grow from the bowl cut I awoke with to a majestic mane that rivaled the lord Jason Mamoa himself, but I think he still has me beat. I gained a bronze tan from working in the sun all day, and fighting in the arena. However, all this glorious looks is hidden by the layers of dirt and sweat, due to slaves not being able to get clean water and only being able to use dirty cloths soaked in said water.

I have faced opponents with devil fruits, most being paramecia, but some had zoan. I fought several different races here too, from Humans to Long Legs to Three Eyes, Fishmen, and one more Wotan. At this point I was near the top of the arena's food chain, but there were a few other slaves stronger than me. And all of them are giants. Every. Single. One. I've seen them from time to time, and they all have this feeling around them, like they have fought against the world and survived, but now they can't fight back. Turns out, they used to be pirates. Part of the Giant Pirates led by Brogy and Dorry. There are times that the guards leave us alone, mostly when there are arena matches, allowing slaves to converse with each other when working.

Things had followed this rhythm for the past five years, but today was different. I was currently in the middle of a horde of worker slaves, walking to god knows where. The giants were being used as pack mules and transport for at least two celestial dragons, not that I could see who they were in the shaded palanquins being carried between two sets of giants. Other giants were carrying large nails and hammers, pickaxes, and other materials. At least 10 CP0 agents were around that I noticed, and the special guards from the arena were here too. There are a total of five of them, each wearing a different color suit, red, blue, yellow, green, and purple. Two men, two women, and an unknown. Their body was surrounded in this fuzzy aura, making anything but the color of their red suit hard to see.

We had been walking for close to three days before we reached our destination. It had looked like a battle had taken place here long ago, spanning miles with no end in sight. Massive skeletons covered the place, larger than the giants that were here, and if the massive underbite didn't give it away, the horns did. Each of these massive skeletons were ancient giants. This place was a graveyard for what looked like hundreds of these fallen giants.

The guard in the yellow suit walked a ways, putting his hands on the ground. Moments passed as he walked around repeating his actions before he stopped. He pointed to one of the giants. "You, come over here." Upon reaching the guard, the giant was instructed to drive one of the nails exactly where he stood. Following instructions, the giant nailed in seven different spots, one of which was close to a horn rising from the ground.

The slaves were split into seven groups, each directed to a different nail, except me and a female slave. The woman in the green suit I met at my first match stood next to me. "You are going elsewhere." a giant put another, much longer, nail into the ground close by, which is when I noticed that these nails had holes in them. One on the top, one on the bottom. A bag was shoved into my arms. "Go down there, find anything that stands out, come back. If you see any of these, come back immediately and tell me." she said, holding up a very nice sketch of a pink rock. It looked somewhat familiar, but I couldn't remember why. "You have 3 hours to find everything you can and bring it back. Any longer and you will be killed."

I walked over to the hole in the nail, seeing the stairs spiraling down. I walked in after lighting a torch, taking about three minutes to get to the bottom. When I got out, I immediately took note of the carved stone walls around me. The exit of the nail hovered off the ground by at least five meters, not bothering me as I jumped down. The female slave lit her own torch before jumping down.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Amsonia." She said, giving a slight bow. "You are one of the high ranking arena slaves correct?"

"You are correct. I am Romulus, currently ranked 7 in the arena." I said as I looked over at her. She stood close to my current height, roughly 9' 5", Navy blue hair, with silver eyes. Amsonia's outfit was cut in a skimpy manner, seemingly of her own volition given the tearing. "If I remember correctly, you are ranked 15 correct? 'The Amazon' was your moniker if I recall."

"Ah right, I remember now. Your own moniker is 'Underdog' earned from always winning odds that are stacked against you." Amsonia said, pointing her torch in the opposite direction I was facing. "I'll take the left, you take the right?" I nodded in response, and began to walk away. When I could no longer see her torch I put the collar in my inventory.

There was a faded logo of some kind on the wall, not the one of the world government. There were corpses down here too, more human-like, however, these bodies were mummified, clothes somehow in almost perfect condition. The only problem was the hole on their backs, cut in a perfect square. The armor and weapons were not so lucky, rusted to the point where even touching them turned them to dust.

"This mummification was likely due to a devil fruit." Nyx said as I kneeled next to one of the bodies. "Most likely to the Shi Shi no Mi. The user can kill people with just a touch, leaving their bodies in perfect condition, killing even the bacteria inside the body."

"That does somewhat explain the clothing." I said. "If they had their power on full blast when they came through here, given its design, it's always been underground. So if this place was sealed off after the killer was done here, this is the first time that anything living has been here."

Without bacteria and other decomposing organisms, nothing would be here to break down anything. I think. I didn't pass science class. Either way, logic doesn't take hold here.

I continued to walk throughout this place, leaving marks as I went so I didn't get lost. I didn't find anything that looked interesting, other than collapsed hallways, until I came upon a locked wooden door.

"Now that's impressive, Adam wood doors." I said as I used the [Appraisal] skill I got roughly four years ago. So far it only worked on objects, as I had to be roughly as strong or stronger than the people I used it on to get any information. I laid my hand gently on the door, feeling it squish under a gentle touch.

[Ancient Adam wood doors: LOCKED]

[These doors are 900 years old, serving as a last bastion of this secret underground bunker of the [DATA UNAVAILABLE] civilization. However, these doors ended up being useless, as an awakened user of the Shi Shi no Mi spread death through the air they breathed, trapping the people inside to suffer as they choked to death. As a true testament to the durability of Adam wood, it has taken 900 years for the doors to decay to this state despite not being treated to last that long.]

It was a shame to see such valuable material fall to this state, but that just means that I can get through this door without having to try my hand at lock picking. I spun Gravitas once in my hand, before lashing out, cutting the door in half. What I was not expecting was the blue barrier on the other side. The inside of the room was in perfect condition, if you ignore the skeleton in the middle of the room.

[Time bubble]

[The dying action of the last holder of the Rosu Rosu no Mi, who awakened the fruit not long before their death. The bubble will pop once you enter it.]

Seems harmless enough. Besides, there was a nice looking book lying open on the table, and that pink rock not far away in a sealed glass container. Floating not far above it was a cannonball hovering in mid air. I believe its name/ onomatopoeia translates to loss of time. Toki could travel through time, Foxy could slow time, it makes sense that there was a fruit that could pause time, but for 900 years? That was something else. This surely was a treasure trove, especially if the research ot Ohara was right, and Mary Geoise was only a few days travel from here, this bunker belonged to that great civilization. I just hope the language isn't written in the same language as the poneglyphs. I can't read that, and there isn't a skill for it, nor even a translation book in the store. I looked over to that familiar ass rock, still having no clue what the fuck it is- oh shit.

[Dyna Stone]

Oh

OH

OH SHIT!

Yeah fuck that. Must be a contingency plan to prevent this from falling into the hands of the government. Let's see. If I run as fast as I can, I can store the dyna stone or the cannon ball in my inventory if I can touch them. That seems to be my only option. I want those books. I got into a runners position, leaving the bag off to the side, along with Gravitas. I stared hard at the very dangerous trap at the other end of the room. I felt the ground slightly crack under my feet as I dashed forward, the time bubble letting loose a loud pop as I burst through it. It took 3 seconds for me to reach the other end of the room with one hand stretched out, thumb touching the cannon ball, and pinky touching the case holding the Dyna Stone.

Both silently vanished the instant I touched them, leaving me to crash into the wall, shaking the room. I stood up and looked around, seeing the now less pristine room. First order of business, the book. I picked up the book, opening its first page to be met with great disappointment. It was indeed written in the same language as the poneglyphs, with the exception of the last few pages.

(It's over. Our great nation is going to fall. The lunarians have fallen and the giants are our last line of defense. Death walks upon us, her cloud can be seen from here. I am writing these last words in the common tongue, in case a rebellion forms against these usurpers and they find this book. The twenty kingdoms who rebelled against us-)

The rest of the page was illegible, the page was ripped out. A few others were as well.

(I have recently evolved my power, in hopes that I can encase this bunker in a timeless void so my men can live. My power doesn't affect me, so I will age and die, or suffer from Death's cloud. Head to Wano, Pluton shall be sealed there, until JoyBoy rises once more. Poseidon was killed not long ago, but we have received word the royal family lives on. I am unaware of what has befallen Uranus, the transmission from the Capital was cut off. Noah rests in fish-Man island awaiting for the day Poseidon awakens once more. Zunesha has been punished for the crime he committed. Poor lad. He was always a great conversationalist. You will need to understand him in order to unseal Pluton. The Kozuki Family shall help you decipher our Script if teh still live. Amatsuki Toki has left in search of the next JoyBoy despite being told------------)

(May whoever finds this, go beyond the Loadstar follow the ROAD. This is the dying wish of Hanali D. Jokil, commander of the 35th legion.)

(JoyBoy lives on)

I looked through the rest of the pages to see if there was anything else, to no avail. There was a map laying nearby that I rolled open. It was a complete map of the world, with squares on some islands, notably Wano, Alabasta, Jaya, and Fishman island. Safe to say that every island that had a square represented an island with a poneglyph. To the inventory it goes. Other than that, there wasn't anything else interesting here, dead den den mushis, more books in the ancient language, I put everything in my inventory, with the exception of furniture as it was too large. I left the room, heading back to the nail staircase. I put the collar back on before Amsonia saw me. I grabbed some of the rusted weapons and armor as I walked back. It might look odd if I brought nothing back after all.

I saw Amsonia's torch waiting as I got closer. I had made sure Gravitas was put away. Her bag looked similar to mine, full of weapons and armor. She looked up as I got closer, and noted my bag, letting out a sigh.

"I see all you found something similar to mine. There were just these damn mummies with worthless armor and blades." She picked one up, and tapped it against the nail, making a chunk of the rusted metal break off. "We have another hour and a half before we are supposed to return. Want to just chat here?"

I sighed, and sat on the ground. "Yeah. we didn't really get anything interesting so taking longer could cover for us not doing anything. You are part of last year's group right? You were bought at the Sabaody auction house and since then you have been climbing up the ladder by choosing to fight in the arena instead of being a cleaning or pleasure slave."

Amsonia's eyebrows raised pretty damn high. "How do you know all that? You don't look like one of them."

"I've been here for 5 years and have yet to lose a match. It was hard, but I slowly built up trust with the guards and set up an info network throughout Quintit's little operation. Through such, I have utilised my connections to free as many slaves as possible using a devil fruit possessed by one of the guards that puts people in a coma like state the next time they fall unconscious either by being beaten into it or the next time they sleep." I started to explain my actions the last four years. "It's not perfect, sometimes the crowd wants to see death, other times they succumb to their injuries in transport. The survival rate isn't %100. There are too many factors we can't control or account for. And while I am sorry for those who couldn't make it back home to their families, I hold no love for the pirates who have committed terrible crimes against innocent people. Those are the people I kill in my matches, Pirates like 'Blood Drinker' Vlad, 'Puppeteer' Danny, "Hundred Arms' Troy, all these Pirates kill innocent people for fun, before they are caught and sold in auction, or taken directly from Impel Down. That is one of the things I hate most about this, is that Quintit buys Pirates directly from Impel Down, and the public is told that they are facing execution, when in reality it's a body double and they are taken here."

"Holy shit." Amsonia looked at me in horror. "No fucking wonder I fought so many pirates."

"Yeah." I leaned forward. "How did you get caught? I imagine you didn't go without a fight given your brutal matches."

"I left my home island because I was banished for breaking a taboo, and ended up in Sabaody. I rented a room in a hotel near grove 1, but it turned out to be a trap. The food was laced with a strong sleeping agent of sorts as I felt it almost immediately, but I managed to fight off a lot of my kidnappers before it finally brought me down." She said, "I used to be one of my island's greatest warriors, but now I am nothing more than a source of entertainment."

"Do you want to go home?" I asked. She let out a small chuckle. "I can't. Nothing I do will fix the Taboo I broke, and I have nowhere to go if I do leave. This brand will make sure of that."

Now I am curious. I used my [Appraisal] skill, hoping to get a little more info on this woman.

[Iris Amsonia]

[Level 30]

[title: Fallen Star] {%75 chance of being killed on sight by anyone from Amazon Lily}

[Amsonia broke the Taboo of bringing a man to Amazon Lily, and in the process many amazonians were killed by the man's friends who hid in the same ship under the guise of helping Amsonia get back to Amazon lily.]

[Amsonia is proficient in armament Haki and brawling. She used to be the right hand of Empress Shakuyaku before she broke the Taboo. She has yet to contract the infamous "love sickness"]

"I think we have sat around long enough. Don't worry, survive long enough and when I make my own escape I will take you with me." I said as I stood up, brushing off my clothes. She mimicked my actions.

"You would free a criminal like me?" She asked as she looked at me. "Despite not knowing what I did to be banished from my home?"

I laughed in response. I seemed to have a similar laugh to Garp, completely by accident that I couldn't stop. "Bwahahahahaha! I don't care. You don't seem to be the type to slaughter whenever you feel like it! You ain't a bad person Amsonia, I can tell that."

She let out her own chuckle. "Fufufufu. Thank you Romulus. Please, call me Iris. I look forward to the day we escape together." We shook hands before walking back up the stairs

"Anything interesting down there?" The woman in the green suit asked.

"Just lot's of corpses." I lied as naturally as I breathed.

"Damn. Thought we were in the right place this time." She walked away, giving me a nice view of her ass. Don't give me that! I have a thing for women in suits! They look sexy as hell and give off the feel of not taking anyone's bullshit! "Come along, we are heading back."

This was the last time for five years I would leave this cursed 'Holy Land' until the day of the God's Island incident.