ENTER "PIRATE HUNTER" ZORO

CHAPTER 8

'Which floor is this one, again? 22nd? How bothersome, I lost count. Ahh here we go again,'

Zoro's guess couldn't possibly get anymore off-mark. As a matter of fact, he is actually on the 15th floor. Let's put the story on hold in order to understand the situation at hand a bit better. Try to picture a railway track, a set of two parallel rows of long pieces of almost run down steel, completely coated with corroded iron all over. Now, picture the train. It has to be massive, an absolutely pressuring size. The forefront appear to be quite a mess, as though it has seen a fair share of accidents, been put in numerous hopeless positions, and yet the plates of metal on it still shine as brightly as its first day and its horn still blares a powerful, almost ear-splitting sound.

This is the epitome of a man known as Roronoa Zoro.

It is speeding its way on the track. For every goal one have, there will be a drive behind it. An internal or external drive that prompts one to act; to work hard in the face of obstacles, boredom, fatigue, stress, and the attraction one have to do other things. The bigger one's desire to attain it, the heavier the burden one carries, the harder it will drive one to its goal. Nothing can get in its way as it progresses forward, heading towards its objective.

Nevertheless, like any other train it will make a pit-stop at a checkpoint in certain locations. It may take a while but it will inevitably arrive at its final destination. It can also be steered off its course for a brief stop as maintenance purpose, yet again interrupted on its conquest to endgame. This situation was no different than any of that stopover. It's all a part of the journey to being the greatest swordsman in the world.

Scratch that, the choice of words for this situation is a bit weak compared to the predicament Zoro has been thrown into. To say the train derailed from a bridge in high speed and hit a motorway along its way, causing it to be flipped over a couple times, and drove itself off a cliff at the last moment would be more precise. He has reached a conclusion yesterday that the world he woke up into is in fact different from the world he lived his whole life on. Removed from the familiar environment he has grown accustomed to, dropped into a different reality with new ground rules and laws to abide to, with absolutely zero idea on how to get home. A completely fresh concept of adventure was introduced to him, giving birth to a new dawn of romance for Zoro. And now it's time to return to the story in the present time.

The chorus of roars grew into a deafening wall of sound. The ground trembled from the pounding of the many feet running across its desolated surface. A sea of monsters with horns that curled above their heads raced across the terrain. They also have the body of a muscular man, in exception to their head and tail is that of a bull. The bull-like heads that rose from the creatures' bodies could only be called hideous. They bristled heavily in unison, a wave of hot air coming out their nostril, rolling their bloodshot eyes around to glare at their prey. The immense black mob of massive creatures worthy of the name "monsters" advanced as one, undeniably they are a force to be reckoned with.

With clubs of various shapes and sizes in the grip of their meaty hands. The ones at the front raised their weapons high above their heads, ready to strike at the sole figure that could be found wandering the vacant hallways in the dungeon. In truth, this was a scene straight out of a nightmare. The horde of monsters appeared out of nowhere and to add to that, each and every single one of the monsters towered over its human opponent. The swordsman with short, jade-coloured hair made eye contact with the giant standing in front of him, pulling slightly ahead from the other horned monsters. Time stood still in the face of those pulsing red orbs. The beast's rising club was reflected in his one good eye that was not grazed over by a single thin line of scar.

In a flash, a geyser of blood burst out of the Minotaur's body. Its head had taken off to the air for a brief second before landing on the ground with a dull thud. The man then swing his sword once again, cutting the air with a swift motion , effectively making a swooshing sound to be heard. Whistling with the sound of the wind, the tip of his pointy blade twinkled along with its owner's eye.

"Next."

Quickly closing the distance between him and the remaining monsters, he started disabling them all with a few quick slashes and continued charging further into the enemy ranks. He made his way to the centre, ignoring all the choked and other voices' expression of pain. What the man did is commonly considered as a suicidal act, and yet the expression on his face can only be described as happiness, or a rather twisted version of it. He performs a deadly dance amidst the group of Minotaurs. One hit after another. Monsters losing limbs to his left and right as the blade of the sword became the eye of a hurricane of blood. Arms, legs, head, and repeat. There was an element of beauty as well as cruelty in his fluid movements. His mastery in the swords wasted no motion, no effort in his every action.

The monsters in the front ranks were being torn apart in a fleeting moment, with more falling after each second. His weapon expertly connects with a number of necks and torsos of his targets at once, at the same time avoiding their bulging arms with impressive footwork before delivering his own killing blows. He pushed onward with reckless abandon, so lost in the bliss of battle that it takes him a moment later to realise he has ran out of opponents to cut down.

"Ah damn, I got sucked in again." Zoro's figure is seen standing in the middle of carnage, even his clothes and skin were not spared from the streaks and sprays of blood. He stares down at the sword being firmly gripped in his left hand. He has chosen to use Sandai Kitetsu on a whim, more than that he wasn't worried because in his mind he already knew he has full control over the cursed blade. As if answering his thought, though covered in the remains of monsters Zoro slayed, the stainless steel gives off a tiny glint of light in a doubtful respond. Zoro interpreted that in his own way and let one corner of his mouth quirks upward.

"You're being cheeky with me?" He finishes the short ritual of chiburui before returning the sword into its scabbard. Not expecting an actual reply to his imaginary dialogue, Zoro simply gives a light pat to the hilt. His eye then scans through the masses of the dead with an unsympathetic gaze, and softly mutters to himself. With his voice no louder than a whisper, the words that escaped from his mouth just as soft as caress of the wind.

"Where am I again?"

Zoro was awoken from his slumber considerably some time ago. It was hours before he started roaming the above floors, though that was completely unintentionally.

He woke up realising he had a strange dream. The same one he had of the black void of space, with the same floating spheres. A strange feeling entered his gut, it crawled under his skin and seeped into his bones, filling him with anxious discomfort. He disliked his body's reaction to his gut feelings, Zoro gathered himself and was about to leave when he heard a rustling sound coming from behind the trees. Zoro also noticed how the glittering of light reflected by the crystals are not as eye-blinding as they were this afternoon which could mean an amount of time has passed while he was in his sleep and the dark of night was steadily approaching the area.

"Where in da hell is he?" As if breaking a spell, the muffled voice had disrupted the tranquillity of nature Zoro was rather fond of. A figure of a well-built man emerged from the dense foliage. "Oya, there you are! I searched for you at the camp but you weren't there." His appearance looked every inch of a bandit.

The man has crude features, with his dark hair and teal-coloured eyes. An eyepatch covering his left eye, partially hiding the horrendous scar etched across his face, the scar stretched from his forehead right down until it reached the top of his lips. He's currently donning on a grey, sleeveless open jacket that shows off his muscular body. His attire also includes a black arm covers and gloves, blue pants, beige-coloured boots, and a belt with a red monster face carving, its strap hidden underneath a cloth made of fur.

"Who are you again?" Zoro stated bluntly, tilting his head to the side just as he did so.

"Ya bastard, it's me! I'm the city representative of Livira!"

"Who..?" Repeated Zoro, this time with his arms crossed over his torso. His head tilted slightly upwards in a thinking position. Eyebrows furrowed, it was clear as day that he was obviously pretending to be thinking hard.

"Ah it's no good, it's no good. Out of the goodness of my heart, I came to invite you over because we're having a drink tonight." As though the situation was hopeless, the man let out a sigh and lightly shook his head, his shoulders and arms raised in a single shrug.

"Oh wait, I totally remember you now." Zoro immediately gave an answer while feigning innocence; his eye turned into nothing more than a black dot on the side of his face, with a small thin line under it representing his mouth. He lightly tapped his palm with the other fist as if his words spoke the truth.

"That's grea—don't lie! You just wanna drink, don't ya?!" The man loudly exclaimed, an accusing finger pointed at Zoro.

"Ceh, so what are we waiting for? Let's go,"

"Don't suddenly just order me around…"

Bors Elder was the name of the man who sought him out. He officially introduced himself to Zoro as he led the both of them to Livira. Zoro was told the town has a beautiful lake view because it was built on the main island right in the middle of the clear water lake.

"Gahahah, you're quite lucky you know. I'm known for being extremely cheap,"

'Is that something to be proud of?'

"It's not every day I would invite a stranger to have a drink with me. You must be a man worthy of my respect," Just as the man said this, they finally arrived at the edge of the lake, a tree big enough to support something at least double Zoro's weight could be seen floating on top of the water, connecting the island to the rest of the Dungeon floor as a bridge with no railings on both side. The tree bridge has been stripped of all leaves and branches and is basically just a giant log.

Zoro went on to follow Bors onto it, the faint light coming from the crystals right on top of his head helped him to see his own reflection on the surface of the water. As they reached the island, Zoro nodded in the direction they're heading to before asking his question.

"If there's town up there, wouldn't the other guys have been better off staying there instead of the woods?"

"Hahah! That's 'cause ya snatched all the customers away."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't cha noticed? They all camped there because they were curious about you."

The road that led them to the town was a steep journey. The island looked like a mountain from far away, but in truth it's actually more of a cliff. Small plants and crystals could be seen jutting out from the cracks in the stone wall. They both climbed high enough to get an incredible view of the entire floor. Zoro took in a deep breath of fresh air as he had gotten a clear view of everything from the top. The tunnel could be seen on the southern edge of the forest, probably the exit to the upper floors. About two thirds of the floor is covered in greenery but the trees thin out considerably in the north. And right in the heart of it all, a colossal tree stood erected in all its glory. It's the only place with a higher ground than the island in the western lake that they were standing on. The true identity of the 18th floor is widely known as a wilderness deep underground.

"This is an amazing view but why are we stopping? Pick up your pace, let's go."

"Are you a demon?! You should be more surprised by this sight!"

The man started but then felt absolutely dejected when he realised Zoro has already left the cliff and walked off to where he thought was the right direction heading to the town. They arrived at the entrance; an arch-shaped gate decorated with flags at the end of two rows of wooden pillars greeted his eye. A sign with something written in a language Zoro completely unfamiliar with spread across the top of the gate.

HELLO FRIENDS, WELCOME TO RIVIRA

"Oi, are you serious? Can you really call this a town? Everything is in shambles."

"Just give it time man and this place will grow on you."

Shacks made out of scraps of wood and large tents with signs on them stood in front of them. A few of the buildings built into large cracks in the walls of stone and tunnel entrances. The same goes for the town's hotel. Since the town was built halfway into the cliff next to a relatively flat area, flight of stairs were deemed necessary to help people venture from shop to shop. No matter where you headed around town, the pristine lake below and the amazing backdrop of the 18th floor would always be in view. The town surrounded by rock and crystals shone like a beacon of light in the evening light.

"Damn it!"

Inside one of the few taverns in a small niche of Livira. Built inside of a naturally occurring crevice in the cliff face, the bar floor was covered by a dirty rug and had only one table with a few chairs. The walls were dotted with portable magic-stone lamps. Even in here, crystals grew on one of the walls and a few spots in the ceiling. One man slammed his mug down on the table inside this bar that was a little bit different from most adventurers' usual watering holes.

"Haaaaa~ I really lost again!"

"Yosh, who wanna go next? I'll take all of you on!"

"You're in a different class all on your own! Should feel proud I got to go a couple round with you and call it a day."

"Tryna make yourself feel better, ain'tcha?"

"Oh shut it!"

That line got a chuckle out of everyone who sat at the bar, except from Bors. Since only a number of adventurers had the ability to come to middle level of the dungeon, meaning that most of the faces here were regulars to the residents who did business in the town. They were part of the exclusive club of upper-class adventurers within Orario. Bors sat at the peak of the social pyramid here, even though the people of Livira greatly opposed the idea of being governed—the guild was one of the many reasons why they had turned away from sunlight on the surface—it was still deeply rooted inside each and every single one of these warriors that the strong rightfully should stay at the top. And the burly man with the eyepatch was the only Level 3 out of all of them.

"You don't have to say yes to him every time Zoro-san, how about you tell us about you?" The man who addressed the green-haired was no mere human; he belonged to a race of cat people. His hair was as black as night and sticking out on top his head was a pair of cat ears. It perked up slightly at the end of his sentence, just as the pupils of his pecan-shell-coloured eyes sparkled up at the idea, displaying his cat-like curiosity in the man in front of him. He's the owner of one of the inns in Livira, Villy.

This got the attention of all the people gathering at the tavern, they were thinking to themselves that perhaps some of the questions they had about the man could finally be answered, or would they actually be rejected outright by the man. The mysterious man who had appeared in the midst of manslaughter and ended it with a swing of his swords. What amazed them even more—and bothered them to some extend as well—was the fact that they had been saved by a completely unknown swordsman.

"Sure," Zoro's short reply got a sweat drop reaction from everyone while a single thought was crossing their mind.

'That easy?!'

"Come closer, I'll tell you," his serious tone caused the cat man to gulp audibly before he leaned in closer to Zoro, his tail swishing back and forth behind him. Zoro lowered the mug in his hand which was already nearly empty, eye heavy with concentration, his pupil following every movement of the tail and in a flash he snatched up it up.

"GYAH! Wh—what… What are you doing oi..?"

"Whoa, it's the real deal? I thought you're only cosplaying." The poor thing squirmed in his hand, begging release. Had already lost interest, Zoro soon dropped it but just as quickly his arms snaked pass his head before he felt some light tuggings on his ears this time.

"Uwahhh, I'm being harassed! Just kidding~"

"So what are you, Zoro?" Bors piped in as he was watching everything unfold before his eye. He took a swig out of his mug. Zoro's thumb and forefinger was still pinching one of Villy's ear while he cupped his face with his other hand, elbow propped up and all. The cat man would rather not have any man touch him but the swordsman was already doing it without his consent, there was simply nothing else to lose.

"I'm a pirate."

"What the heck is that?"

"We go on adventures too but we set out to the sea. Ah bring in more booze, it's on Bors!"

"You damned marimo! It's because I lost the arm wrestling…"

And the night went on; the tavern was rowdy with all the tales of adventure, whichever part Zoro managed to voice out. It wasn't until the closing time that they all stumbled out of the building and went they separate ways. Villy drunkenly headed back to his inn, Bors to his cabin, hence Zoro was left alone to figure out his way back. And that led to the current situation Zoro found himself in.

15th floor.

'That blondie said I should go deeper if I want stronger opponents, but why are they so much weaker?!'

A/N: HELLO EVERYONE, I HOPE YOU HAVE BEEN DOING WELL. NEW CHAPTER IN, REALLY HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY IT. A LIL BIT OF A SPOILER, NEXT ZORO WILL RUN INTO SOMEONE ON THE UPPER FLOORS AND THAT PERSON WILL BRING THE LOST MARIMO OVER TO THE GUILD. A WHOLE LOT OF SHIT WILL UNFOLD I THINK. DOES ANY OF YOU HAVE ANYONE SPECIFIC IN MIND TO FILL IN THAT POSITION? THANK YOU FOR READING AND I'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME!

Lazymanjones96: Thank you for your support, I hope this chapter won't bore you too much and keep you reading.

TomahawkESP: Excited, aren't we?! Again, thank you for your time omg I think you are the most consistent reviewer! I'm always excited to hear from you.

Vinayakdj1: I'm really glad you didn't find it to be a mess, appreciate this! Yes about that, I try to include more gag because a reader said it's not complete if there's no comedy.

Feldoran: Oh nooo you figured it out! I kinda did that on purpose because I think the talk thing is too boring so I cut it out. Of course I will include a snippet of the whole conversation every once in a while. I wouldn't just leave yall hanging like that *winks* Thank you for your words, I thought of what you said so I gave Zoro some bonding moments but I CUT IT SHORT AGAIN MUAHAHAH. I'm extremely sorry I just don't think I can make the conversation interesting enough to read but I will try… Tell me if you like the interactions in this, doing that will greatly motivate me I think!

Boyzpwn: Hello again! I'm always excited to see the readers' reaction too! Romantically (one sided though) I have Lefiya and Mikoto in mind. Platonic relationships I think it's possibly Aiz and Riveria. Zoro already has his one true love, his ambition! Hehe look forward to it then, I'll try to not let you down!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS OR PLOTLINES IN THIS STORY. EVERYTHING BELONGS RIGHTFULLY TO THEIR RESPECTFUL AUTHORS.