Dropped in a Dungeon in Another World

by Gale-Dragon

Nezumi doesn't remember how he got here, or even remember anything… All that he knows is that he's in a world that gets EVERYTHING from Dungeons, even air and water. But at least he has his new family to help him adapt to this world, and discover new things that no one thought was possible.

Gale-Dragon: Hmm, I am sensing a pattern to these… Oh well, enjoy anyway. And a little quick note, this story is going to be from Nezumi's point of view.

~}I{~

Dropped in a Dungeon in Another World. Prologue.

~}I{~

It was dark and it felt...

Weightless somehow... Why? How? What was going on?

*Kersplat*

"What tha?! What kind of Drop is this?!" An unfamiliar voice exclaimed in shock.

So loud...

"Ano... Maybe it's a human-shared bean sprout?" Another voice, similar to the first suggested. That voice then said, "Maybe it's a rare drop and worth a lot of money?"

The first voice let out a hum before saying, "I don't know... Have you ever heard of any monsters dropping anything human-shaped?"

The second voice replied, "Hm, point taken... But what is it if it is not a Drop?"

Something poked my cheek. My reaction to that was to swat it away as I slowly opened my eyes to see a pair of identical twins looking down at me.

They were in their mid-20s, had pale skin, a head or so taller than me, grey hair, and golden snake-like eyes. One twin wore a grey single t-shirt and military khaki pants while the other wore a blue jacket and military khaki pants.

"Who are you two?" I asked, still hazy from... Whatever happened to me? As I slowly moved to a sitting position, the Twins almost leapt away from me. I slowly looked around to try to get my bearings. I blinked when I asked, "And where am I?"

It looks like a stone corridor...

"Okay! Not a human-shaped!" the twin with the grey top got out with a shocked expression plastered all over his face.

The Twin with the blue top stated in an equal amount of shock, "HOW the hell can a monster Drop a person?!" This Twin was floating in the air…

Wait...

I stared at the Twins when I asked as I pointed to the one in blue, "How are you floating?"

The Twins were cautious when they moved closer to me like I was some strange thing they'd never seen before. They looked at each other before back at me when they asked at the same time, "Who are you supposed to be?"

I raised a brow at the question before I told them, "Answer my questions first."

The Twins glanced at each other yet again before the one in the grey top answered, "Uh, you're on the first floor of the Terul Dungeon..."

The Twin with the blue top then said, "And Ore-Sama can manipulate the cold air around Ore-Sama, so Ore-Sama can float or fly whenever Ore-Sama wants."

That last one made some logical sense, I think... But... "And your names?" I asked them. I felt a throb on the back of my head. I rubbed that spot as I wondered if I got it when I fell.

The twin in the blue top pointed at himself when he said, "Ore-Sama's name is Tsumita Nagayuki."

The Twin in the grey top thumbed himself when he said, "I'm Tsumita Takeyasu."

They then said at the same time, "Now tell us your name."

Now that the question was asked... I placed a hand on my head as a throb of pain surged inside my skull. Why did my head hurt? Did I hit it when I fell? Did I even fall? Wait, what was the question the Twins asked?

Ouch! My head hurts too much!

"Oi, are you okay?" One of the Twins asked.

When I opened my eyes, which I don't remember closing, I saw that both of the twins were about the length of a person away from me now. When did they get so close?

I rubbed my head when I told them, "I... My head just... Hurts a lot all of a sudden... And I don't know why..."

I saw the Twins look at each other. After a few seconds, Nagayuki stated, "Ore-Sama knows we shouldn't, but Misaki would know how to handle this sort of thing better than us..."

Takeyasu nodded in agreement before he said, "Besides, not like we can take him to the hospital without getting accused."

What was that supposed to mean?

Takeyasu helped me up when he said, "We'll take you to our place to get looked over, but we're a bit away from Terul's entrance." He nodded his head towards a corridor when he added, "So we're going to be harvesting some bean sprouts along the way."

I tilted my head to the side when I told them, "Um, that's fine..."

Nagayuki shrugged when he said, "You can help us if you want. Just think of it as a way to pay Misaki for the health check."

"I guess that's fair..." I commented slowly. However, I didn't understand how a bunch of bean sprouts could cover a health check... Or how they grew in a place like this...

I followed the Twins through the dungeon corridor for a minute before a blue slime appeared and attacked. Admittedly, I was too shocked to do anything, but the Twins went into action immediately. I watched as they conjured up some orbs in their hands, an icy blue one in Nagayuki and a blazing fire one in Takeyasu. They launched their attack and not even a few seconds later, the slime was defeated.

The next thing I knew, the Slime went 'poof' and a small pile of bean sprouts appeared in the same spot the Slime was... Um... Wait what?

I asked the Twins what the heck happened and why bean sprouts came from a defeated slime, trying to wrap my head around this weirdness.

Both Twins looked at me like I was some idiot when Nagayuki stated, "Um, that's how all goods are made."

Takeyasu then added, "Yeah... Everything comes from Dungeons... You gotta defeat the monsters to get them, but that's how it works..." The grey-top twin gave me a look when he added, "It's the common sense of the world. How do you not know this?"

Common sense that everything comes from Dungeons? Since when? Ouch! I clenched my head again as the pain returned. Ow... Why does my head start hurting every time I try to remember something? "Ouch... I think I have a rather severe case of amnesia..." I finally said, rubbing my head when I explained that every time I tried to remember anything before I ended up here, my head hurt.

Nagayuki glanced at his twin when he said, "Yeah, Misaki is definitely the one to help with this."

Takeyasu nodded in agreement before he pulled a bamboo spear out of the bag he was carrying. That made me question how something like that could fit into a bag without it showing. Takeyasu tossed the bamboo spear to me when he said, "Here." I managed to catch it easily enough when he added, "You're going to need something to defend yourself. We can't fight every slime that pops up."

That makes sense, surprisingly enough... Besides, I probably should help with the... Bean sprout farming... To at least pay for their help and this Misaki's help too... I watched Nagayuki collect the bean sprouts and place them into a giant cloth bag.

Well... I might as well help them since they were willing to help me. I gripped the bamboo spear a little tighter. I hope I can use this thing...

It didn't take long before more blue slimes appeared. A lot of them. The Twins had their hands full with a couple of slimes so I had to fight a few slimes on my own. I did have a little trouble on the first one but once I found my rhythm, I managed to kill three slimes in a row. When the slimes poofed piles of bean sprouts were ten times as big as the ones that came from the Slimes the Twins.

That's... Odd? Was I getting Slimes with more bean sprouts or something?

Once the battle was done, I noticed that a few of the Slimes the Twins defeated didn't drop anything. So I asked them this.

The Twins glance at each other as they collect their spoils before Takeyasu explains, "Yeah, it sucks when we don't get a good drop, but even if it happens, air and sometimes water get dropped."

I tried to wrap my head around this... Information... Even the air we breathe and the water we drink comes from dungeons... It sounded so weird to me, yet it is the common sense there... Why did it sound weird to me?

My thoughts were interrupted by Takeyasu shouting, "Wait! Did you get all those bean sprouts from just a few Slimes?!"

Those words confused me when I looked at all the bean sprouts that dropped for me and asked, "You mean this amount isn't normal? Not even as lucky or rare Drops?"

Nagayuki looked at my drops before he commented, "Hmm if I had a guess… Ore-Sama has to say that you have a high Plant Drop Rate." He collected the bean sprouts in the bag when he added, "Given how much dropped, it has to be an A."

"Drop Rate? Does that determine how much is dropped?" I asked the Twins in confusion.

The two paused as they glanced at each other. I guess it took them some time to remember that I had amnesia and didn't know all the 'common sense' stuff. So they gave me a simple explanation of the whole Drop Rate thing. Since this world was dependent on things that were dropped from dungeons, having a High Drop Rate was essential for Dungeon Divers to make money, Which I learned were called Piros. The higher one's Drop Rate was the more often they get drops from monsters and a higher Drop Rate also affected how much was dropped and the quality of the drops.

It made sense for this world.

We were quick to collect the bean sprouts. Takeyasu had to pull out another cloth bag so we could gather all of it. I had to wonder how the younger twin could carry so much stuff in that camping pack since he kept pulling out a lot of stuff that honestly shouldn't have been able to fit in there. Well... I guess having a lot of cloth bags makes sense if you're... 'Harvesting' crops... But some of the other stuff...

Meh, I'll ask about that later.

After we filled three cloth bags to max capacity, we continued on to the dungeon's exit. Nagayuki and Takeyasu looked very pleased with themselves. I guess this must be a great haul or something.

"Ah! There it is!" Takeyasu stated as he pointed at some kind of blackboard mounted on the wall.

"What is it and what does it do?" I asked as the Twins placed their bags of bean sprouts next to the board.

Nagayuki explained as he pointed at the board, "This is a Stats Board." He placed his hand on the circle part at the bottom as he continued, "If you go like this... You can see your Level and Status." And just as he said the board turned white and it showed what I assumed were Nagayuki's stats.

Name: Nagayuki Tsumita.

Pg 1/2

Level: 7/40

HP: C

MP: C

Strength: D

Vitality: E

Intelligence: C

Willpower: D

Speed: D

Dexterity: D

Luck: F

"Hm, not bad, Nagayuki," I commented after I read the stats that were shown.

Takeyasu thumbed himself when he said with a smirk, "My level and stats are identical to Aniki..." He glared to the side when he muttered, "Except my Intelligence is a D..."

I looked at the stats again when I asked, "So 'F' is the worst while 'A' is the best, correct?" When I got confirmation on that, I commented, "Based on that, I can assume that the letters closer to 'A', like 'B' and 'C' are good while the letters 'D' and 'E' are okay... Right?"

"E is better than F and D is better than E," Takeyasu explained before adding, "But yeah, the A Rank is the Best there is. B is great, and C is good. D is above average while E is average."

Nagayuki finished off by saying, "And F is the worst Stat there is. It's basically Failure since it means you rarely get Drops and when you DO get a Drop, they're tiny and tend to taste bad."

I looked at the 'F' on the Luck Stat when I commented, "By that logic... I can assume both of your Luck is the worst?"

Neither of the Twins said anything about that...

Nagayuki let out a cough as he continued explaining about the board, "And if you do this," he put his hand on the circle and the Stat window changed.

Now it read:

Name: Nagayuki Tsumita.

Pg 2/2

Drop Status

Plants: E

Animals. F

Minerals. F

Magic: F

Special: F

Takeyasu pointed at the board when he said, "This is what's really important in the dungeons!" He then explained, "When you have a high Drop Rate, you get more drops from monsters and the higher the amount you get!"

The younger twin pointed at the Plant Drop when he commented, "Aniki and I have the same Drop Rates, so we're better with farming plants than the other Drops!"

I couldn't help but think that their 'E' Drop Rate just happened to be higher than their other Drop Rates.

Nagayuki removed his hand, causing the board to go black again, when he said to me, "Your turn."

I did what the older twin did just moments ago and placed my hand on the circle. The screen lit up and displayed my stats for the three of us to see.

Name: Nezumi. Pg 1/2

Level: 1/1

HP: F

MP: F

Strength: F

Vitality: F

Intelligence: D

Willpower: D

Speed: E

Dexterity: E

Luck: E

Oh... These were bad…

"Ano..." one of the twins commented. I didn't know which one but I couldn't blame them... I didn't believe what I was seeing.

"So... Your name is Nezumi..." Takeyasu commented, obviously avoiding the elephant in the room.

"And you got a good Intelligence and Willpower Stat..." Nagayuki got out as he pointed at the Stat in question, also avoiding the obvious.

I moved my hand to look at the second page. I didn't have my hopes up given my base stats…

"Huh? What the?!" I heard the Twins get out. I looked at the Stat board and saw what they were confused about.

Name: Nezumi.

Pg 2/2.

Drop Status.

Plants: S

Animals: S

Minerals: S

Magic: S

Special: S

Oh... Kay... That's a...

I looked at the Twins when I asked, "Ano... Didn't you say that stats are A through F, right?"

The Twins nodded dumbly when the older one got out in an unsure tone, "Yeaaah, A is the best while F is the worst..."

The younger twin then got out in confusion. "So what the heck does 'S' mean?!"

I looked at the Stat board again before I looked at the cloth bags filled with bean sprouts. I thought back to what Nagayuki said about A Ranked Drop Rates and that the amount that came from the monsters I defeated was a lot... By that logic... "I think an S Rank is... Better than an A-Rank.." I finally stated as I removed my hand from the Status Board, causing the thing to go black. The Twins glanced at each other yet again at this.

Nagayuki was the first to comment, "Well... He DID get a TON from EVERY Slime he killed..."

Takeyasu nodded in agreement when he said, "Yeah, it would've taken us three days to get that same amount, and that's with Misaki's or one of the kids' help."

The Twins looked at each other before they jinxed, "But... How can someone get Drop Rates higher than an 'A-Rank'?"

I and the two of us didn't have an answer to that…

"And... Can we... Leave to meet this Misaki? To look me over and help with my amnesia?" I asked in an unsure tone. I didn't know my way around and I certainly didn't know where this Misaki was.

That caused Nagayuki and Takeyasu to have an 'oh yeah' look on their faces.

}I{ About 15 Minutes Later }I{

Thankfully, the residence of this Misaki person wasn't too far from the Turel Dungeon. Yes, it was a bit of a walk but it wasn't a bad thing. However... The Twins' place did look like it needed a lot of renovations to be done...

True, it was a big home. Three levels from what I could see, but this was just the front. And even then I could see that the structure had a lot of holes in some areas that had been carefully patched up. From the obvious discolouration, there have been a lot of fixes.

I couldn't help but think that this place had to have been abandoned and the Twins were using this as a base of operation or something.

But, I was sorely mistaken...

There were easily a dozen kids inside the huge house. The youngest was playing with a bunch of makeshift toys while the older kids were doing chores.

"Uh..." I got out as all the little eyes were focused on me as soon as the Twins greeted everyone.

Why were there so many kids here?

}{

The inside of the 3-level house was in much better condition than the outside. But even if it was much better, it could still need some fixing up... Some things are more than others...

So far, the kitchen, dining room, and living room are in the best condition. Well, best in comparison to the rest of the place...

Uh, right... Back to the task at hand...

}{

We went to a young woman with light brown hair that looked orange that stood at 150 cm (4.92 ft), wore an olive green combat uniform consisting of a headset, an orange scarf, and a green combat jacket. She also wore an olive green skirt with black pantyhose, and brown ankle boots.

She was named Misaki, the person the Twins wanted me to meet to get my head looked at, and while she was nice and warm to me... The Twins, on the other hand...

"We didn't steal any!" Both Nagayuki and Takeyasu pleaded when Misaki spotted the bags of bean sprouts and asked where they came from. The Twins explained what happened, and why I was there.

Misaki was oddly sceptical, but I couldn't blame her... The story Did sound a little ridiculous... And if I hadn't been there to witness it, I would've thought they were making it up too.

Although... The S-Rank Drop thing seemed a little out there for Ms Misaki, but she couldn't argue with the fact that I essentially helped bring in ten times the normal amount the Twins brought in... I think...

I still don't get this whole Drop Rate thing, but if that was how people got food... I guess it makes some sense... Well, at the Twin's level, it seems like bean sprouts were the only thing they can farm right now.

However... It seems like all the kids were excited about tonight's feast. Apparently... It seemed like they were a little too excited to have this much bean sprouts...

As Takeyasu cooked the bean spouts, trying to make as many dishes as possible, Sharyu explained their situation.

She sat with me at the 'dining room table'. Although, to be honest, this table was technically five different tables lined up end to end so they could seat everyone comfortably. Misaki explained, "Nagayuki and Takeyasu currently have the highest Plant Drop Rate, even if it's not that high..."

I threw in, "It's higher by comparison, right?"

Misaki nodded with a weary smile when she agreed and said, "Pretty much... My Plant Drop Rate is a F, but my Mineral and Animals Drop Rate are both Ds." She sighed when she added, "However... I seem to level up slowly no matter how many monsters I beat... So I'm only at Level 5..." Misaki was quick to plaster a smile when she said, "Yoshimi and I are the top earners here, but everyone who can tries their best to earn enough Piros for the house."

"Piros?" I questioned in confusion. I remembered hearing that word before, but I couldn't remember.

I quickly learned that Piros was the currency of this world. From what Misaki described... Two handfuls of bean sprouts were worth 200 Piros. I guess from that information, Piros were worth the same as the Yen...

Huh? What's a Yen?

Pain pulsed through my skull like a thousand needles suddenly stabbing me in the head.

Misaki was quick to inspect me, asking if I was alright. When I described the pain, she started applying pressure to certain points on my head. That greatly helped the pain even though my head still hurt a bit.

"The Twins mentioned that you have amnesia, right, Nezumi-Kun?" Misaki asked in worry, trying to make sense of the situation.

I nodded when I explained, "Yeah, apparently... I can't remember anything before... Being dropped by a slime..." I still couldn't get over that weird fact. Yeah it's normal for this world but not for me!

I think…

Maybe the amnesia is making me think that...

Misaki rubbed my shoulders, trying to ease my tension, when she said, "It's okay if you can't remember right now, and don't force yourself to remember. Your memory will come back eventually."

I guess she was right, but...

"I don't have anywhere to go..." I finally said, realising that since I didn't have any memories I don't have a place to call home.

One of the little kids happily said, after hearing the question, "Den you can stay here!"

One of the older kids added in a matter of fact tone, "But you're gonna have 'ta help out 'round tha house and earn some Piros."

meh, I figured that was fair enough.

But... with me being stuck at Level 1 with mediocre stats... I'm going to have to stick with the first level of the Dungeons in this town. But at least my drop Rate will make up for that... I hope...

}{

When dinner came around, everyone gathered around to sit at the dinner table.

I was amazed by how many dishes Takeyasu managed to make despite having a limited amount of variety of food items. But that wasn't the only thing that amazed me…

I was staring up at a towering man with muscles that would make a bodybuilder jealous. He was a towering strongman of a giant standing at 230cm (Approx. 7.54 ft), semi-long wavy brown hair, dark red eyes, wearing a tight sleeveless grey shirt, brown slacks, red boots, and a pair of red gauntlets around each of his lower arms and above his wrists.

Misaki happily introduced the giant as Yoshimi, who worked as a part-time blacksmith and helped out anywhere around town that needed muscles. Which I can believe easily enough.

Misaki looked up at Yoshimi when she introduced me to him. I greeted him with a friendly hello, but he didn't say anything. He only gave a nod.

Oh... Kay... I guess he's not much of a talker or was mute…

Soon we all sat down and started eating. Well, everyone else did while I was staring at my bowl of bean sprout miso soup. I couldn't help but think how unbalanced everyone' diet was if they could only scrape by if they had such a limited access to different foods.

"Holy Heck! The bean sprouts are delicious!" I heard a clamour from the older kids. I looked up just in time to see the younger kids wolfing down whatever they could while the older kids followed. The Twins and Misaki had to tell all of them to slow down and that they had seconds ready for everyone. Yoshimi's reaction was a smile as he ate at a more reserved pace.

I guess that was good. So I took a sip of the soup.

It was warm and tasty... I haven't had something like this in a long time... I think...

"Oi, Nezumi, are you okay?" Nagayuki asked, looking at me with worry.

I didn't understand why he was asking, until I felt something running down my cheeks. I touched my right index and middle finger to where I felt the odd sensation. I moved my fingers so I could see what it was.

Water?

Was I crying?

Over a bowl of bean sprout miso soup?!

Why?

I don't understand?

What about it made me cry?

It's just soup!

… Soup that was made to feed so many months... But, that shouldn't have triggered this kind of response...

Maybe?

I was quick to wipe the tears away when I said, going with a logical solution, "I guess I'm hungrier than I thought, Plus this is tasty." I went back to eating, trying to ignore the looks I knew I was getting.

}I{

After everyone' bellies were filled, the dining room table and kitchen were cleaned. Since there were still some leftover bean sprouts, apparently 200 Piros worth, Misaki brought me to a place called The Swallow's Return Favour.

From what Misaki told me, it is a Purchasing Shop that exchanges Dungeon Drops for Piros and keeps track of the current market price of the Drops. I was quick to note that some of the Drops sold by weight and some were sold by number. Which would explain why I was only getting 200 Piros for the remaining bean sprouts, they sold by weight and they didn't have much of it.

But it was a good start...

Though there was a nagging question I asked Misaki on the way home.

She was honest when she explained that the house didn't have a working fridge or freezer to keep those respective foods at the safe temperature. Apparently, certain foods are safe to eat within two hours after they are dropped, but after that mark they need to be kept either cold or frozen. If you don't then you have to either cook or boil the food to the point it's overdone. That explains a few things. I guess The Swallow's Return Favour has a super big fridge and freezer.

I guess it makes sense for this world...

}I{

I wasn't surprised when the Twins and Misaki told me that they had an open room for me. It was a big house after all. Sure it had a lot of... Uh, things to fix up, but it clearly had enough space for the dozen kids, and four adults.

Well, add one teenager to that list.

But I couldn't help but wonder about their finances if they had to repair A Lot of the house's structure, and not have a working fridge or freezer despite how many people live here...

As I sat on my new bed... Uh, it's technically an old bed, but it's new to me... Anyway, I thought about what Misaki told me, about her and Yoshimi being the highest earners of this house while the Twins and the older kids did what they could to bring in a little extra. It was safe to conclude that the two adults either didn't make enough to spend on minor repairs or that the pricing range for repairs are expensive...

Damn... I'm tired... I'll start helping out in the morning...

Soon enough, I fell asleep.

~}I{~

Breakfast was... Very egg-based.

From what I learned, Misaki goes to the city's meat Dungeon at 5 in the morning to get enough eggs for everyone. Since eggs were delicate they weren't easy to transport, so she had to go back and forth between home and the Meat Dungeon.

Eggs were from the 2nd level of that Dungeon, so they were worth roughly 500 Piros per egg at the lowest and 1000 Piros at the most. The eggs that Misaki farmed were worth 700 Piros.

Of course, I asked about farming during the evening or afternoon rather than before dawn.

Misaki explained that the Meat Dungeon, which I learned is called Argon, 2nd floor was packed during the day and evening because of the constant demand for eggs. So she went pre-dawn to avoid the crowds. Though the Twins commented that some of those Dungeon divers weren't above sabotage.

I don't think I want to know…

At least breakfast was good...

}I{

I was out with Misaki to do a little farming in the 1st Level of the Fluorite Dungeon, the Mineral mine of Cyclo.

I quickly learned that the city we were in, Cyclo, had the most Plant Dungeons. Five total, all large. There was a Mineral Dungeon and a Meat Dungeon, but those were half the size as the Plant Dungeons. There was also a Magic and a Special Dungeon, but they both had five levels each. However, those smallest Dungeons were the most difficult and needed a special licence to enter.

In short, Cyclo was a big prosperous city thanks to the Dungeons surrounding it.

made sense... I guess...

When we got to Fluorite, Misaki couldn't help but say when she saw a board of tags, "Oh! we're lucky! No one else is inside!"

I raised a brow when I asked her. "How do you know that?"

Misaki pointed at the board with the tags when she explained, "For all the Dungeons except for the Plant Dungeons use these tags to limit the number of Dungeon Divers inside. Since they're smaller Dungeons, thus having less space to occupy."

I let out a hum when I said, "I guess that makes sense." I took a tag when Misaki did before we entered Fluorite.

There was a Status Board, which is standard for any Dungeon to have. So I showed Misaki my stats and I saw hers. She was astounded by my Drop Rate, but worried about my stats. I can't blame her.

But her stats were a different story.

Name: Misaki Yuuki.

Pg 1/2

Level: 5/50

HP: C

MP: B

Strength: B

Vitality: C

Intelligence: C

Willpower: B

Speed: C

Dexterity: D

Luck: D

Pg 2/2

Drop Status

Plants: F

Animals: D

Minerals: D

Magic: E

Special: E

All I can think is, 'Yikes' when I saw her stats. And the scariest thing was that she was only level 5! with a max Level of 50!

It wasn't long before we encountered our first monster, a simple rock golem that was the same height as Misaki but was twice as big as her. It honestly looked like a mesh of moving boulders to me.

And Misaki took it down with a single punch to the centre of the chest.

It went poof and an orb of raw iron the size of Misaki's hand appeared.

I thought it was a little convenient that it was already shaped like an orb, but if that is how this Dungeon works... Fine I guess.

Misaki picked up the iron orb and held it up for me to see when she explained, "An iron this size is worth around 700 Piros." She placed it in her burlap bag when she added, "On average, I can harvest around a hundred in a day with my Drop Rate."

I calculated that quickly in my head before I replied, "Which means you'd make roughly 70000 Per day, and 2100000 Piros per month, right."

Misaki was impressed when she said, "Wow! You did that in your head that quickly! I guess you're great at maths to do that."

I shrugged my shoulders when I replied, "Perhaps.. " I readied the bamboo spear Takeyasu gave me as we went further inside. I too had a burlap bag, to collect my Drops.

I figured the weight of the iron would be the reason why we limited ourselves to two bags total. Even with her strength, it is hard to carry more than that per trip.

Since I didn't have the raw power to beat the stone golem, Misaki smashed the limbs into pieces before I shoved the bamboo spear into its chest. I was surprised that it went in without too much issue. It went poof and an iron orb four times the size Misaki got appeared in its place.

Misaki was impressed by the sheer size of the iron. As was I when I tried to pick it up. The thing was dense! But Misaki didn't have any problem lifting it. So we settled on me carrying her drops and she carried my drops.

By the time the bag with my Drops were full, it wasn't even the usual time Misaki finished. I guess with both of us, and my S-Rank Drops, we finished earlier. Even if Misaki's bag of Drops wasn't full. Though admittedly, I didn't think I could carry it if it were any heavier.

}I{

The receptionist at Swallow's was gasping with shock as she appraised the irons that I got. She was staring at them for so long that I couldn't help but whisper to Misaki, "Good thing we gave her your Drops first."

She quickly whispered back, "Don't be rude, Nezumi."

That was when the receptionist exclaimed as she held up one of the big iron orbs in joy, "Amazing! Utterly and simply amazing! The purity! The colour! the size!" Her arms started getting wobbly as she placed the orb carefully on the scale. As the device registered the weight of the orb, the receptionist continued, "And the overall weight! It is THE BEST iron I have see that came straight outta Fluorite!"

Oh... That's an eccentrically loud lady...

I couldn't help but whisper to Misaki, "Is... She alright? Or is this normal for her?"

Misaki wearily replied in a whisper, "I have no idea..."

As the lime green-haired woman went into a... Praiseful rant with too much enthusiasm, which was drawing a LOT of attention might I add. Misaki and I took a giant step back and away from the receptionist.

I REALLY hope this isn't normal for this lady!

Another receptionist had to take over, thankfully. A tall, blonde lady with red eyes and big breasts that had ruby lips and tusk-like earrings. It was a little too obvious, at least to me, that she chose a shirt that was too small. She was much more reserved compared to her co-work when she said, "Since this wondrous specimen is such a high quality, we would like to buy all of them for... Oh, 1000 Piros each."

Misaki and I couldn't help but stare at the 19 other iron orbs. 1000 per orb would make 20000 Piros from one dive... And it wasn't even the afternoon...

Of course we took the offer!

The blonde leaned against the counter after I got the payment when she asked, "Say, are you going to come back with some more delightful Drops?" she seemed to accentuate her already big breasts as she spoke.

'Why was she doing that?' I couldn't help but think in confusion, a little weirded out by this strange behaviour that came out of nowhere too.

Misaki got between me and the blonde receptionist when she said sternly, "Shishi, back off unless you want trouble with the authorities, again."

That was a telling comment...

The blonde receptionist smirked when she said in a tone I couldn't place, "Oh? And why's that?"

I could see Misaki frown profusely when she stated seriously, "He's a minor, Inounoshishi."

I wasn't sure what was going on given Misaki's tone and the words... I don't think I want to know...

But THAT certainly got the blonde receptionist's attention. She quickly stood up straight, coughed awkwardly, regained her proper posture, and said, "Oh! Well, sorry about that. But the prior question still stands."

"Uh... Yes, we'll be back with more Drops... I mean, we still have a whole day after all..." I said in a weary tone. I then asked in more of a creeped out tone than I would've liked, "You're not going to... Act like you did a minute ago? Are you?"

The blonde receptionist shook her head when she said professionally, "I won't." We glanced at the lime green-haired receptionist, who was still in that... Enthusiastically happy mode rant... The blonde did say in weariness, "Though I can't speak for Niwatori..."

With that we left Swallow's, and while we did, I asked Misaki, "Can we... Make sure we avoid that Niwatori lady? I don't want to go through that again..." The ginger-haired woman wholeheartedly agreed.

~}I{~

Misaki and I did five more dives in Flourite before we called it a day, earning a whopping 100000 Piros!

Misaki was so happy as we went to the Meat Dungeon, Argon, to harvest the main food for lunch. As I quickly learned, eggs were dropped on B2 while chicken parts were dropped on B1. Pork was dropped on B3 and small beef parts were dropped on B4. Misaki told me that the Trading Centres had the lists of Drops from all the Dungeons, but because of our current levels, we stuck to B1.

I was able to beat the monster for Argon B1, a walking Venus fly trap that was the size of a five-year-old. Of course, thanks to my S-Rank Drops, We got a lot of big portioned chicken wings, legs, and hearts... A little too many... I might've gone a bit overboard with killing the fly traps since they were easy to beat even with my bad status... Shame that I can't raise my level…

Misaki did some quick calculations and kept enough for everyone at the house to have seconds if they wanted, the rest we decided to sell off since the house didn't have a working fridge.

I did ask about the house's finances, since while it was big, it did seem to need a lot of fix-up work.

Misaki didn't answer that, even after we returned to Swallow's to sell off the excess chicken, which netted us an extra 30000 Piros. Meat was bought and sold by weight. It wasn't until we were just out of range of the city Misaki told me.

"Since you're going to be living with us, I guess you should know..." She started, and then continued in a sad tone, "Most of what we earn is to buy the house we currently live in." As we walked home, Misaki explained that the original owner paid the mortgage on the house for 30 years and used it to help the orphans of Cyclo. That was 25 years ago... Apparently, there was an accident in town that killed the owner 5 years ago... The bank seemed to figure that since the owner was gone, they could take the house back, but the previous owner's lower hammered in that the mortgage WAS paid to house the orphans and won the argument. But that was only going to last for the remaining time left... So the orphans living there decided that they wanted to stay and planned on buying the house in manageable payments with their remaining time...

And five years into that plan, they managed to pay off a little over half of the purchasing price... At least until the new bank manager raised the price of their payments... Before that, they were able to make these monthly payments and be able to keep the house intact while putting enough food on the table for everyone, now they had to cut corners on the repairs and stretch their food supply a bit... Things got a little harder when their fridge broke last month...

'Ah, so they're just scraping by...' I couldn't help but think. But I had to ask, "Don't people in cyclo donate to orphanages? Or help out the kids?"

Misaki gave me a sad smile when she told me, "You're very optimistic... But... That's not how things work...

Of course, I was confused by this. And when I tried to ask why, all she could say was, "People only care about their stability and could care less about those who need just a little help..."

I still didn't understand…

}I{

After a very enjoyable dinner, Nagayuki tallied up the total earnings for today. He seemed pretty happy at the number he got. "Yatta! We've already made the month's goal!" Nagayuki exclaimed in joy. Takeyasu beamed when he asked his older brother if it was true, who readily nodded in excitement.

Misaki smiled when she asked, "So, that means we can start saving Piros to fix our appliances?"

Nagayuki happily nodded when he said, "Yup! It's been so long since we were able to do that!"

Of course, the priority appliances were first on the list to fix or replace if needed. Those being the fridge and freezer, for obvious reasons. Things like the furniture and permanent fixes to the walls and roof were next on the list.

All that needed to be done was to start on that, tomorrow.

Tonight, they celebrate with a nice dinner.

~}I{~

Over the next week, I learned more and more about this world. The most important one, in my opinion, was the fact that the mansion the orphans, the Twins, Misaki, and Yoshimi lived in had a name.

The Juuni Taisen.

It was a weird name, but it was what it was called. It was our home, and we wanted to keep it.

Nagayuki and Yoshimi went to the bank to pay the set payment for the Junni Taisen for this month. Of course, we had to start on saving Piros to pay the next months, but thanks to my Drops, the Juuni Taisen household was already well ahead with that. Plus the savings for replacing the freezer and fridge.

I've gotten used to Dungeon Diving by this point. It wasn't bad, but…

With my rather bad stats… I needed to have one of the adults with me to weaken the monsters enough for me to defeat… Since my S-Ranked Drops only worked when I defeated the monsters, I had to deal the finishing blow.

It Really sucked that I was stuck at Level 1… That means that I couldn't get any stronger… Or raise my stats…

}I{

Yoshimi and I just finished selling the Drops from the first floor of Fluorite to Swallow's Return. For obvious reasons, we went to Inounoshishi rather than Niwatori despite the latter not being as busy. Although… We could've done without Inounoshishi constantly trying to flirt with Yoshimi… Not like it got a reaction from him other than him taking a step back. Since he was tall, his 'steps' were long. I guess he doesn't like that type of attention… I don't blame him…

After I collected the pay for the Drops, I heard one of the other Dungeon Divers say to another, "Huh? They haven't finished exploring Nihonium yet?"

I paused when I heard that name… Nihonium? Why did that sound… Familiar, somehow?

I asked Inounoshishi what Nihonium was. For some reason, she looked surprised when she commented, "I'm impressed that you could pronounce such a strange name on the first try."

That confused me… After all, Nihonium isn't THAT hard to pronounce… In fact, it's a pretty easy word to say…

Inounoshishi then explained that Nihonium was a new Dungeon that appeared two days ago and was currently being thoroughly investigated by the Neptune Family to gauge the difficulty of it, how many floors, and, most importantly, what the Drops were.

This was interesting information.

Maybe I can ask either Misaki or one of the Twins to go with me to Nihonium once the Dungeon was open to the Public.

With that, Yoshimi and I headed home.

}{

Nagayuki divided up the Piros into the corresponding savings before he gave out the Allowances for everyone for the week.

It was a fair system for the Juuni Taisen household. You do something to help the home, you get an allowance for the week to do with as you please that corresponds with how much was done. The little kids could only do the simple housework and helping the older kids, so they reasonably got the lowest amount, but this did encourage them to save their Piros and learn to be careful with their money. The young kids did the housework that wasn't difficult but harder than the simple choirs. These kids aren't old enough to go into the Dungeons just yet. The older kids, not yet teens, roughly between 10 and 12-years-old, did the more difficult housework and some short Dungeon dives strictly on the 1st Floors and near the entrances. The adults did the bulk of the Dungeon Diving and the bigger tasks. I learned that out of everyone, Takeyasu, Misaki, and Unma were the only ones in the Juuni Taisen who knew how to cook.

'Everyone here has to do their part to keep the place intact,' I thought logically as I watched the kids smile with joy as Nagayuki locked the 'House Funds' in the hidden safe that only the adults could open.

The older Twin smiled when he said cheerfully, "Alright, voting time! Should we get a new refrigerator or a new freezer?"

"Fridge!" All the kids exclaimed in joy.

Well, looks like we got our appliance order. Smart kids.

Misaki and Yoshimi smiled at this while Takeyasu high-fived his twin.

This was my family now… And I'll do what I can to protect them. I won't lose another family.

'Huh?' I thought as I wondered how I knew that I lost a family before… Meh, not the time to think about that. Now if for celebrating.

~}I{ The Next Morning }I{~

This time around. I was with Misaki on the 1st Floor of Fluorite. Farming iron today. We already made three trips to Swallow's already, so we were making quite a profit in the unusually empty Fluorite Dungeon…

Seriously, Misaki and I had the whole floor to ourselves the entire morning. Of course, I asked Misaki about this and she didn't know why. But since we were making a lot of Piros, we didn't complain.

I did manage to kill a few of the stone golems on my own, they weren't easy in all honesty. At least to me.

Misaki could just kill them with a single punch if she wanted, but didn't since we were more focused on using my Drop Rate.

Although, she did kill a lot of the stone golems already… Shouldn't she be close to levelling up?

}{

As we left Fluorite, Misaki checked her stats, and she was still at Level 5…

I let out a whistle before I commented, "Wow! Even after defeating all those stone golem wasn't enough to raise your level… Do they not give out a lot of experience points or something?"

Misaki let out a sigh before she said, "Not that I'm aware… I know that the Monsters of the 1st Floors are the weakest, but they still give experience corresponding to that…"

I tried to cheer her up by saying, "Maybe you'll level up on the next dive."

It made her smile as we headed towards Swallow's.

Soon enough, we arrived there and sold the iron orbs for another total of 20000 Piros. And while we were taking a nice lunch break in the nice little adjoining cafe to Swallow's, we overheard some of the other Dungeon Divers talking about Nihonium… Or rather complaining about it.

Apparently, Ninonium didn't Drop anything.

Even after the Neptune Family, who had members who had A-Rank Drops in at least one of every type of Drop, explored all nine floors and got nothing from the Dungeon. Logically, if not even people with A-Rank Drops didn't get anything after killing the monsters from the Dungeon, then there were no Drops, period.

"Damn! Nihonium doesn't even drop water, that sucks," one of the nearby Dungeon Divers complained before taking a swing of their ale.

I couldn't help but ask Misaki if it was unusual for a Dungeon to not have any Drops. She nodded when she replied, "Very. The last Dungeon that reportedly didn't have drops was Chromium, but it was later discovered that the water from it was delicious."

Hm, that was interesting, But that made me wonder…

If nothing Dropped for A-Rank drop, what about my S-Rank?

}I{

Nihonium's first floor was a cavern full of oddly-shaped Stalagmite and Stalactites. It was eerily beautiful in a strange way. But the weirdest thing was that there were hardly any monsters for a good five minutes of exploring.

"How peculiar," Misaki commented as we came to a dead end. As we turned to head back she added, "For a Dungeon with no one farming, it should be teaming with monsters."

I couldn't help but say, "Well, I guess that means that this Neptune Family was thorough…"

Suddenly, the wall in front of me exploded and a skeleton wearing rags came out with a rattle of the bones.

Luckily, both Misaki and I managed to dodge that ambush and struck back almost instinctively.

Misaki missed and hit the wall but I managed to stab my very used bamboo spear into the Skeleton's skull. Like every other monster, it poofed when killed.

Misaki let out a sigh before she said in relief, "That was close…" she clapped the remaining bits from the wall off her hands.

I had to agree with that as I let out a breath. That was when I noticed something glowing on the ground where the Skeleton stood.

A yellow seed with a white halo surrounding it.

Wait?

A Drop!

A Drop from a Dungeon that was reported to have none!

But…

"What is it?" Misaki wondered out loud as she moved to pick it up. But it phased through her fingers every time she tried to touch it. "Peculiar," Misaki mused in confusion.

I knelt to the ground and reached out to the seed. I was able to pick it up. Although, it vanished into thin air before I could get a better look at it.

I suddenly heard a woman's voice saying, "Nezumi's maximum HP went up by 1!"

I was quick to look around for whoever spoke, but no one but Misaki was with me and I knew it wasn't her voice.

"Nezumi? What happened?" Misaki asked me in confusion.

Did she not hear the disembodied voice?

We looked at each other and then where the seed was. We didn't know what happened, but both of us wanted to find out more about this.

So we hunted down more skeletons to find out.

}I{

After an hour after Misaki and I defeated the skeleton of Nihonium's first floor, we learned a few things regarding the seeds. They only dropped for me, which I can assume was because I had S-Ranked drops in everything.

Only I could pick the seeds up. Misaki couldn't even touch them, so it was logical to assume that only the person who finished the Nihonium monster could pick up the seed. Hm, that only means that they couldn't be sold.

On that note, the seed disappeared as soon as I picked them up.

Weirdly enough, only I could hear that disembodied voice when I acquired the seed.

And lastly…

}{

Misaki stared at my stats in amazement, which I couldn't blame her for. I was amazed too.

Name: Nezumi.

Pg 1/2

Level: 1/1

HP: D

MP: F

Strength: F

Vitality: F

Intelligence: D

Willpower: D

Speed: E

Dexterity: E

Luck: E

Despite me still being at Level 1, my HP rose from F to D after defeating 81 Skeletons. So, it was safe to say that the seeds I get from Nihonium raise one of the nine stats. The seeds from the first floor raise the HP Stat.

Misaki couldn't help but say, "I have never heard of drops that raise anyone's stats! To think such a thing exists!" she looked at me when she added, "You are certainly a unique person. Getting drops that others can't."

I had to agree with that before I asked her if she wanted to help me with seeing how high I can get my HP before we test it out. She happily agreed.

}I{

After another hour, I had a S-Rank HP. But, I'm going to need a new weapon…

Also…

}{

Name: Misaki Yuuki

Pg ½

Level: 7/50

HP: C

MP: B

Strength: B

Vitality: C

Intelligence: C

Speed: C

Dexterity: C

Luck: D

Pg 2/2

Drop Status.

Plants: F

Animals: D

Minerals: D

Magic: D

Special: E

Misaki levelled up twice during this. Her Dexterity rose to C and her Magic Drop rose to D. It was a surprise, she didn't defeat that many skeletons. Only ten and that was because she overdid her punches by accident.

But this was an interesting discovery. The Skeletons apparently did give a ton of experience points…

It was cool, but Misaki did say that it wouldn't be enough for people to come to Nihonium since they want to farm drops… Interesting…

We then opted to get some meat for dinner, and to test out my new S-Rank HP.

~}I{~

While the kids happily ate dinner, the adults and I talked about the Real Nihonium.

Of course, they were sceptical of this, I couldn't blame them. But when Misaki backed up what I was telling them, they paused and digested that.

I was told that Misaki was a terrible liar, so if she told them something that was a little out there then it might've been the truth.

Nagayuki placed a hand on his chin when he mused, "So, there's more to Nihonium than people realise."

Takeyasu couldn't help but say, "And if Nezumi was able to make Drops in a Dropless Dungeon "

Yoshimi didn't say a word other than nodding in agreement.

Nagayuki then added as he folded his arms, "But if Nihonium also gives a lot of experience, maybe we can use that to help with raising the levels of the kids…"

I had to say, "I should warn you that the Skeletons love to ambush."

It was the truth. Misaki and I lost track of how many times those things ambushed us… So it was fair to warn others of it. Especially if kids were going to be involved in this.

That's when I had to ask, "Um, by the way, Is there another bamboo spear? Or a weapon I could use?"

~}I{~

To be continued.

~}I{~