It’s Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

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– 1 –

“Ah…”

The sunset light filtering through the window gently illuminated the room. Though there was no clock, Michaela guessed it was around evening.

Normally, she would have been showcasing her elegance at a splendid banquet hall or a social party at this time.

But now, she lay sprawled on the bed clutching her abdomen.

Grrr…

“Ugh. What a shameful sound…”

At first, she didn’t even feel hunger due to fainting, because there wasn’t time to do so.

But the truth was, she had just woken up after a week, and during her unconscious state, the only thing she had consumed was some gruel that Elena or Maria had offered, and even that was merely once a day—just enough to keep her from dying.

Grrr…

Realizing her situation upon hearing that sound, it was only natural for her to feel an intense hunger.

“I might seriously die from my stomach touching my back…!”

“Help me…”

To think that the daughter of a noble Outskirts Duke would find herself in such a commoner-like predicament.

Extreme hunger was gradually gnawing away at her noble pride.

Knock, knock.

“Hello, Michaela.”

– Hello!

“Thank you!”

As soon as the door opened, a thank you slipped out of her mouth without her realizing it, given the circumstances.

Two women who appeared to be nobles, along with several handmaidens.

The moment she saw the food in one visitor’s hand, any sense of decorum or etiquette immediately vanished.

In front of the pain of hunger she had never experienced before, noble status and graceful manners meant nothing; it was as if everyone fell to their knees under unbearable torture.

“… You must be really hungry. Let’s give you some food first.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you so much! I truly appreciate it!”

Grrr…

Though she vaguely noticed pity in their gazes, Michaela couldn’t afford to pay attention to that at the moment.

Normally, her mind would assess her situation and the people who had entered the room with concerns of pride and decorum, but now it was utterly paralyzed.

Only her instincts remained in control.

“I lost. I should have realized this sooner…!”

After managing to fill her stomach to some extent, and when the ability to assess her situation returned, it was only natural for Michaela to think this way.

She concluded that the woman before her—the one she suspected to be her “domestic rival”—must have been behind this trickery.

“But it’s fine. If I can clear my head from now on…”

And just as she thought that and raised her head…

“I lost again!”

Upon seeing one of the women, Michaela could not help but feel despair.

“What kind of beauty is this…!”

Though small in stature, there was no way to overlook her.

It was simply too overwhelming.

With a steady posture, undeniable grace, and poise.

This petite girl, as the daughter of the Outskirts Duke, possessed an appearance and dignity that easily overshadowed Michaela, who had been pampered since childhood with all kinds of care and elixirs.

Even the friend accompanying her, while not quite as stunning, still possessed extreme beauty.

“Are you okay? Michaela.”

“Ah… Yes. Thank you for your consideration. So, um… My lady?”

“Libertus. You may call me Lady Libertus.”

“Yes…”

Michaela felt disheartened.

Her hope that this could be the noble lady of the mansion was crushed.

“Ha! Rita is a bit short for a lady.”

“Don’t talk about others, Serika.”

“What?”

‘Lady…? Then that’s the end of it!’

She merely presumed her to be the owner of this bizarre mansion with its dungeons, or at least that of the lady.

No matter how she thought about it, she could never imagine surpassing the lady in front of her to become the legitimate wife, nor could she see any possible chance if she were the master.

However, even so, she made an effort to sit up straight and maintain a noble posture as best as she could.

‘After all, they must have brought me here because they found me charming, right?’

Even with such a beautiful person present, it was easy to think there must be a reason she was abducted for a forced marriage.

She still hadn’t realized that she was caught in her own delusion.

And Lady Libertus wouldn’t leave her delusion unchallenged.

“Welcome to my Dungeon, Michaela.”

“Yes. It’s a dungeon… a dungeon?”

Michaela’s reaction was quite perceptive.

“‘Fireball’ – ‘Cast in succession’!”

It seemed she had some knowledge, instantly rising from her seat and summoning flames all around her.

She was buying time with a basic magic succession, hoping to unleash a larger spell.

“That’s a pointless act.”

Both Serika and Libertus guessed her psychological state.

Swoosh.

Libertus’s response to Michaela’s magic was extraordinarily graceful.

Like a dance, she lightly tapped her finger towards the air.

Tap.

No spells or magic circles were involved.

She merely pointed at one specific point in the air.

But that one gesture was enough to erase all of Michaela’s calculations and spells.

Though it was a small action, the phenomenon that followed was anything but light.

Whoosh – !!

A black dot materialized from the tip of her finger.

Crackle!

It quickly began to consume the surrounding magical energies, expanding as if it were a living creature.

Boom! Blam!

Dozens of fireballs that had been hovering around Michaela extinguished like candle flames.

The power building for the large spell in her hands dissipated into the void, just as easily.

What remained was only the smell of burnt air.

“What is this…?”

As Michaela stood in shock, the black dot continued to grow.

It swelled to the size of a head, emitting purple bolts in every direction as if it were about to explode…

Puff.

It simply vanished into the palm of Libertus’s hand.

“Devour the Shade.”

Originally a spell designed to absorb surrounding magical energy and explode, devastating the area.

But she had cast it silently, and moreover, she just stopped it mid-way and erased it.

Executing the spell with no incantation or magic circle was a technique several times more complex than merely leaving it unattended or forcing an explosion.

“How can she do that without incantations or magic circles…”

The magical energy that had previously vanished like a vacuum began to slowly return from her hand.

But after witnessing this scene, Michaela no longer entertained the idea of drawing up magical energy or trying to concoct some scheme.

With that realization, Libertus spoke lightly to her.

“It seems you couldn’t deeply penetrate any magic. To think the binding power of spells used in such urgent moments would be so weak.”

“Weak?! I have been acknowledged for my qualifications in advanced specialization by the guild…!”

“Isn’t it true that elite-level mages possess at least one special-grade specialization?”

“…!”

As Libertus innocently tilted her head with a teasing remark, Michaela was left speechless.

Her face flushed with a mix of shock, fear, and embarrassment. Seeing that reaction, Libertus suppressed a cough to conceal her own discomfort.

“Ahem… It seems I was mistaken.”

“Has the standard risen too high? Rita.”

At Serika’s question, Libertus could not meet her gaze.

For her, being ‘elite-level’ meant that one must possess at least one ‘special-grade specialization trait’.

It made sense, given that she had raised all her summons and mercenaries accordingly.

‘To have received all that support as the daughter of the Outskirts Duke, yet failing to achieve even one special grade…’

It may sound unfortunate, but it wasn’t entirely unfounded.

In truth, Michaela was a slightly weaker mage compared to her peers.

“It seems you have nothing more you can do.”

“You! You are the monster…!”

“Think of it that way. It’s the truth. However.”

Libertus was not disappointed.

She was merely testing the waters, and as expected, she felt no significant value from this woman.

“You will now make a contract with that monster.”

“Ah…?”

The purple hue swirling in Libertus’s eyes.

The moment Michaela faced it, her reason began to blur.

Having dismissed her as no longer worthy of investment, the Dungeon Lord had no desire to waste any more time.

“How fortunate. It seems you’ll live a bit longer.”

What lay before Michaela was the contract with Libertus.

For her, it was fortunate that a noble lady was precisely what this Dungeon Lord needed.

“Tell Talhan. We have something good prepared.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Let’s see what we can catch.”

Her purpose was bait.

To become the perpetrator behind Alexis’s murder, to verify if anyone was lurking around him.

– 2 –

After a week or so following the war with the three barons.

During that time, I completely restored my Dungeon’s condition and finished reorganizing the summons according to the new Dungeon level.

Now, it was time to inspect those adjustments and aim for the next goal.

“Have all the broken parts been checked?”

“Yes, my lord. Once we restore the last two golems, the restoration of your private battlefield will be complete.”

The location where Lan was speaking—where the war had been fought—was the largest area within my Dungeon.

Essentially, it was my ‘boss room’.

This place was the best option compared to any other as I could immediately deploy my golems and if I needed to use high-level magic, there’d be less damage.

If my strength was insufficient, it wouldn’t be bad to engage in guerrilla warfare across the Dungeon, but that wasn’t necessary.

Thanks to that, the broken parts among the Dungeon’s facilities were mainly the pillars and golems in this boss room.

“You’ve worked hard, Lan.”

“You’re too kind.”

Lan modestly bent at the waist with her hands clasped over her chest. Simultaneously, her hair slid gracefully down to reveal her side, catching my eye.

It felt intentional, but I didn’t dislike it.

As I adjusted her hair, a charming smile returned, but I turned my gaze away.

Considering how many times she had done this, I had simply grown used to it by now.

“How’s the troop restructuring going?”

“I’ve filled in the vacant positions, and we’ve also created a tomb for those who can no longer be revived…”

“Good. Let’s go.”

After that, we headed to the highest point in the Dungeon.

The space secured by construction extended five floors, with the ‘graveyard’ located near the summit of the mountain above.

Whoosh!

As darkness descended upon the magic circle, I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them again, finding ourselves standing there.

The sixth floor, where no entrance was placed intentionally for the sake of the ‘rest’ of those asleep.

– Clang.

– Snap!

The ‘gravekeeper’ Skeletons, along with the Monsters that had become ‘lost existences’, bowed their heads.

The sound of their bones clattering echoed in the tranquil space.

With a gesture towards them, they all returned to their positions.

– Ah…

– …

With my newly acquired senses, I could now fully hear their wails.

My Dungeon’s summons reincarnated through the advanced positions often regained a semblance of intellect, and due to the incidental effects, it was common for them to experience ’emotion.’

Camaraderie, friendship, and even the feeling of loss.

This graveyard serves as a space for those, allowing them to calmly bid farewell to their attachments, even if the graves contained no bodies.

It may sound absurd to mourn for those who were once undead, but at least their attachments were genuine.

“Here…”

“Thank you.”

I accepted the white flowers offered by Xue.

Placing them on the tombs of summoned creatures previously judged as ‘completely vanished’ or ‘unable to revive’, I took a moment for silent homage.

“… It’s quite full.”

“Yeah…”

The previous battle might not have reached the level to be called a ‘war.’

But there were still casualties.

This wasn’t just about this war.

In past battles, and in future encounters, more ‘previous existences’ would undoubtedly face such ‘eternal slumber.’

Of course, the energy expenditure of my Dungeon would be significantly lower than that of another Dungeon’s summons facing true death.

Because of the undead nature, I could create other undead using their remnants.

However, those summons would not be entirely the same as before. Many aspects would differ, from memory to capability to essence.

Regardless of anything, the end of a single existence marked an end.

It was something I hadn’t realized while viewing it as a game, but it became clear since I arrived in this world.

‘Like Remia…’

‘Mire’ holds Remia’s memories and experiences.

The more she seeks power and memory, the more she converges on her.

But one cannot say she is an exact replica.

After all, the current Mire is several times more powerful than the living Remia, and there are distorted parts within those memories too.

‘Specifically, maybe about me…’

I would return what could be returned, but there are things I had to accept.

I would continue to kill or make use of ‘enemies’ in the future.

Feeling sympathy toward an existence that was once an enemy is the deception of someone who has gained a sense of leisure.

What I do is merely the self-satisfaction of the one who killed.

Including the possessiveness that arises towards loved ones.

“Let’s go.”

Having completed my final farewells as their master, I turned away.

It was soon time for a meeting.

The four queens were due to arrive with the results of their first mission.