It’s Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

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– 1 –

“… So there’s a dungeon here.”

The craftsmanship of Leonis Den certainly matched that of a high-ranking mage in the Guild.

It was not Daniel, who had gathered various magically enhanced tools and experiences to find the dungeon, but rather Leonis, who successfully sensed the presence of the dungeon while passing from one point to another.

“Really? Is it here?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Whoa…”

At first, however, no one could easily believe his words.

It was largely due to the state of the dungeon entrance.

“Uh, uh… Do you think the mage might have made an error this time…?”

“…”

The magnitude of their disbelief was so great that even the person himself barely realized it, despite another adventurer blatantly disregarding his words.

And it was understandable.

What Leonis pointed to was the dungeon entrance, completely blocked by soil and rocks as if a landslide had occurred.

“Did they know we were coming and try to prevent us…?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Dungeon Lords don’t evade attacks, do they? This is surely just an accident.”

Leonis expressed his disagreement with Maria’s judgment.

As he pointed out, it was common knowledge in this world that Dungeon Lords never avoid an incoming fight.

Sure, there are occasionally entities that employ deceptive tactics.

But those are usually just a handful of beings who learned to win by using such tactics from the start and can only demonstrate ‘tactical retreats’ or ‘dungeon concealment’ when they have gained much more experience than in the current ‘childish’ dungeon.

Moreover, even such beings ultimately finish off the most crucial phases of combat, making Leonis’s current judgment exceptionally reasonable, given that Libertus’s actions remained unknown.

“How do we break through that…?”

Whatever it was, to confirm that the dungeon was indeed inside, they had to break through the collapsed cave.

While the people were directing uneasy glances towards the fallen cave, Rita pointed to one spot and spoke.

“Over there. It looks like there’s an entrance.”

“Huh? Oh… indeed! Thanks to Magician Angelita, there’s an unblocked section over there!”

Even amidst the commotion, Kyunghan never missed a chance for subtle flattery and managed to convey the impression of being a capable individual to those around him. After confirming what Rita mentioned with his keen eye typical of a tracker, he provided additional testimony.

In any case, people’s gazes shifted towards that direction, and soon everyone’s expressions brightened.

Because there really was a passage wide enough for a person to get through.

“I’ll issue tactical instructions as quickly as possible. Daniel and I will enter first. Kyunghan, Robin, and Susan will move from the rear focusing on protecting the mages, and Leonis and Jacob, you enter when we signal from behind.”

Right after the adventurers discovered the dungeon they needed to enter and finished their final checks, Maria stood among those seated and spoke.

People moved according to her quick instructions.

Although the two newly hired apprentice warriors took a moment to find their positions, it didn’t take long with plenty of traffic regulation around.

“There don’t appear to be any traps.”

“There are no magical spells either.”

“Then, I’ll proceed in.”

Before entering, trap specialists Jacob and Leonis conducted checks of the dungeon facilities and detected magical traps.

As soon as they reported that there were no abnormalities, Maria and Daniel, who had drawn their swords and shortswords and were on standby, were the first to enter.

Right after that.

– Kieeekk!! Humans!!

“That’s the sound of goblins.”

“Oh no. I can tell there’s more than one or two. I’ll go in first!”

“Me too.”

As soon as the goblin call was heard, Jacob and Kyunghan, who had loaded their crossbows and bows, conveyed their intent to enter the team.

This wasn’t disregarding Maria’s plan, but the idea was that those capable of ranged attacks should go in first when dealing with goblins.

Goblins are weak monsters, but when a few strong ones attack, they actively employ hit-and-run strategies, or more accurately, they flee first and then wait for an opportunity.

“The mages should stay behind us… Huh? Angelita?”

However, someone moved faster than them.

Rita, previously at the back, took Sonia by the hand and moved ahead, looking back at them with a calm smile.

“I’ll go in first.”

“Wait…! Angelita, Sonia is…!”

“Take your time.”

“No, that’s not what I meant…!”

Ignoring Leonis’s attempt to reason, Rita simply slipped into the entrance. Sonia, whose hand was held by Rita, followed without showing any signs of resistance.

Naturally, Leonis, who was worried about Sonia, immediately followed right behind.

“Uh… what do we do now?”

“What do you mean? Let’s go in too!”

If they left the mages there, who knows what kind of incident might happen inside? It wouldn’t be fair for them to receive some wounds, but it wasn’t desirable either.

Naturally, the mercenaries also followed directly behind the mages.

However, what the adventurers saw as they entered the cave was not the surprised faces of the mages or Maria’s annoyed expression at why the mages entered first against the plan.

Flames illuminated the entire view, save for a large pillar in the center, and it was the fire burning goblin oil.

– 2 –

The reactions of the people when they discovered the dungeon entrance were as expected. It was something they did believing they would think that from the beginning.

Dungeon Lords do not avoid incoming battles.

It’s ridiculous that this is common sense, but it is indeed a fact. Even my body recoiled at the thought of this move.

What are they, a battle race?

Still, ‘nobility’ seems to value the virtue of victory over deceiving the enemy, and thus, this thinking and action didn’t hinder me. Instead, it helped to suppress my body.

Thanks to that, I managed to show others the little achievement of discovering the dungeon entrance, and I was able to enter the dungeon.

“Sonia. Just what…”

“When did you learn such magic? Lady Sonia?”

After dealing with the goblins at the dungeon entrance, Maria and Leonis gathered in one place while questioning Sonia.

Their inquiries were completely natural.

Previously, Sonia had only been learning detection and protection spells suitable for an apprentice level.

Yet now, she suddenly learned intermediate elemental magic from somewhere; it was no wonder they were surprised.

“Well…”

Sonia hesitated before responding.

Was it because I placed a spell on her not to reveal that she had learned something from me?

It was a futile hesitation anyway. Her eyes had already been glancing at me.

It didn’t take long for the people’s attention to gather.

『Traits – Magic: Detection, Magic: Protection, Magic: Flame Barrier, Magic: Poison Dart, Magic: Siphoning Plants, Magical Over-adaptation』

In any case, as a result, there had been changes to her traits displayed in my view.

Three additional offensive spells had been added.

At the same time, these existed in my status window too. The only difference was that all of mine were ‘Advanced,’ whereas hers were ‘Normal.’

I couldn’t be certain, but perhaps the difference arose because I had learned her magic and taught her. Maybe I wasn’t very good at teaching.

It’s impossible for a person to be skilled at everything.

The state of magic being laden with hostility was for the same reason. I hoped she could learn offensive magic, but regardless, the magic itself was obtained from the Mammon Trading Company.

“Because she wanted to, I taught her a few things I knew.”

“Really? It must not have been an easy decision to teach her magic… I had my suspicions when I heard Lady Sonia call you Angelita.”

Leonis’s amazed face.

Magic in this world is filled with intuition, experience, and calculations through invisible coordinates, making it hard to learn by just reading books. Therefore, having an appropriate teacher or master is essential when learning any magic.

However, if this knowledge was treated as property, then naturally, the method to create such special property should also be premium.

It’s only natural to be amazed that I generously shared such special knowledge with someone I had barely met.

To me, it was merely sharing what I quickly grasped through my status window and perhaps through ‘nobility,’ but to them, it seemed like a big deal.

This was why Sonia called me ‘Teacher.’

“If I hadn’t been involved, I wouldn’t know, but since I saved her life, isn’t it only right to help her not die easily somewhere else?”

“Still, an ordinary mage wouldn’t go that far…”

“Is that so?”

With my nonchalant reply and Leonis’s astonishment, the focus of the people shifted.

Previously seen as ‘a beautiful mage who hadn’t displayed any erratic temperament yet,’ now she was viewed as ‘a kind and beautiful mage.’

“Thank you for doing so much for Sonia. I truly appreciate it, Angelita.”

“It’s nothing really. As I mentioned earlier, it’s just what I should do.”

“Was my suspicion unfounded…?”

Even Maria, who had shown more friendliness than before, and even Daniel, who had been skeptical all this time, appeared to share expressions of admiration, showing how highly they indeed valued magic.

It felt like they were thinking something along the lines of, ‘There’s no way someone teaching even magic could be suspicious.’

Meanwhile, the Demon Clan evidently sold things very well at the company.

Initially, even Daniel didn’t seem to entertain the assumption that I could be a Dungeon Lord, so it’s only natural that the suspicion didn’t linger on.

“Let’s cut the chit-chat for now. Let’s set off again. We should move quickly while the mood is good.”

With Maria clapping her hands to gather everyone’s attention, they began to move once more.

This time, the formation changed.

Maria and one of the newly recruited warriors stood on either side, while in the center stood Leonis, the detection mage, and Jacob, who had learned trap techniques.

In the center were Daniel and Kyunghan, with the best eyesight and speed, keeping watch over the surrounding mages and explorers, and at the back were Sonia and I along with one remaining warrior.

It was the standard formation for a dungeon that had only emerged recently.

Since the possibility of enemies appearing from behind was almost none, the focus was on properly guarding against enemies coming from the front and left/right while also protecting the mages.

“Here… This is it…”

“Sonia, it’s okay. You’ll find your friends.”

“Yes. Teacher… with my own hands, I will…”

As we approached the long corridor I had carefully set up in front of the first entrance, Sonia momentarily hesitated, recalling painful memories of the past.

However, she showed a strong resolve and shook off her hesitation.

“Really, this corridor is incredibly long.”

“Don’t let your guard down. According to Sonia’s testimony, there might be something lurking beside or above this corridor.”

“But could a young Dungeon Lord really employ such deceptive tactics? They couldn’t possibly know to do that from the start.”

“They might not have initially. But now they could possibly understand how effective a surprise attack can be.”

As per Maria’s reasonable words, people moved forward, tense, as they walked down the long corridor.

For nearly an hour.

“Up ahead. I see light.”

“Finally, is this tedious section coming to an end…?”

“Don’t let your guard down until the end. Sudden attacks at such times can be deadly.”

Just as the mentally exhausted group was about to enter the room,

I encountered a familiar presence and smiled.

“Teacher…?”

“Sonia. Prepare your magic.”

“Combat Preparation – !!”

Before us stood a skeleton wielding a familiar longsword.

Alongside its fifty or so blue-eyed comrades.