It’s Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

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“The main focus was a necromancy-type dungeon, huh… Blades and bows won’t cut it! Grab your blunt weapons!”

“Damn it. Of all times…”

“I really dislike those skeletons…”

As soon as Maria’s order fell, the shadow of a skeleton emerged, causing everyone—scouts and warriors alike—to grasp the hammers and clubs they brought as secondary weapons.

Even if they were accustomed to their weapons, it’s common for adventurers to switch weapons based on their opponents until they develop special skills.

“I’ll definitely find it for you…!”

Even Leonis was tightly gripping his staff with both hands, fully determined to jump into the fray if necessary, as he believed he was stronger than the average skeleton.

Despite his ‘skills’ being more about manipulating magic than physical movement, he was quite reckless with his body.

His concern for Sonia and her friends was evidently not a lie.

The only ones holding swords as weapons were Maria and Daniel, who were confident in their abilities. Even Daniel, though, had a hefty club in his other hand. It was only Maria, Sonia, and I who maintained our usual weaponry.

“I’m relieved, at least. There are plenty of them, but no special types. Just like a dungeon born not long ago.”

“Don’t let your guard down. You never know what might happen.”

“It’s hard not to be cautious around skeletons. Let’s find the little ones and get out, Miss Maria.”

“…Yeah.”

Yet, as demonstrated in Daniel and Maria’s conversation, the others didn’t appear overly tense.

It’s a common understanding that undead beings don’t retain the abilities they had in life, and the skeletons we were observing looked suspiciously like nearby golems or thieves in their former lives.

“I heard a band of bandits went missing recently.”

“So they were here, huh? Tried to use the cave as a hideout and met their end?”

“What a bunch of fools.”

Indeed. Until this very moment.

– Crack.

Chick!!

As Evangeline’s jaw hit against another, the undead army that raised their weapons advanced a step forward, as if moving as one.

“What the heck is that…?”

“Soldiers…? No, they have no shields…”

Among those who witnessed this, a sense of unease spread rapidly.

They looked less like the usual skeletons that charged mindlessly at the living and more like ‘skeleton soldiers’—upgraded with no particular traits but growing increasingly stronger in numbers.

‘Goodness. It seems they’ve really been drilled on tactics.’

It was evident with one glance that their ranks had been refined more than when I left last, drawing forth a mix of emotions within me.

Admiration for Evangeline’s tenacity and efforts in instilling ‘tactics’ in those foolish skeletons, along with sympathy for the undead being struck repeatedly by Evangeline, confused as ever.

At the same time, knowing all this was ultimately for my sake brought me joy.

It was hard to suppress a smile, so I decided to mask it as the composed demeanor of a victor.

“It seems the skeletons are smarter than expected. If you can just hold on a bit, Sonia and I will cast our spells.”

“We trust only you, Mage!”

With that, Sonia and I stood back while a trainee warrior and Kyunghan remained behind to protect us.

“Sonia. Are you ready?”

“Yes, Teacher…!”

“In this chaotic battle, we mustn’t use hard-to-cast magic. Got it?”

“Restraining magic!”

“Correct. You’re clever.”

“…”

Sonia smiled quietly. I ruffled her hair, then faced forward.

I could feel a direct ‘jealousy’ aimed at me, or more accurately, beside me.

“Don’t be like that. You’re my first.”

Snap.

“Right. Then… the target is four. The rest can take care of themselves.”

– Crack!

Chick! Chick! Chick!

As I designated the ‘targets,’ the slowly advancing skeletons quickened their pace.

Over fifty skeletons closing in from all directions of the spacious room, while adventurers stood on guard against them at the entrance.

Immediately, Maria’s sudden order made sense.

“Get into the entrance! We need to lessen the sides we’re facing!”

– Kraaah!!

Boom!!

That command had two effects.

It momentarily disrupted the adventurer formation and triggered one of the skeletons to instinctively rush forward.

I would scold that kid later.

The massive skeleton, which had been the leader of bandits in life, charged forward, invoking a ‘battle cry’ characteristic it inherited upon dying.

『Battle Cry – Temporarily amplifies the health stats of the user during combat, while reducing all stats of opponents whose health is lower by half the amplified health.』

Though the percentage increase was quite low for a regular skeleton, it was a valuable trait since it could reduce most adventurers’ stats, even if just a little.

With that battle cry, everyone except Daniel, Maria, and me stiffened.

This wasn’t the right time to use the ability, but it laid bare the limitations of regular skeletons.

“Here it comes! It really is just a skeleton. It can’t maintain formation!”

“I’ll handle it; you take care of the people!”

“Get over here fast! Move! Hurry!!”

Maria stepped forward to face the ‘axe’ while Daniel quickly turned back to rally those who had frozen in place to form a line near the entrance.

The entrance was quite wide, so it wouldn’t completely eliminate openings, but at least they seemed to think arriving at the central point would be better.

I felt quite proud as I remembered widening the entrance back when adventurers came to my dungeon, ensuring they could form a formation.

In a place like this, unless there were a considerable number of people, you couldn’t establish a perfect formation.

There are only best and second-best options.

“Mages! Over here! Susan, stay behind the mages!”

While Daniel reorganized the formation, Maria and the axe finally clashed.

“It’s just nothing…!”

Fwoosh, Boom!!

– Clatter!

The outcome, of course, was a decisive victory for Maria.

Despite the massive ‘great skeleton’ standing nearly two meters tall, it lacked mass, having shed all flesh and muscle, and in life, it was no more than a muscle-headed fool devoid of other abilities.

After a couple of rounds, surprised by her unexpectedly powerful strength, Maria quickly regained her composure and succeeded in bouncing the giant body away, throwing it off balance.

It was all thanks to her natural strength compared to skeletons and the fiery explosion spurred by the flames on her blade.

“Die…!”

Clang!

However, she couldn’t seize the opportunity she created because of a quickly intervening, red-glowing blade.

The trajectory that slipped in was nearly impossible to evade or block; moving forward meant certain injury for Maria too.

“Another one… Wait, you… that strength and armor…”

As she blocked the opposing attacks, Maria took a step back and soon spotted something familiar.

The red light lingering on her sword and the chestplate donned by the skeleton—two crucial elements.

Her stern yet caring younger sister. She had just uncovered the equipment and traits of her friend.

It was inevitable for Maria’s eyes to widen in surprise as she felt the anxiousness she’d been harboring.

“You have Jack…! Where is Remia?!”

Clash!

In a flash, there were five clashes between Maria and the skeleton.

Maria’s strikes were sharp and fast.

But the skeleton, honed by a master who recognized its special talent and dedicated training, was no easy opponent even against top-tier warriors.

Though it hadn’t yet undergone class upgrades, Evangeline’s specifications were already nearing those of an elite fighter.

“Maria!! You need to come out!!”

“Where are you?!”

Under normal circumstances, Maria would have recognized such skilled swordplay and withdrawn to assess the opportunity, but in her rage and impatience, she swung her sword, unaware she had gotten herself trapped among enemies.

“Damn it!”

Tap!

Ultimately, it was Daniel who began moving toward my formation.

With a short sword in one hand and a hammer in the other, he charged forward without any hesitation, whether driven by love or a more complex camaraderie.

That gallant figure was indeed quite splendid, but it was reality, not cinema.

“You need to increase the variability of spatial coordinates there. Enemies won’t just stand still.”

“Ah, yes!”

From behind, I continued advising Sonia, who was using binding spells for the first time in a real battle.

I told her that binding the enemy’s legs only required a few in the front rather than a whole bunch. Sonia enthusiastically declared she would manage it herself.

Thanks to this, she was completely focused, sweating while listening intently to my words, not even able to blink.

There was no reason for me to intervene, and there were no interruptions from around us.

This was all due to my soldiers—who happened to be skeletons—but still, I could afford to keep my cool. Of course, I had no reason to disrupt the enemies’ relaxation since they all happened to be my subordinates.

She might have just been driven by the desire to accomplish it with her own hands.

“Maria, Maria!! You have to escape! They’re using tactics! You’re being surrounded!”

“Kuhhh…!”

The two most threatening ones hadn’t escaped the skeletons and remained trapped.

Though Maria had managed to shake off some of her anger and regain her composure, extricating the two from my army was no easy feat.

– Crack!

Clash!

Evangeline, while undeniably avoiding overtaxing herself, was clinging on and ensuring they couldn’t flee easily.

A black knight wielding a sword that shone with an eerie sharpness wasn’t to be underestimated, even if they were one step above the typical adventurers.

Her swordsmanship was almost beautiful.

– Clatter!

“These bastards… They’re not letting us join!”

Additionally, her command over my soldiers, aided by necromancy, kept them fluently darting in and out of the fray.

Now it was safe to say they resembled a living army.

How I’d trained them so wonderfully was something I’d need to commend myself for once this was all over.

“Damn it. What’s going to happen…?”

“Should we, should we flee…?”

Neither trackers nor trap experts among the formal adventurers were providing much help.

Regardless of how they attempted to engage, my soldiers’ formation was tightening, preventing them from diving in.

A formal adventurer should be able to handle three or more standard skeletons, while even a trainee adventurer could manage to hold off one or two, and if they teamed up, they could pin down a few dozen and buy time for elite adventurers to escape.

Yet, they were flustered and prioritizing their own safety, failing to engage their full capabilities.

Of course, my skeletons weren’t ‘ordinary’ since they had a commander that made them unique, making the situation significantly more dire than usual.

“I’ll…!”

“Be careful! It’s dangerous to jump in recklessly!”

– KUAACK!!

Boom!!

On top of that, my ‘Axe’ that I controlled directly was calling upon its battle cry at the right moment, threatening the remaining opponents with power even stronger than Maria.

That fool was dim-witted in life and even in death, but like a changed person, the intelligent battle tactics aimed at other adventurers instead of two elite ones crushed their ‘rescue’.

Eventually, it became time for the mages, capable of delivering powerful attacks or control from afar, to shine.

“While a team fight is ideal, this is fine too. I’ll use binding spells for the two. I’ll handle the rest.”

“Yes…!”

“Now, let’s do this quickly.”

I approached Sonia, placed my arm around her shoulder, and laid my hand over hers outstretched in front of us.

Since Sonia had stopped growing when she was younger, we now stood at similar heights, making it an unintimidating stance.

In that position, I began tuning her magic.

When my trusted teacher’s hand rested above hers, her face flushed adorably. Even if she hadn’t fully blossomed into beauty, she was still lovely.

It saddened me that such a face would soon be marred.

“Ready?”

“Yes!”

“Alright. Prepare… now.”

“‘Siphon Plants’!”

Squish…!!

Sonia’s quiet yet powerful shout.

At that moment, the mana seeds dispersed from her fingertips rapidly hastened their growth, turning into vines that drained the health and life of those ensnared.

“What is this…?!”

“Vines…?!”

They grabbed not the skeletons but instead Maria and Daniel.

And simultaneously.

Splat – !!

“‘Shadow Bind’.”

I swung my summoned skull staff from the inventory and struck Leonis beside me, triggering the magic.

Instead of a rapid-growing spell from the demon realm like Sonia’s, it was a curse tied to shadow magic linked with necromancy.

Swoosh…!!!

“Yes, a necromancer…?!”

“Mage!!”

“Why…?!”

The darkness of the cave fused and spread in an instant, binding the adventurers’ ankles.

“Gah…?!”

Weak-bodied Leonis couldn’t evade or block the powerful strike from the dungeon lord’s staff.

Watching him topple over was an ironic reminder of how Sonia had fallen when our novice adventurers had ventured here.

Thud!

“Ahh! Let go!”

Just then, my army closed in, tying or overpowering the adventurers.

“Eh…?”

In the middle of it all, only Sonia and I remained unscathed.

I patted her head and said.

“Well done. Just like my first disciple.”

The smile I usually wore for her didn’t appear this time, even faintly.

Never.

『The dungeon level has risen. Lv.2 ▶ 3』
『Demon Lord Candidate ‘Libertus’ Dungeon Lv.3』

“Excellent.”

Reflected in her trembling blue eyes was my face.

A penetrating light shone there amidst the shadows of her black hair.