It’s Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

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– 1 –

The scene of the first summoning was quite spectacular, even in a game.

First, there was an effect of lightning striking as the focus zoomed into the room where the Demon Lord Candidate was, then the entire screen was filled with a magic circle that shook, followed by beautiful women with demon wings smiling as they leapt out, along with the appearance of the summoned creature.

The storyboard itself was clichéd and childish, but it covered that up with illustrations.

It’s a bit disappointing that the first summons resulted in goblins or zombies, but at least there was no cost to complain about.

Koo-kung…!

Now that it has become reality, it’s even more extravagant.

Although there were no beautiful women… No, I guess I don’t need to care about beautiful women anymore now that I’ve become this way.

“…”

I quickly pushed away the slightly creeping sadness.

Kuurung…!!!

With an earthquake that felt like the whole cave was shaking, a summoning circle was created, not huge but at least occupying the space of two rooms, glowing red.

From the look of it, it seemed like at least a high-ranking demon clan would appear, if not a Demon Lord.

Kwah-chik!

A hand burst through the ground’s surface, grasping it before fully pulling its body up, marking the climax of the summoning.

The performance was so extravagant that it exceeded expectations even in how the summoned creatures varied by type.

『You have successfully summoned for the first time. Demon Lord Candidate! Please proceed with the contract!』

As soon as I succeeded in the summoning and brushed aside the pop-up window, the sight of the skeleton was honestly unexpected.

‘Its appearance is cleaner than I thought?’

Even if it was a 2D deformed art drawn in pixels, normally you could identify features clearly.

The general skeleton soldier I had seen in the game was dirty, with unfallen flesh, dirt clumps, or cracked bones.

Usually, you could guess its previous occupation from the worn-out weapons or equipment it had on its body.

But the skeleton in front of me erased all those prejudices in an instant… it had a certain ‘coolness’.

– Clatter.

The bones that made up its body were clean and looked tough, and its stance was different right from the start.

Be it a skeleton or zombie, a successful basic undead usually struggles to stand properly.

They retain some of their living instincts and try to stand, but their dead bodies have a different center of gravity, weight, and density than living bodies.

However, this slender skeleton in front of me looked up straight at me, knelt on one knee, and gazed upward.

Like any basic skeleton, it had almost no equipment on it, just an old longsword awkwardly hanging from its pelvis, so the elegance of the pose wasn’t fully realized…

Yet the pose itself was still sharp and visually appealing.

‘It seems to retain quite a bit of its living habits.’

“Get up.”

I imagined this and gestured for the skeleton to rise with the intent.

Since a basic skeleton wouldn’t have any knowledge from its living days, giving commands was merely to fill my mood.

Still, the sight of the skeleton standing up straight in response to my words fulfilled some of my lingering dreams of being a necromancer I harbored since Earth.

Clank.

Yet, quite out of place for such a majestic and proper stance, the tip of its longsword found its way to the ground.

Due to the poorly secured sword belt on its pelvis.

“I guess I didn’t consider that, did I?”

I said, approaching the fallen sword.

Though the skeleton stood straight, it looked like it was caught between the fallen sword belt and my command to ‘stand up’.

This must be how it feels.

I remembered a line from the game’s settings that said the summoner could feel the summoned creature’s mood.

I still didn’t know if this soldier understood my words, but as soon as I spoke, the skeleton straightened up and looked at me.

It felt like it was denying my previous statement.

Clack-clack…

The belt had a very intuitive shape, so I could somehow manage to secure it on the skeleton’s body so it wouldn’t fall.

The skeleton was taller than me by at least a head, so the task wasn’t difficult.

“Okay, done?”

– Clank.

As I patted around its waist, the skeleton, still looking at me, bumped its chin against the hand on its waist.

At this point, I could guess.

This one probably still had not only its ‘instincts’ but also a certain level of intelligence remaining. In game terms, it’s like a rare type that occasionally pops out during summoning.

Perhaps it was a skeleton with the title of ‘smart’ or something.

That would be fortunate.

Although it would still be a while before I could communicate effectively, at least I wouldn’t be alone in this vast dungeon anymore.

That was a good condition to help alleviate the silence that had filled my space since the moment I was summoned into this expansive cave, and likely the loneliness that would come once I grew accustomed to that silence.

There’s a difference in attachment between what’s brought from outside and what’s summoned directly.

“So then… we should contract… um?”

Since the tutorial for bringing up the status window didn’t mention anything about the contracting method, I racked my brain, and in my peripheral vision, I saw something lying where I stood.

‘Speaking of which…’

“Ah, so this was here.”

A long, somewhat unsettling staff made of bones and a neatly packaged bundle next to it.

This was probably the default item given to me as my class was determined during the summoning. It was a system that appeared in the game too.

The summoning process must have been so elaborate and noisy that I hadn’t realized it sooner.

『Apprentice Skull Staff』

『You have obtained an inventory (2X2).』

As expected, the staff was a weapon, and the bundle was an inventory.

‘It feels like a scythe.’

The staff was a stereotypical necromancer staff with a skull on the end of a rod made of white bones, common in games or novels.

The eye sockets of the skull glistened with two rubies, and the short blade protruding from its mouth was striking.

『Inventory』

『Necromancer Basic Core』

『Food (10 days worth)』

Picking up the bundle activated the 4-square inventory.

What was inside could be guessed intuitively by its names, being skill-related items and some basic food.

However, here, the food wasn’t for me, the user, aka the Demon Lord. It was food to be distributed to biological summoned creatures.

If one tries to maintain all the summoned creatures solely with the dungeon’s mana, the required mana would increase significantly. Thus, it was necessary to provide ‘external food’ for the beast lineage, which has many mouths.

The Demon Lord doesn’t eat. There’s a separate means to supply the mana needed for maintenance.

‘It’s a bit small, though.’

The small size of the inventory was somewhat concerning, but thinking about it for a moment, it made sense.

The dungeon has a basic storage space for materials, so personal inventories would be used for either storing equipment or when procuring materials externally, assuming one didn’t have carts, for instance.

Originally, the inventory function wasn’t even in the original game. There wouldn’t be any complaints about being given something that didn’t exist.

Flap!

As I fiddled with the bead, knowledge about necromancy and contracts flooded into my mind like a rush.

An unpleasant feeling washed over me, akin to someone rummaging around in my head, making me frown, but I decided to bear it.

After all, the life of a Dungeon Lord wouldn’t be possible without being able to form contracts. My rise may not bode well for the people of this world, but nonetheless, I had no thoughts of just lying down and dying.

There might not be any hints yet, but I might discover one that could lead me back to my previous life.

This wasn’t the time to be picky.

– Clank.

When I lifted the staff, as if it understood what I was trying to do, the white, clean-boned body stood up straight and returned to the initial pose.

That is to say, it knelt on one knee facing me like during the summoning.

Like a knight.

“Maybe it was a knight when it was alive.”

The contract needed no complicated processes; it was enough to imprint my mana into its ‘core’ as a mark. The black skull symbol entwined with a purple flower was engraved on its hand, serving as proof of the contract.

This was also something drawn during the customization process.

That was swiftly concluded.

However, seeing it remain in a submissive pose after the contract did stir some emotions within me.

There are famous rites for knights; should I try to mimic it once?

Swish.

Immediately, the skeleton swiftly drew its old longsword from its scabbard and presented it to me.

As expected.

The thought communication between summoned creatures and their masters wasn’t one-way; my thoughts flowed into it as well.

“You’re quite clever.”

– Clink!

I was more delighted to discover that it was possible to communicate, even if only through the way it understood my thoughts. I felt relief wash over me before the loneliness that could come knocking at any moment.

Anyway, this one was revealing proactive responses to me.

Swish.

The sound of bones and sword clashing echoed.

This served as confirmation that its body must be quite sturdy. If it weren’t at least as hard as stone, there wouldn’t be that friction noise.

The more I observed, the more I became curious about the identity of this soldier… no, this knight who only had bones left.

“This… is a sword.”

The unsheathed sword was merely an old longsword, but what was drawn was splendid, as if it carried the weight of a knight’s long years.

I could tell from the state of the blade—well-maintained from the eyes of an ignorant—how clean and shiny it appeared, reflecting my violet gaze.

‘Indeed, it’s heavy.’

I’ve encountered solid iron objects before, but I’ve never held a well-refined weapon like this.

Even though my outer appearance resembles a small woman, I was relieved that as a Demon Lord Candidate, it wasn’t difficult to wield the sword for the first time.

Or else, it would have dragged along the floor embarrassingly.

Probably, it was common to say that it had ‘its center of gravity well-maintained’, but because combat is an issue of mindset and technique, it would be impossible to wield it effectively right away, yet with more training, perhaps I could fight directly on the field.

“I don’t know about complicated rituals.”

– Clank!

The skeleton relayed that it didn’t matter, as if to say my words were acceptable. Moreover, it conveyed emotions similar to ‘joy’.

Even the way it communicated these sentiments made me feel like it was growing more intricate in expressing complex feelings.

We still hadn’t built a solid bond, yet for this intelligent one to feel affection towards me was likely due to the nature of being a summoned creature and its master.

… I decided to clear away those convoluted thoughts.

For now, survival was the priority. Other feelings and inquiries were luxuries.

“I am Libertus… no, Rita. I want you to be my sword and help me slay my enemies.”

I slowly lowered the sword to just above its head as I spoke.

– Clatter!

It responded with a cheerier clink than before.

The moment of signing a contract with my first summoned creature worth commemorating.

“Nice to meet you, my soldier.”

Snap!

And so, the moment of preparation for the first battle began.

– 2 –

‘Finally.’

The moment of the contract.

‘I have returned.’

– Clatter!

Rita’s first soldier thought this way.