It’s Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

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– 1 –

The purpose of this inspection, as I initially thought, was purely to verify the nearby terrain and monster ecosystem, and to document it.

I had maps secured from Solemio and Copgerin, but there was so much that couldn’t be discerned from those maps alone.

‘Why do people live so carelessly?’

Military maps often recorded the distance between cities and villages as “a few days on foot, a few days by carriage,” and while the wizards’ maps were a bit better, they still had limitations.

They noted the locations where Orcs or Goblins appeared, but they didn’t include how extensive the area was or where the villages were located at all.

‘Of course, I know that wild monster colonies or nests often change locations…’

At the very least, there should be some indication that danger factors were roughly investigated.

However, there was none of that on the maps.

“Phew.”

In that sense, the first thing I chose to do was “mountain climbing.”

Before wandering around in person, I decided to look for terrain where monsters might be found from a higher vantage point. Mountain areas tend to have a lot of unique monsters anyway.

“It’s a bit hot now.”

Climbing with the body of a high-ranking Dungeon Lord was a sheer indulgence without any responsibility. I hardly felt any physical exhaustion, and it didn’t seem like much time had passed before I found myself at the mountain summit.

Given that this mountain was certainly not as low as the back mountains of a village, and considering that there were no developed hiking trails, it was quite a speedy and smooth ascent.

There were a few high valleys or cliffs along the way, but climbing those was not difficult at all.

All I had to do was straighten my back and walk as if climbing steps, thanks to the assistance of the soldiers extending their hands from my shadow.

“Feeling good now that I’ve climbed to the top.”

The ease of the climb didn’t diminish the beauty of the scenery from the mountain summit.

After all, the clouds looked so close.

I gazed across the broad mountain range stretching east and west. On one side was a gentle slope, and on the other was a rugged cliff line.

“This is… my dungeon, and Solemio is over there.”

The side with the gentler slope is the direction of the Kaisen Kingdom, where the entrance to my dungeon exists, while the other side with the steep cliffs faces south towards the Arilite Principality.

This kind of terrain is where my dungeon exists in the mountain range forming the border between those two countries, but essentially, it can be considered within the Kaisen Kingdom.

“It’s peaceful.”

These two countries are technically hostile territories, but in reality, there’s hardly any conflict.

The southern Arilite Principality has become an enemy because it’s the Grand Duchy of the Norn Empire to the southeast, but in truth, it’s a collective sharing the trade benefits derived from the river flowing southward starting from Kaisen.

‘Of course, it’s also true that war could break out at any moment.’

The Kaisen Kingdom and the Norn Empire, its sovereign state, currently have a very bad relationship.

This is largely because rumors are spreading that the Norn Empire is devouring the small kingdom of Hilsa, which lies between the two countries, and is eyeing Kaisen beyond that. Additionally, Kaisen is supporting Hilsa to prevent those rumors from coming true.

It’s unclear which came first. It’s just that rumors have caused the two nations to growl at each other continuously.

‘The most likely guess is…’

I suspect this is due to a Dungeon Lord among the established ones who has cast some magic.

The most likely culprits are two.

Agares to the south, who benefits from the Norn Empire threatening the west while fiscal territory in the north of the Atilia’s Magical Realm is consumed little by little.

Or Eligos to the east, who can disrupt Norn’s expansion and distract them from other concerns, thus gaining an advantage.

‘Of course, that’s assuming the culprit is a Dungeon Lord.’

Aside from those two, many others could potentially be culprits.

It could very well be a prominent figure within the Empire, or there might exist ‘evil individuals’ among humans.

Fanatics, or perhaps humans who were inherently wicked.

‘What’s important to me…’

Well, there’s no need to get hung up on information that can’t be discerned immediately.

“Ugh, hmm…”

As I was stretching while lowering my parasol, two armies caught my eye.

The northern Kaisen Royal Army seemed to be in training, setting up a camp in the midst of the plains in a very bustling manner. I can only wish for the health of the professional soldiers training in this blaring sun.

The southern Arilite Principality army was transporting something. Unless some noble or royal was abusing power, it must be military supplies.

Watching the movements of those armies brought the reality of my dungeon into sharp relief.

The biggest problem I’m facing.

‘My position is right in the center of the eastern continent.’

Being centrally located on the continent while spanning mountains and large rivers makes it merely a stroke of luck in the beginning.

Ultimately, this place remained smack in the midst of human occupation.

‘Move the dungeon?’

If I were to relocate to the beach in the northwest, expansion might become a bit easier. However, the current dungeon nestled in the mountains is somewhat safer, so it’s a matter of pros and cons.

Other directions are nonsensical.

Delving into the mountains further west is something that can be done with the current dungeon expansion, and heading towards other plains is simply an act of suicide.

‘As for absorbing other Dungeon Lords found around to grow…’

Most of those Dungeon Lords are already under human “management,” and even those I sometimes encounter that aren’t have little will to grow, which means there’s not much magical essence to gain.

In the future, bringing them under my control may gain some versatility, but for now, it’s completely useless.

Then again, I might use the Dungeon Core or the Lord itself as food for my summons.

‘Should I actively try to devour adventurers…’

This method, which doesn’t hide my presence at all, runs the risk of being besieged by allied forces converging from all over the kingdom, like Serika of Copgerin.

‘Furthermore, to raise my influence while cooperating and contending between nations…’

The surrounding nations are all Great Powers, leaving scant room for negotiation, and before that, the disparity in power is so significant that the probability of becoming a slave is much higher.

‘Starting from becoming a subordinate…’

Of course, that’s your Excellency.

Humans even make slaves of their own kind, let alone with this beautiful body?

That’s absurd.

‘In the end, there’s only one option.’

I must manipulate my way through while controlling information, gnawing away at the human kingdom from within to grow the dungeon with their lives and resources.

It’s a path that’s certainly not easy, but it’s the only one available.

In that sense, this Count’s party might serve as a new branching point on this path.

“The first thing I want to seek… is indeed Serika’s Core.”

If I could obtain Serika’s Dungeon Core, I could either return it to Serika for some other reward or consume the core itself to strengthen my dungeon; either way, it would come back as a great reward.

I had already given her that fragment, but if necessary, I could borrow it for a while, right?

‘Well, that’s something I’ll think about after I find it…’

– Beep! –

As I was contemplating the future of my dungeon, a sudden wail cut my thoughts short.

Looking up, I saw something hovering directly above my head in the sky.

‘A big… bird?’

That’s what I thought at first.

But as I looked closer, it quickly became clear that it was not a bird.

From the distance, so high that even a Dungeon Lord would struggle to discern its form, it slowly descended, and its shape began to come into view.

“A Harpy… this is the first time I’ve seen one.”

With a body covered in feathers and a flair so colorful it was hard to even see a separate pair of eyes.

A very famous half-human, half-bird monster.

According to the reports I received from Evangeline, it was a presence I had never heard about before.

“Hey, did you soldiers see it while scouting?”

– Flap!

For my soldiers, who had never been negligent in scouting around here, they should know the creatures living in this area better than I do. However, from the shadows came many sentiments denying that.

Well, if a Harpy had shown up even once, Eve surely would not have omitted that report to me.

“Was it hiding somewhere…?”

If a creature my subordinates had not seen suddenly appeared, it was likely because it either had completely overlapping territory or had been hiding.

Moreover, the wild monsters in this world are fundamentally nature-dwelling.

They may prey on humans who creep into the woods without awareness of safety, but generally, they strive not to invade human territory or that of other strong entities.

That’s because they have learned through long history that significant trouble could arise for themselves and their kin.

So thinking “it was hiding” upon seeing a Harpy that had never been spotted before seems only natural.

– Clank!

– Huh?!

Even without me giving any orders, as soon as the approaching Harpy was detected, Ax rushed out of the shadows, grabbing that axe.

Hammer and Katar did the same, wielding their weapons as well.

It’s a great attitude to prioritize my safety above all else, but the problem was that the Harpy approaching me got startled and quickly retreated upon seeing that.

“It’s okay. You can go back; I don’t think you’ll harm me.”

– Clank!

“Hmm, is that so?”

Ax shook his head as if it were impossible.

Given that what I said was more of a “suggestion” rather than a “command,” it seems only reasonable that this situation brought joy to me since my summon was rejecting the words of a Dungeon Lord.

Well, be that as it may.

“Then come here.”

– Clank!

“Over there, come here. Didn’t you have business with me?”

In the end, I summoned Ax behind me as I folded my parasol and reached my hand out towards the Harpy.

A sign for her to come closer.

If she was scared, she could simply fly away, but she was still there, making it clear that she had business with me while cautiously assessing my demeanor.

– Peeep…

“I see the Dungeon Queen…”

The female Harpy cautiously approached while bowing her head, her wings trailing on the ground.

Two remarkable things were apparent in that manner.

One was that her language skills were advanced enough to facilitate communication. The other was that she exhibited ‘etiquette.’

This quickly indicated to me that this wild monster was serving someone of higher stature and that the status of that individual was considerable.

Initially, Harpies in this world are not known to be monsters with such high intellect and reasoning.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Where do you come from?”

“I did not come; rather… the Lady has come.”

“I see. That’s how it might appear. Then, what’s the matter?”

“The Queen wishes to see the Lady.”

“The Queen?”

The Harpy nodded a couple of times at my follow-up question.

I quickly pushed aside two thoughts that sprang up in my mind.

‘The Queen, huh.’

One thought was whether their scale was so large that they would refer to the leader of the group as ‘the Queen.’

But that was unlikely.

As the size of a group increases, it becomes more difficult to keep it hidden. If it were that large, they would have had difficulty remaining unseen all this time, wouldn’t they?

Unless there were special magic or barriers in place, it would be more proper to consider that the group wasn’t that large.

That way, they could hide a group within the limits of ‘technique.’

‘There was no such event in Mill Don 1.’

The other thought was whether contact with wild monsters was even possible in this manner.

Certainly, I had previously suppressed wild Orcs, Goblins, and Kobolds and deployed them at the entrance of my dungeon, but I never imagined that a monster would approach me requesting to have a proper conversation.

Naturally, there was no way to respond to something I had never experienced before, so I erased that inquiry.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

After all, it would become clear once we met.

– 2 –

Thus, I met the Harpy Queen.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, newly emerged Queen of the Dungeon.”

She was an exceedingly ‘large’ Harpy.

Both literally and figuratively.