It’s Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

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– 1 –

Raising a summon or Dungeon Lord to a higher level simply requires boosting their inherent attributes and granting them traits to reach an appropriate level, but things are different beyond that.

For elites, it’s one elite-level entity.
For high-tier, it’s four elites and one high-tier.
To reach the lord level, it requires 16 elites, 4 high-tiers, and 1 lord.

This is the number of sacrifices needed to evolve a summon.
For a Dungeon Lord, exactly three times that number must be present.

“I wonder if it would’ve been better if the specs were exactly three times as good.”

Considering that monsters at the lord level don’t actually fall short compared to Dungeon Lords in terms of scale or specs, it’s essentially the same difficulty as tackling multiple Dungeon Lords.

To evolve one summon from high-tier to lord level, you need to capture at least one high-tier Dungeon Lord.

“With this, I probably got a bonus, huh.”

“Virgin lover.”

This nickname, given by the veterans playing ‘Mill Don 1’, sounds quite malicious on the surface, but it’s something I take pride in.

It means that to acquire the sacrifices needed to raise the initially summoned summons or mercenaries, sometimes even subservient NPC Dungeon Lords, I’ve had to repeatedly catch local high-tier entities or other monsters to level them up to lord level.

“Now that I think about it, I feel a bit sorry.”

“What do you mean?”

“I accidentally caused some losses for a few people.”

“If you could offer something to my lord, they would surely be happy.”

“Hehe. You’re always so consistent.”

Among those affected were other veterans too, so now I feel a bit guilty about it.
If they existed in this world, I probably would’ve done the same. Providing for their survival might be the best I can do.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes…”

– Whack!

In my hand lay the corpse of an elite-level monster, Arachne King Tigris.
There was only one thing I needed to do, and there were only a few confirmations to make for it.

『Core Activation – 1784/1955』

First, obviously, is the endurance that the core can withstand.
I’ve previously raised this through hunting. I can elevate a few entities a bit further right now.

『Advanced Entity Limit 4/6』

Second is the limitation on the number of advanced entities.
There are restrictions when it comes to commanding summons at a higher tier than the Dungeon Lord.

Specifically, it correlates to 1/n of the Dungeon Lord’s magical power.
Additionally, even if the Dungeon Lord’s tier increases, this restriction doesn’t significantly ease up.

“The higher the Dungeon Lord’s tier goes, the stronger summons they can handle, huh.”

It’s one thing if you’re treating it like a game, but it would be arrogant to have such strong entities lingering around as a means of survival.
That’s why I wanted to keep this entity limit filled, so I planned to elevate both Eve and Xue, along with upgrading Fortuna, the Arachne Queen, to elite-level.

“Mercenaries and contracted parties also need sacrifices to rank up, but they don’t count toward the summon or monster entity limits.”

Instead, they require significantly more maintenance costs.
Still, commanding a regular battalion with just ‘officers’ can’t fill all advanced entity limits.
So I first intended to elevate Eve to elite-level, then have the mercenary, Xue, hunt additional monsters to elevate.

“Not happening. The honor of being first is mine.”

“Isn’t it just a matter of days?”

“Still.”

Xue’s opposition came back.
This was surprising since the units in Mill Don 1 didn’t have such variables, but upon hearing her out, it seemed she had her reasons.

“I acknowledge that Evangeline is strong and capable… but in terms of monster hunting or protecting the lady, I think I’m superior in the two most critical areas right now. So I believe it’s right that I go first…”

Her point was logical, so I decided to accept her claim.

“Alright. Then, what do you think, Eve?”

Clack.

I also consulted the opinion of Eve, who, no matter what, is my senior.
And from Eve, I received a surprisingly combative response.

Clang.

“Sounds good…”

Of course, we didn’t decide their competition with just one duel.
If we had decided not to do it at all, that would be one thing, but once agreed, it had to be fair.
Xue’s claim implied that while she might be lacking in various fields, when it comes to ‘monster hunting’ and ‘protecting the target,’ she felt the most confident.

So I decided to include ‘individual combat’ in their fields too.
With Lan’s suggestion, we added ‘duels using only magic without moving’ and the final category was ‘simulated small-scale combat.’

As of now, the score stood at 2:2.

– Clang.

“So funny…! Alright. I concede…”

The first round was the protection battle.
Here, Xue didn’t manage to prove her confidence because Eve successfully minimized damage to the dummy they were meant to protect.
Xue tried to prevent any damage completely, but Eve chose a careful stance, allowing minor damage while paying attention to avoid major attacks.

While both had their pros as protectors, ultimately, the winner of this match was Eve.

“I lost…”

– Clang.

“Yup, you’re better…”

It seemed to be much more evenly matched than I expected, but as anticipated, in this arena focusing on sheer skill…

With Lan’s suggestion adopted, the next round was the motionless magic duel.
Here, Eve emerged victorious.
It was predictable, but I was surprised at how much Xue didn’t fall behind.

She took an aggressive approach, instinctively judging the moment of power output to compensate for her lack of technique.
Eve even faced several dangers because of it.

“I won… I should train more. Evangeline…”

– Thwack!

Then, in the ‘small tactical battle,’ Xue secured a win.
This was another unexpected result. I had thought it would be decided here.

“That wolf fights like that? She’s really showing her sincerity.”

“I can see it too.”

The rule was that if over 50% of the assigned forces become incapacitated, the opposing side wins.
Xue smartly leveraged this rule.
She avoided a direct confrontation with Eve, aiming for the complete annihilation of Eve’s unit.

Eve’s ‘Genius Commander’ trait was disabled when her soldier count fell below a certain threshold, and it seemed likely that Xue was aiming to trigger that.

I learned of Xue’s cool-headedness through this test.

“I said I was most confident…”

– Clang.

And then the fourth challenge: They were instructed to capture advanced or higher large monsters.
Xue returned with a wild drake, and Eve brought back a troll. Almost in equal time.
Both were virtually equal in strength, but Xue managed to ‘subdue’ while Eve went for ‘killing,’ so Xue was declared the victor.

“It’s down to the last one. Are you both ready?”

Nods.

And so we came to the final challenge.
Individual combat.
The spirit of competition in both participants was absolutely unwavering.

“I won’t go easy.”

– Clang.

One side was a berserker who was power-oriented yet didn’t use a large weapon, while the other was a versatile combatant proficient with all types of weapons, and even I was yet unaware of the limits of my capabilities.

“Begin!”

As Lan declared from the judging seat, the duel commenced, making it hard to gauge who held the advantage.

– 2 –

Evangeline and Lin Xue.
The two knew each other exceptionally well.
It was a surprisingly deep connection carried over from ‘last time’, feeling both friendship and rivalry toward one another.

However, under normal circumstances, this point would have been much further down the line.

“That was unexpected. I thought you wouldn’t show up for a while, no matter how fast.”

“I couldn’t let you monopolize the lord’s favor.”

Last time, the original ‘second’ didn’t join the dungeon until later than now, and it wasn’t even Xue.
Even Yuran wasn’t beside Libertus at this time.

Setting aside the fact that the ‘second’ was no longer available to meet, their joining took place considerably earlier than before.

“I was interrupted.”

Thus, Evangeline felt regret towards Xue for infringing on more time with the lord.

“Greedy…”

Lin Xue had a desperate need to snatch as many ‘firsts’ as possible from the Evangeline she recognized.

Others might find it hard to empathize, but between the two, a rivalry centered around a person held dear was unparalleled.

Creeeaaaak…!!

Such feelings burned at the weapon tips of both.

“I’m coming…!”

– Clang!

With the bastard sword, her first awarded gift—not the new sword bestowed by the lord—Evangeline gripped firmly.
Lin Xue, wielding a weapon made of steel that was hard as iron yet flexible enough, clenched her fist after drawing blood from her palm.

Boom -!!

When the magically charged bastard sword collided with the blood-drenched claws, a shockwave erupted, sounding like a bell struck with a metal hammer.

‘These humans are going at it from the start…!’

As Lan quickly guarded the surroundings, it was clear that both were going all-out.
Insufficiently charged with magic yet full power.
A shockwave that rang through the air due to magic and strength.
The appearance of such a phenomenon during a simple duel indicates how intense it had become.

“… Master?”

“It’s fine.”

Had Libertus not protected them immediately, Lan wouldn’t regret it, but Sonia would likely have experienced quite a disaster.

Bam bam!

Evangeline’s blade vibrated violently after eating Lin Xue’s full-powered blow.
Seeing that, Lin Xue grinned viciously, showing the same expression one would have after seeing the enemy’s blood.

‘Strength is my advantage.’

“Are you sure you don’t want to back down?”

– Clang.

“No…!”

Evangeline’s taunting, with black smoke trailing from her lips, Xue couldn’t hold back.

Boom!!

– Creak…

After one intense shake from Evangeline’s body, Xue bit her wrist firmly to draw blood as she clenched her fist.
Her hair, ears, and tail turned deep red, and a menacing crimson glow began to whirl in her eyes.

Swish…!

With her hand growing larger, long and sharp claws sprouted, and at the tips, dark red magic flickered.

Flick! Whack!

Simultaneously, self-inflicted injuries using magic sprouted all over her body.
Charging her ‘frenzy’.
She didn’t reach a level that would cause her to lose consciousness, but she pulled her power up to the brink during the duel.

Chchch…

Of course, Evangeline wasn’t stagnant either.
A darkness of an intensity never shown before dwelled at the edges of her sword.

Employing the level of magical control no ordinary warrior could match, she layered magic over magic and stacked it upon itself repeatedly.

『Trait – … Explosive Power…』
『Trait – … Overlapping Strength…』

In this moment, her traits silently changed, yet even Libertus was too focused on the duel to notice it at a glance.

Kiiiiing -!!

Due to overcharging her magic, her blade tremored as if it were a super-vibrating blade.
Although such a technique would require maintenance once the fight was over, her lord-given sword not only endured it but thrived under the pressure.

Creeeak…!

Thus, the ultimate appearance formed—like a net tightening into a sharp blade.
In a state where it should not have been able to form magical blades yet, it imitated the higher tier through traits.
Yet its power was no less than a technique of magic consolidation.

Slide.

With Xue’s crimson eyes, charged to the limit, and Evangeline’s azure shine meeting,

The two figures vanished from the sight of all three watching moments later.

Boom, boom -!!!

A series of shockwaves shook the ceiling of the duel arena.