It’s Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

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‘This paper looks familiar.’

Looking at my subordinates, what I had only thought of as ‘Blue Tarantula’ could finally be properly recognized after seeing their king up close.

‘Was it due to their overly simplified bodies for combat, or is it really a different species?’

After all, the spiders on the battlefield did appear quite ‘simplified.’

With black carapaces and either black or brown fur, interspersed with blue points.

It was just enough to barely recognize them as part of the tarantula family.

Although I got a glimpse of the king this time, I viewed him from a distance and was so overwhelmed by the smoke and dust that there was no chance to look closely.

‘But to think I’d see that species here, and even in the form of a spider human.’

Suddenly, fragments of memories surged back, causing me to reminisce for a moment.

I even felt a twinge of delight.

With a blue carapace, beautiful blue fur, and white patterns.

Excluding the resemblance of its patterns to that often found on a tiger’s forehead, this spider’s appearance was quite familiar to me.

Among the few acquaintances I had, there was one who enjoyed raising spiders, crustaceans, and insects.

[Why did you rescue this? Huh? As a gift? Of course, I’m happy!]
[Don’t touch it right now; it’s sensitive. It gets stressed easily.]

That species was called ‘Guti Sapphire Ornamentals.’

I had gifted it a few years ago, and since then, that person took great care in raising it.

On Earth, it was an endangered species, and so naturally, it was difficult to find in the wild. I recall that there was quite a complex process involved in trading individuals bred by private owners.

Before I came here, private individuals had likely worked hard on breeding, making them quite common, but they still would not have been cheap.

‘Of course, no one would buy one with a human torso attached.’

Unless they had a really unique taste or were a wealthy enthusiast of rarities.

I looked up at its upper body again with discontent.

‘It looks odd, after all.’

“Your gaze is disrespectful.”

“It must be a misunderstanding. What reason would I have for that?”

The subject of this unusual taste was looking down at me with quite a disrespectful gaze.

Still, as it was probably not its choice to be born this way, it wouldn’t be right to persecute it for that.

“I don’t know. They say dungeon kings and queens are all peculiar.”

“You mean to say that in front of me?”

“Haha! You don’t seem as notorious as the rumors suggest. I’m somewhat knowledgeable about Dungeon Lords.”

Following the hearty laughter of the Spider King, I looked into his location.

There was not a single trace of humanity visible.

Just a natural cave, baby spiders rapidly growing, and a few spiders bringing food to them, along with some natural insulation laid out to warm the eggs.

Among the food were ant monsters and even spider humans.

In other words, it was the complete opposite of the Ant Queen’s cave.

“Does it seem awkward, given the different appearances of other monster kings in the area?”

“Not at all. This is the most natural appearance, isn’t it?”

“That’s true! What good does it do for a monster to clumsily imitate humans?!”

Surprisingly, the state of this place seemed to reflect the philosophy of the spider king.

It seemed he wasn’t entirely devoid of thought.

“Sit down. With your human form, it must be uncomfortable to stand.”

“Ah, you know how to be considerate.”

His action of bringing a cushion and inviting me to sit surprised me as I gazed at him in disbelief, causing him to frown and reply curtly.

“Y-you’re underestimating me. I may look like this, but I’m a being with proper intelligence.”

Be that as it may, I flicked at the straw mat, solidifying the shadow.

I shaped the darkness into the form of a chair.

“Oh… how refined!”

“From now on, you should provide a chair at least.”

“Tch. Something of a human…”

The Spider King’s face twisted in annoyance, but then his eyes widened in surprise.

Although he could use dark magic, he seemed unaware he could do so in this manner.

It was only natural given the difference in skill level.

As I sat in that chair, I answered the king’s initial remark about underestimating him.

“By the way, it seems you haven’t used that head of yours on the battlefield.”

“Oh, you saw that?”

The Arachne King’s gaze became cold and sunk.

Since he hadn’t gained the upper hand in a fight against the Ant Queen, I thought he might have lost some pride…

But it seemed like that wasn’t the case.

“They are weaklings.”

He raised his fist, flexing his bumpy muscles, glaring at me strongly as he spoke.

In other words, it was his time for self-promotion.

“I’ve watched for a long time since coming to this area, and it’s not that they can’t; it’s that they won’t! Even though they have power, they refuse to use it! We need to gather the strength of the whole area someday to strike against humans for our survival!”

And I couldn’t help but resonate with those words.

This world is a place where the rights of monsters to survive are constantly threatened.

Even if one is a monster, those with intelligence must continually reflect and scrutinize their modes of survival.

Yet, the Ant Queen’s nest lacked a proper vision for the ants.

“Other monsters are the same! They just hide and monitor our movements! They should be aligning themselves with the strong to cement their position or connecting with the weak to aim for even greater strength!”

Though I sensed the presence of other monsters in the area, considering the Ant Queen’s nest had none and showed no signs of existence, they were likely in hiding.

“Is that so? They’re weaklings.”

“Right! They aren’t even monsters. Just beasts!!”

With my small agreement, the Spider King’s spirit rose even further, as he spoke vehemently.

The subject of his argument had, once again, returned to the Ant Queen.

“In the end, the one with power as the representative of the region is in such a state, and that’s why all the monsters in this area remain in such a pitiful state! Ultimately, the representative threatens all our lives! And that’s why I’ve stood up!”

“You think you’re different?”

“I am different! At the very least, I won’t just die pathetically! Under human control, missing opportunities to create a larger force!”

He was quite fiery indeed.

Yet still, I could see that he possessed a certain will and vision of his own.

“Those with power have a duty to wield that power and the responsibility to govern!”

While I saw some unsatisfactory thoughts scattered about…

As long as there’s a direction he wants to head toward, he may be better than the Ant Queen.

At least as a leader.

“So, Queen of the Dungeon. As one with power, allow me to follow you! I shall help you and your dungeon by becoming the king of this area!”

He seemed aware of his lack of strength.

This was a more important ability than I had expected.

If one cannot properly sense the strengths and weaknesses of friend and foe, they often perish due to threats they could have overcome.

From what I’ve seen so far, he was passable.

“I’ve listened well to your arguments.”

I still hadn’t verified his loyalty, but there would be plenty of time since this spider faction wouldn’t overwhelm me or my faction.

Before that, the forced nature of the contract would bind him, so I need not worry too much.

“Well then?”

“If you’re to follow me, you shouldn’t be so lacking in manners.”

“… While I’m dissatisfied, if I can ride on the power of the dungeon!”

“Quite honest of you. Very well. We can fix that gradually.”

“Ha! I won’t regret it! Now! Come in!”

As soon as I heard that he would promise to fulfill the contract, the king gestured toward one side and shouted loudly.

Did he prepare something?

If it’s a welcome party, I was pondering how I would fend off whatever food the spider prepared when…

Clatter, clatter…

Clang, clang!

From the spot the Arachne King had pointed to, I felt dozens of presences.

They were walking in a straight line, but the sounds of their steps were disorganized, not that of an army.

Soon after the owners of those sounds revealed themselves, I couldn’t help but feel intrigued.

“… Who are these?”

What appeared were spider humans clearly related in some way to the Arachne King.

With blue bodies and blue fur, white patterns, human torsos, and fourteen appendages.

It was almost impossible not to notice the resemblance to the man right in front of me.

However, in stark contrast to the king, who maintained a proud and cheerful expression, their faces were filled with darkness.

– Clang.

Clatter.

Eve and Xue stood slightly ahead of me, on guard.

It was only natural for the guards to move, as those who had not yet completely become allies were being added to the encounter between the kings.

Without bothering to check on that, the Arachne King answered my question instead.

“Don’t you need a proper offering as a token of our promise?”

A bad feeling stirred in me.

A foreboding thought that the story I was about to hear would not be pleasant.

“… Offering?”

“They say that a ruler dominating a dungeon grows stronger the more powerful subjects they create. Am I wrong?”

“That is indeed true.”

As I readily affirmed, the king laughed heartily and waved his hands toward his kin as he spoke.

Words that confirmed my bad premonition.

“These will serve as offerings for your dungeon. You may choose to recreate them as your subordinates, or you can devour them.”

The expression on my face naturally twisted in discontent, but ‘nobility’ blocked it.

This was my first encounter in such a situation.

Meeting someone who would offer those who clearly had a significant relationship with them as sacrifices was quite the experience.

“Surely, they look remarkably like you.”

“Exactly. They are my offspring.”

Only then did I recognize the emotion behind the dark aura surrounding the Arachne’s kin.

Until now, I had assumed they wouldn’t feel such emotions and thus failed to recognize them immediately.

Fear and helplessness.

That was the shared emotion permeating the Arachne.

… And that was something I was all too familiar with.

“Your children… you say.”

I was boiling inside.

I felt like magma was bubbling up within me.

“Surely, my blood can be recreated with the strongest pure magic powers I possess. Go ahead and choose half! Take anything!”

“Ha…”

All children resemble their parents.

In fact, the more one despises that parent or the less they like their parents’ elements, the more they come to resemble them.

The more one dislikes or even despises, the more they tend to focus on those elements.

Moreover, humans, even when they cover up what they dislike, are odd creatures who feel the need to open it up and watch that distasteful aspect to feel reassured.

‘Ah, it’s so distasteful, so it’s right to avoid or remove it!’ — such rationalizations are what emerge when one observes more.

The more they pull it out, the more they become like it.

As if echoing the sentiment, ‘The abyss watches me too.’

To me, the emotions straddling that line between ‘affection’ and ‘possession’ were indeed quickly leaning towards ‘possession.’

[You said to show a proper appearance out there. You worthless thing! What’s with those clothes, huh! Were you intending to embarrass me!]

Thus, my father had felt toward family.

In his youth, he had been engaged in business, faced failure in that venture, turned to gambling, and after being deceived by a swindler, he eventually sank so low as to involve our family’s wealth and bring down my mother.

In the end, I sent him to prison, yet the madness he created forced me to struggle for a long time.

[Are you even human, doing this!]
[You’re a dog, so as the offspring of that dog, I guess I’m a puppy.]

[What!!]

Because of that, as the offspring of that bastard, I could no longer separate greed and love.

They had intertwined.

Also, as I barely emptied the rotten things he had cast off and ended up alone.

I became a person who felt satisfied only when possessing anything they desired.

[Let’s break up.]
[It would be wise for you not to approach.]

So on Earth, I tried to empty everything.

[It’d be better for you to find a better man than me.]
[What? Are you serious? Breaking up like this…]
[That guy seemed nice. How about continuing with him.]

Clatter.

Loving a person bore the danger of turning into a murderer or a stalker when things went sideways.

[Your talent is quite exceptional. Would you like to work with me sometime?]
[The gift should have arrived by now.]
[Gift? What could it be? I’m looking forward to it… Hehe!]
[You seem to love your mistress quite deeply. I trust you know what happens if you get too close.]

Those who fixate on wealth or power were bound to sink deeper.

“These are my offspring. They are the best offerings for the Dungeon Lord.”

And in the same vein, I held my strongest disgust toward something.

“Do you love your children?”

That was gaslighting in a single context.

“They could be the best assets, my possible heirs in the future! Otherwise, they could serve as the finest nutrients! Of course, I love them!”

“Right. That’s too bad.”

It was the audacity of a parent viewing their children as possessions while shamelessly manipulating with the word ‘love.’

So how much did I hate it…

Snap! Crack!

… It was about this much.

“… Urk!!”

Before my eyes, the Arachne King’s head flew off.

By the hands of someone other than me.