(Uh... I wish I can use the now.

(Is there a way to make the forest treated as a part of the dungeon?

(Should I start learning instead?)

I kept on running while thinking on how inconvenient it was to return to the dungeon by running. I guessed I had somewhat gotten too used with the . However, it would be troublesome if an enemy could use and instantly arrived at the dungeon entrance while I was away like now. I needed to figure a way to solve this problem sooner or later.

Between enlarging the tiger so I could ride it without disrupting its run and running by myself with , I chose the later for mana efficiency reason. Even though the former was cooler, a mere two days worth of accumulated mana hadn’t been enough to modify its large body unlike the tiny bugs and I would ended up paying quite amount of mana. Which I think wasn’t wise for the moment.

It was the same for changing my Dungeon Lord race. Since I didn't have a thing like an accumulated mana, my mana was the dungeon's mana points and any modification to my body would cost me a lot compared to the basic . Thus it left me with running by myself, which wasn't too bad, except it was troublesome.

Accompanying me was the also running tiger at my side and the lesser tyrantula on my shoulder, while the rest of my army were following at a slower pace. I was hesitated at first, whether to bring them home or to let them stayed for when we continued our campaign later. But then I decided, a seven adventurers was no joke, after all. Therefore, I had them following from behind for in case I need a surprise party.

(Just a little more...)

Once again I rechecked the party's position through our map link.

(Uwaah, they've reached dungeon entrance already?

(Even if I try to think positively that they're just passing through, they'll realize the dungeon existence at that distance, won't they?

(Not good.

(...?

(… Why do they stop? They're not going to enter?

(The armored woman with a big shield, clearly a defender, is she shouting something?

(...

(… Shouting again?

(Ah, I need to add a microphone function to the spy flies later.

(Great, another homework.

(Anyway, I should be able to hear her very soon.)

Afterwards, I could hazily hear the voices. There were more than one person talking and they became clearer as I got closer to the sources.

“EXCUSE US! WE SEEK AUDIENCE WITH DUNGEON MASTER ARZ!”

“This is so stupid.”

“EXCUSE US! WE SEEK AUDIENCE WITH DUNGEON MASTER ARZ!”

“... Let's just raid the dungeon. We can find and drag this Arz guy out forcefully.”

“Silent, Orga. We're here for a mission.”

“Sorry, Crystela, but I agree with Orga. We shouldn't waste too much time here.”

“EXCUSE US! WE SEEK AUDIENCE WITH DUNGEON MASTER ARZ!”

“Oy! Listen to us.”

“Five minutes. If we still have no respo-”

“ROOAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!”

After I had the tiger announced my arrival, I appeared from behind the trees following the tiger that opened up my path. The adventurers were all facing us with serious face and had their hands ready on their respective weapons.

As the tiger move to the side, I greeted, “Good afternoon. I’m Arz. What honor do I owe for this visit, adventurers?”

“You are... Arz?” the blonde woman, the one who was shouting before, dumbfounded.

“See...? That's why I said this is stupid. Have you ever heard a dungeon lord being outside a dungeon?” the big man with a battle-axe on his back said.

The blonde glared at him. "There were rare occasions when a dungeon raiding nearby villages, sometimes the dungeon lord could be seen among the raiders," she retorted.

“Oh, right. But you can see, this weak-looking human can’t be farther than a dungeon lord image, don't you think?” the axe-man insisted.

“Silent, Orga,” she scolded. “My apologize, but can you prove your claim as the Dungeon Master Arz?” she asked me.

“Why should I? Who’re you, anyway?”

“That’s right, we haven’t introduced ourselves, have we? We’re adventurers belonged to Fantastica guild, here for a mission given by Miss Alveria,” she replied.

“Ah, Alv sent you? Very well, come here,” I led them to enter my dungeon.

The axe-guy Orga tried to intimidate me when I passed over him, by deliberately blocking my way with his big build and showing his yellowish teeth. Which I ignored, obviously. To get provoked by a stupid man would mean I was in the same league with him.

However, the little guy on my shoulder didn’t agree. It took the provocation and shot its thread to the smirking mouth, effectively closed the lips together.

“Mm- mm-”

He frantically tried to release the thread and finally succeed. “Bleagh,” he spit the remained thread. From the corner of my eyes I could see the priest chuckled, but then the mage nudged her arm and she tried her best to hold back. Nevertheless, the scene had enlarged Orga.

“YOU! YOU DARE TO ATTACK ME?! GUYS, HE ATTACKED ME!”

“This way, please,” I told the defender.

“BASTARD, DON'T IGNORE ME!”

He pulled his axe and swung it while yelling, “DIE!!”

I used and easily evaded with a side step. In the next moment, the tiger already jumped and bit his neck. Simultaneously, a healing ray descended, preventing the axe-warrior from an instant death.

The defender moved fast. She threw her big shield to the tiger, forcing it to jump backwards and release its prey. The shield returned to its owner afterwards in a parabolic course.

“Stop!” she said. But it was too late as everyone had begun to move.

The archer rapidly shot his arrows at the tiger and I had to raise an earth wall to hamper them. He then changed his target to the dozens of fierce rats that came from the dungeon. Two arrows were able to find their targets, but the third one missed by far as archer’s focus was disrupted and he lost his balance.

“Watch out,” the mage pulled him, barely avoided a fatal impale but not without a serious wound. His left arm was bleeding heavily from an earth spike.

“.” “.”

The mage called her water guardians at the same time with me calling the earth guardians. Two golems and three morphers were facing each other.

“Stop, we’re not here for this!” the defender exclaimed as she parried a fierce rat’s charge. “!” she said and thrusted her chest-height shield's pointed shape to ground, causing a small earthquake with her as the center.

It was enough to put everyone’s action to stop. The buckler-swordsman and the tiger that circling each other, the fierce rats that mobbing the defender-girl, the mage with several floating ice spears around her, the golems and the morphers, the laying archer, even the fierce rats that dragging the wrapped-in-a-cocoon axe-warrior into the dungeon. Everyone, except two.

"Help! I can't keep up with Orga's health!" the priest desperately casted healing rays in rapid succession on the axe-warrior.

The blonde defender looked directly to my eyes and said, "Please. For the sake of the future friendship between you and our guild."

I understood. Once I killed the Orga guy, there would be no return. I had killed three of their members before. If I killed a member of their envoy, Fantastica would probably started to hunt me seriously. Even though it was their member who started the mess. And I doubt even Alv's could help me by then.

(Ah, to begin with, since when did I think killing is okay?

(And to think relying on a girl to save me would even cross my mind, I'm ashamed on myself.

(I should be the one who save her, not the other way.

(Alright.

(Hey, spidey, release him.)

I ordered the second one that still in action. The lesser tyrantula then stopped injecting its poison and withdrew its fang with my order, before crawling back to my shoulder.

"Thank you," the defender said.

Once the lesser tyrantula got away from Orga, one of the morphers splashed and slided. It returned to its form beside him, except one of its hand now in a solid sharp ice. Which easily sliced open the thread cocoon, showing the convulsive person inside with a blood spraying neck.

The morpher touched the wound with its water hand and the hand morphed into ice, stopping the bleed. "I've closed the wound," the mage said.

The priest's face became relieved, but she still sent the healing rays relentlessly.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The buckler-swordsman sheathed his sword and run toward the laying axe-warrior, before he took out an antidote vial. "Here, drink this," he forced the liquid to the mouth. Not long after, color began to return to the face.

I watched these all while counting my lost, three fierce rats got done by ice spears and one by arrows. I had the rest of the fierce rats to return inside the dungeon while taking the casualties. I also called the two golems, giving them cores, before let them followed the rats inside.

"I guess that should be more than enough for proof. Shall we continue our talk, Dungeon Master Arz?" the defender spoke.

I invited her with my gesture and led the way entering the first room. Not everyone followed, though. The priest, the buckler-swordsman and a morpher were staying to tend the still injured axe-warrior and archer.

Turning to one corner, I created a round table with four chairs of stone around it with .

"Wow. You have great precision," the mage complimented as she inspected my works.

"Please have a seat," I said and took a seat on the stone chair myself.

But the mage didn't sit, only the defender who sat across me and the... girl with cat ears, who sat on the chair between me and the defender.

(Is she with us from the start? I didn't realize. She didn't move much in the battle earlier, did she?)

"Before we start, do you know why we come here?" the defender asked.

I nodded. "I can guess. Alv was so enthusiast about using the dungeon as a training ground," I answered.

She nodded in return. "That's right. Then, I will begin," the defender said. "I'm Adventurer Crystela of Fantastica guild. With the right given by Executive Alveria, I will now represent my guild to negotiate with Dungeon Master Arz for the usage of his dungeon by our guild's members."

"I'm Dungeon Master Arz. I recognize Adventurer Crystela as the representative of Fantastica to negotiate with me," I replied.

"I'm Administrator Pristina of Adventurer Admin Office. I'm here as the witness of the negotiation between the Representative Crystela of Fantastica and Dungeon Master Arz," the cat-girl said.

(Oh, she's from the Adventurer Admin Office? No wonder she tried to be neutral in the earlier battle.)

Crystela took out a parchment, an inkwell, a quill and a light orb from her magical storage bag and put them on the stone table. She lit the orb and readied her writing tools, before returned her focus to me.

“I thought you adventurers prefer not using a light orb in a dungeon?” I asked.

She smiled, “Normally, yes. It will be bad if the light orb was hit or destroyed in the middle of a fight while our eyes are used to the brightness. But we’re not going to fight this time, so it’s better to have more light.”

“I see. So that’s the reason.”

“Now. We of Fantastica wish to use the dungeon as a training ground for our members and to get a guarantee that nothing will endanger their lives.”

“I can take care of it, my creatures will knock your members out instead. However, I want everyone that use the dungeon to pay an entry ticket with their mana first.”

Like that, we continued our negotiation in details. After about an hour, she read out loud the rules we have agreed upon. By the time, the four members outside had joined us minus the morpher, which had dissolved after it finished its role.

==============================

Agreement Between Fantastica Guild And Dungeon Master Arz.

1. Fantastica is allowed to use the dungeon for training ground in return of protection of the dungeon heart.

2. Every Fantastica’s member who want to use the dungeon must pay a mana tribute to Dungeon Master Arz before entering. In return, they will be guaranteed that no fatalities will happen to them while within the dungeon and they will only be knocked-out instead.

3. Every knocked-out members will have their mana drained and a weapon/equipment/item will be taken from them, before they are forced to leave the dungeon.

4. One tribute is valid for one entry. If a member leaves the dungeon after entering, either by own will or by force, they will need to pay again before reentering.

5. The members can use the dungeon without paying the tribute at their own risk.

6. Dungeon Master Arz will arrange a drops system, which every dead creature may leave behind a part of their bodies. The rest of the bodies will be absorbed by the dungeon.

7. Dungeon Master Arz will prepare a prize for members who are able to clear the last room of each level.

8. Only 1 level is available for training at the moment, but it will increase over time.

9. Members will be able to get their taken weapon/equipment/item back if they pay a certain amount of mana. The better the weapon/equipment/item, the higher the price will be.

10. To prevent extinction of any creature, they will withdraw from a fight with a notice once they are reduced to a certain numbers. Members are not allowed to chase the withdrawing creatures.

11. Any change/additional rule may be added in the future with consent from both parties.

First party:

Fantastica Guild, represented by Crystela with permission from Executive Alveria

Second party:

Dungeon Master Arz

Witness:

Administrator Pristina of Adventurers Admin Office of [Jowsar] branch

==============================

"That's all. So, do we have deal?" Crystela asked.

I stood up and shook her hand, "Deal!"

"The agreement has been officially acknowledged by the Adventurer Admin Office. Adventurers that not affiliated with Fantastica will have to ask your guild permission first or receive a sanction from us," Administrator Pristina said.

"Congratulation, Fantastica. You have made a new breakthrough with this agreement. And Dungeon Master Arz, although I don't really understand your situation, I hope more of your kind will appear in the future. Once again, congratulation to both of you. Now, if you excuse me, I need to return to the office to submit the agreement and spread it to other Adventurers Admin Office branches," she added.

"Then our member will escort you back to [Jowsar]. Gora!" Crystela called the buckler-swordsman.

"No need," Pristina refused. "I have a return ring with me," she said.

We walked Pristina to outside the dungeon before she could activate a with her ring. A magic circle appeared under her feets and began to glow brightly. When it faded, she was nowhere to be seen.

I envied her, I wished I had one of those ring to return to the dungeon anytime. Let's hope I could get one from a Fantastica member that would be training here.

"I almost forgot, miss Alveria told me to give this letter to you. She said sorry she couldn't come in person," Crystela took a sealed parchment from her bag and gave it to me.

(Ah, that's right. How is she doing? Since she sent them to negotiate, she must be busy. I wonder what did father said to her when she explained about the poison.)

I took the letter and opened it.

==============================

My beloved Arz, how are you?

First, sorry I haven't given uncle Mahza the antidote yet. It seems he has never returned to your house after meeting Rowd and company.

I then decided to go to [Jowsar] and used our guild's network to search for him, hopefully we can get some good news soon.

I also arranged a B-rank party to negotiate the detail contract for the training ground we had talked before. Let them experience your dungeon's capability before you send them home, okay?

Lastly, I'm sorry I can't come in person. The annual meeting for executive members will be held ahead of the original schedule, so I need to go.

I don't know, it's probably has something to do escalating tension at the border. You know, Fantastica has an agreement with the kingdom. We have received their support all this time, but we will need to help if a war break out.

Anyway, don't worry, it's not like the war will break right away. Besides, you know how strong I am, right? And I have the gun with me too. You won't believe how much I have gotten better with the gun.

Okay, that's all. I will visit once the meeting is over.

Your love,

Alveria

==============================

(Wait, father hasn't returned home yet? What's going on? You're not dead yet, aren't you, father?)