1 Year Later…
Ravendawn, Hollowstone Cavern
Somewhere in the Raven province, on the edge of the great dark forest, lies an ancient cave long claimed by monsters. To adventurers, it's known as Hollowstone Cavern—a mid-tier dungeon infamous for its fast respawn cycle. Clear it once, and it refills itself like a malicious soda machine. Popular, profitable… and extremely annoying.
From the outside, it looks like an ordinary cave. But step deeper, and the paths branch again and again, winding into a labyrinth where even seasoned adventurers risk vanishing forever—unless they brought a scout, a ranger, or at least a guidance scroll.
Today, however, the dungeon isn't quietly respawning.
Today, it's shaking.
Dust falls from the ceiling. Rocks tremble. The vibrations grow stronger.
And then—
"NYAAAAAAAAAHHH, GO AWAAAAAAYYY!"
Private First Class Bella shrieks as she and Captain Irving sprint through the tunnels, chased by hundreds of enraged hobgoblins.
"SHUT UP AND KEEP RUNNING!" Irving roars back.
These hobgoblins are not the naked, rock-throwing kind. They are fully geared—armor, oversized swords, crude helmets, and—unfortunately—organized. Some even carry crossbows, firing wildly while sprinting.
Luckily for the Murican rangers, the creatures didn't know that shooting plus running doesn't equal accuracy. But it still makes the Muricans scared shitless.
"CAPTAIN, FASTER! THEY'RE SHOOTING ARROWS!" Bella screams, already far ahead.
"YOU RUN FASTER!" Irving shoots back, "I'm the one carrying Sleeping Beauty over here!"
He jerks his chin at the unconscious girl slumped over his back.
"KOVALSKI! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? WE'RE BEING CHASED BY A WHOLE DAMN TRIBE!" Bella yells into her comm.
Hollowstone Cavern Entrance
"What do you mean, 'Where am I?' Of course I'm still waiting outside." Specialist Kovalski replies lazily over comms.
He's leaning against the humvee outside, cap pulled low, sniper rifle across his chest. The picture of a "resting sniper"—calm, mysterious, and annoyingly photogenic.
Click.
Bella gasps. "WAS THAT A CAMERA!? DID YOU JUST TAKE A SELFIE!?"
"Uhh… no?" Kovalski says, quickly glancing at the phone on a tripod aimed directly at him.
"I HEARD IT! YOU'RE DOING THAT STUPID 'LONE SNIPER' PERSONA FOR PAINSTAGRAM AGAIN!"
"It's not stupid. Chicks dig it," Kovalski says, already uploading with hashtags: #sniperlife #resting #lonelybutdeadly
"YOU CAN FOOL THOSE CITY GIRLS, BUT NOT ME! EVERY WOMAN ON BASE CALLS YOU A—"
"BOTH OF YOU, CUT IT!" Captain Irving interrupts. "BELLA, TAKE THE NEXT LEFT!"
Inside the Cavern
"LEFT AGAIN—WE'RE CLOSE!"
Bella skids around the corner and spots it—a large boulder with something tucked behind it.
"There! Big rock!" Irving shouts.
They dash behind it. Bella grabs the hidden detonator. Irving arrives seconds later with the unconscious girl.
"NOW!" he orders.
Bella twists the detonator.
BOOOOOOOM!
The tunnel behind them erupts, rock and dust blasting outward. The boulder shields them from debris. When the smoke clears, the hobgoblin horde is gone—replaced by a massive pile of rubble.
---
A short walk later, Bella sighs.
"I still can't believe I lost my machine guns," Bella groans. "How do I explain this to the supply sergeant?"
"Tell him you were an idiot who brought a giant gun into a narrow cave and find it more useful as a doorstop while being chased by monsters," Irving answers dryly.
"Ughhh… this'll wreck my paycheck." Bella sighs dramatically. "Join the adventurers, they said… It'll be fun, they said… the quest is easy for rangers, they said…"
"You know when the cute receptionist said 'ranger.' She meant the fantasy class, not the 75th Ranger Regiment," Kovalski adds through comms.
"You were WITH me when I applied! You could've said something—oh wait, you were busy flirting with the other cute receptionist! What was it? Hot date before the quest?"
"…and after." Kovalski replies proudly.
"WHERE IS YOUR WORK ETHIC?! CAPTAIN, he's breaking something, right?!"
"As long as he doesn't kill or injure anyone without consent," Irving answers casually.
"See? I'm innocent," Kovalski says smugly. "I don't even try to suck the girl dry. If anything, they suck me."
"EEEW—STOP!" Bella yelps.
She turns a corner and freezes.
"Uhh, Captain… dead end."
Irving sighs. "Backtrack. We'll find another route."
Bella pulls out her hand-drawn map, squinting at the confusing lines. Navigating this cave is a nightmare.
Then-
Kree go as soomm fa ttoorr
Goblin chatter.
Six wild goblins appear, blocking the path.
"Oh shit." Bella raises her sidearm.
Traak sona bolg pak koo fur!
The goblin leader snarls.
"Hi! We're just about to leave… can you let us pass?" Bella tries weakly.
Gooo rag! Vutas zar loo vari!!
"Can we be friends? .. I have so many goblin friends from high school," she whispers desperately.
"Unless you speak goblin, save your breath," Irving mutters.
KRRAAAKK SOOGG!!
Two goblins lunge.
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG
Bella drops both. She points her gun at the others—
Click. Click.
"Captain… spare mags???"
"I told you, I'm dry." Irving sets down the unconscious girl and draws his combat knife. "Get ready for melee."
"M-melee… got it." Bella shakily raises her knife.
"Fly over them and flank."
"Uhh… Captain… I—I can't fly when I'm scared!"
"You've been killing them all day!"
"That was with guns! Being CLOSE to them is terrifying!"
"Didn't you say you were friends with them in high school!?"
"YES, but they were ALSO my high school bullies! Goblin cheerleaders are mean!"
The remaining goblins advance, circling.
Then-
Whooosh. Stab.
A dagger flies from the darkness, piercing one goblin's heart.
Another goblin tries to react but is met with a clean decapitating slash—green blood spraying.
Two remain, stepping back from the shadows as footsteps echo toward them.
Tap… Tap… Tap…
A lone adventurer emerges from the shadows, clad in battered silver armor, round shield, short sword, and a full helm with a single glowing red "eye."
"Silver helm… red plume… I've seen his picture at the guild…" Bella gasps. "That's the famous B-rank adventurer—THE GOBLIN DOOMER!"
KRIEEEEE!
One goblin leaps. The adventurer blocks effortlessly and impales it. The last goblin seizes the chance to strike, knocking the adventurer's sword from his grip.
Kekekeke-
It cackles.
But the adventurer does not hesitate, and pulls out a Beretta M9.
BANG BANG BANG
Two in the chest. One in the head.
Bella blinks. "…eh?"
The adventurer turns, aims at the wounded goblin still writhing—
BANG BANG
Double tap. Clean execution.
He reloads, does a stylish one-handed press-check like John Wick, then holsters the pistol—
Bella and Irving: "…EHHHH!?"
Then-
"Hi guys! You okay?" says the adventurer in an unmistakably girly, cheerful voice.
"IVY!?"
"Who else?" Ivy giggles, posing proudly.
Bella tackles her in a hug. "IVYYYY, those goblins were scaring me!"
"You? A vampire? Scared of goblins?"
"It's a long story… What's with the getup?"
"Oh, this? Found it on a dead adventurer. Really handy for a cave run!" Ivy says, proudly spinning the short sword.
"What about the other hostage?" Irving asks.
"When we find the path to the exit, I told him to continue by himself. He's supposedly with Kovalski now."
"And the glowing red eye?"
"Oh! Wait—helmet off—ugh—stupid strap—there!"
A GoPro dangles over her right eye, blinking red.
"I couldn't fix it with the helmet on. Super uncomfortable."
"Aaahh," Bella and Irving say flatly.
Hollowstone Cavern Entrance
The team escapes safely. The unconscious girl is loaded into the Humvee, the former hostage sits nearby, still trembling.
"Next time, YOU come inside with us," Bella snaps at Kovalski.
"As long as I can use my sniper rifle, sure," he shrugs.
Bella growls. "I'm filing complaint about this squad arrangement!"
"Talk to General Hanz," Kovalski replies. "He handpicked us. Right, Captain?"
Irving ignores them—too busy counting gold and valuables from the dungeon.
Kovalski whistles. "Nice haul, sir."
"Hey—GoPros off?" Irving asks sharply.
"Off," says Kovalski.
"Same here," adds Bella.
"Good. The audience doesn't need to see this part."
"Audience or higher-ups?" Ivy smirks, now back in normal clothes.
"Kekeke, you know the answer."
"Kekeke, we have to surrender quest rewards," Ivy says, "but nobody said anything about dungeon loot."
"Kekeke, even with my gun deductions, I still made double," Bella grins.
"Kekeke, few more quests and I'm going wild in Lost Vegas," Kovalski adds.
The whole squad erupts:
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Dawn, Murica Embassy
"Everything will be confiscated." Hannya says coldly.
"EEEEEHH?"
The whole squad freezes.
"And I've spoken with your commander. The three of you will serve ten days confinement at Dawn Base. MPs?"
Military police storm in. Everyone except Ivy is cuffed and dragged out.
"IVYYY VISIT USSS!" Bella wails.
Silence returns.
"And you," Hannya says, turning to Ivy, "are lucky you're not military even though you've been trained by them. That's the only reason you're not joining them."
Ivy lowers her head solemnly.
"But then again, you already know that. That's why you're pulling this stunt. "
"W-what? Me? Nooo, I'd never—it was the captain—hehe…" Ivy laughs nervously.
"Save it." Hannya glares. "I know Captain Irving isn't the mastermind. You just cleverly putting hints in his head until he got the ideas."
"Ehehe… oops?"
"Toilet duty. Fifteen days."
"Noooo… Yes, ma'am…" Ivy sulks out.
Moments later, the side door opens.
Stan enters with a chuckle. "Heh. That Ivy girl has gotten livelier than she was a year ago."
"She cleverly uses that persona to hide her deceitful nature," Hannya replies.
"That's why you were the one assigned to leash her and her misfit party. Still… they're more entertaining in person, though."
"You watch their series?"
"Of course. It's Belphy's biggest hit—'Murican Adventurer Party.' Distributed to every friendly country to promote demon-non-demon cooperation. I binge-watched the whole thing."
"You really have nothing to do, do you?" Hannya says flatly.
"It's true…" Stan sighs. "Ever since Solo passed the Building World Peace policy, things have been slow. Everything now is Levi and Mo's department. My inspection trip here is basically a vacation."
Ever since Solo and Lilith visited, the Ravendawn cleverly reinvented Dawn as a demon-tourism hotspot—new port, airport, and resorts—the region has become Murica's equivalent of Hawaii, humming with tourists and revenue.
"I heard Belphegor's office had the toughest year," Hannya adds.
"Heh. Only Solo could make a sloth like Belphy work overtime. But credit where it's due—the results are incredible."
He gazes out the window, seeing demons and other races naturally crowding the street.