It's subjugation time

Youngwoo slowly guided Hilda through the forest. Holding her scepter tightly, she cast Earth Dragon Ascension every minute or so, and they both faintly felt the ground shift beneath them. He asked her to make the tunnel about 3 metres underground, tall enough for just about her to stand upright and wide enough for 1 person to walk, but not much more. It would be a tunnel tight enough to cause claustrophobia even in people who didn't have one. Well, he didn't care much. It was supposed to help them clear the quest, not for comfort.

Hilda didn't object to his request once he explained his plan: create a tunnel, get bandit leader into it, escape quietly to Issar. Well, the tunnel might only lead 0,5 kilometre away from the camp, but that was more than enough. And thanks to his newly acquired skill, she didn't refuse the plan despite it being actually kind of crazy sounding. Or maybe she simply trusted him? Well, it's not like it didn't matter to Youngwoo, but he was willing to go with whatever.

[Charismatic Leadership (passive)

Rank: A

You will emanate an aura of trust and reliability. Your overall impression on everyone around you, be it friend or foe, will be increased. Your allies will tend to follow you and trust your words and plans more easily.

However, if your plans fail or your words will be proven to be false, your allies' trust in you will drop greatly.]

This was a great skill, so much so that Youngwoo wondered why it wasn't S-rank, instead. It had a somewhat serious downside, but it could be mitigated by simply thinking about what he wanted to say. He tended to overthink things anyway, so this skill worked out for him. At least, he'd have incentive to think even more.

He closed the information tab in front of him, and looked around. Him and Hilda made it about 300 metres in about 1 hour because of the amount of magic she had to expel to create the tunnel. It seemed to be taking a serious toll on her, as sweat was dripping off her, and her steps were taken in a somewhat wobbly manner.

"I think you should rest." Said Youngwoo as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No... I can keep going, Youngwoo. We need to hurry."

"We still got a few more hours. Please. There's no need to overexert yourself." He put a little pressure into his hand, and was surprised to feel nearly no resistance.

Youngwoo quickly helped Hilda down. As she sat down, she leaned by a tree, taking in a few deep breaths. Seeing her state, he frowned.

"Why didn't you say you wanted a break?" He looked at her with a little worry on his face.

"We... haah... need to carry out the plan... haaah..." She replied.

"And how will we do that if you collapse, Hilda? You're making me worry. Please, you need at least 10 minutes of rest."

"...alright." She agreed, but there was **** in her voice. She let go of her scepter and closed her eyes. She wasn't tired, per say, but exhaustion from bottoming her mana multiple times was piling up quickly. Dear, she wasn't sure if she would be able to make it to the bandit's encampment. While she wanted to keep going, there was a part of her that sighed in relief.

"What are you guys doing here?" They heard a voice. Turning their heads towards the source, they noticed Maxim come from between the trees.

However, they didn't feel relaxed. It was because he was holding a small dagger, and it looked like he was ready to throw it at any moment. His expression, while hidden in the darkness of the night, was contorted in anger. Was he following them here? It seemed like so.

"Maxim?" Youngwoo immediately got up. "Did you follow us?"

"...what are you doing, Lee?"

"We're carrying out my plan."

"Your plan?"

"We want to make a tunnel to the bandit's camp and subdue Dulan by taking him into it."

"A tunnel? You're digging a tunnel? How?"

"Hilda uses earth magic." Replied Youngwoo. "Please, Maxim. We'd never want to get along people like those bandits."

It seemed that something about what Youngwoo said made Maxim relax his posture a little. Was it effect of Charismatic Leadership? He was certain that this was the case. That skill seemed quite powerful, indeed. Well, what mattered was that Maxim hid his weapon away. He asked:

"Then why didn't you tell us?"

"Youngwoo came up with it an hour ago." Said Hilda. "You were nowhere around, and Donnie wouldn't like it."

"..."

"Maxim." Said Youngwoo. "Remember what I told you today? You're a very good person, because even in the worst like Dulan you saw good. And I want to preserve that good. I don't care if I die, I'll make sure you live."

"Lee-"

"I mean it, Savi. Between you and me, I'd choose you. You truly care for your people, and I'm just an adventurer. I have no ties to Issar. If I were to die, nobody would remember me."

"Do you not remember when I gave you that bracelet? I asked you about your name, Lee Youngwoo. It's written in a tablet in town, depicting great contributors to Issar. Do you think I could ever forgive myself if I let my benefactor die for me? Don't spew nonsense." Maxim gritted his teeth in anger, but in the darkness, his eyes glistened a little. Were those tears that appeared?

"..." Youngwo was honestly taken aback. He didn't expect Maxim to care about him that much. That man, almost a kid actually, still had quite a bit of child in him.

"So don't you dare tell me you'd choose me over you." Maxim continued. "Because just so you know, I'd choose any of you three over myself in this mission. I have an obligation to protect the people."

"..." Youngwoo grinned a little. "Then let's not let anyone get hurt, okay?"

"...?"

"What? I can see it in your eyes. You won't let us go alone even if we tried to tell you off." He rose his hand, offering a handshake. "So let's work together in here. What do you say?"

Maxim smiled lightly. This Lee guy truly was a one in a million. He shook Youngwoo's hand vigorously.

"You'll need to fill me in on your plan, Lee."

1 hour later

They had reached the camp's site. There was no more than 20 metres between them and first tents. Some sounds could be heard from the camp, but most people were now sleeping. Youngwoo spotted about 15 guards going about the camp, each one of them holding a torch.

"Alright." He turned to Hilda, who was sitting by a tree, resting a little. "Do you feel alright?"

"...yes." She replied, rising herself a bit.

"We still got about 4 hours before the sun will rise." Noted Maxim, looking at the camp. "Now, how do we go about this?"

"I think it's best if we create a tunnel directly to Dulan's hut as soon as we can." Said Youngwoo. "What do you say, Hilda?"

"I'm fine with your plan." She replied. "I'm ready to do it whenever."

"I don't think that's a wise plan." Replied Maxim.

"Why?" Asked Lee.

"The guards will surely notice us. If we want to go about this, we need to take them out."

"Hmm... won't that be a bit difficult though?"

"Not really. They're carrying torches around. Their blind spots are large. Besides, from what we know, they don't have many magicians, so they're probably asleep. That means that guards are very likely to not have any kind of night vision magic on them."

Suddenly, Hilda spoke up:

"I can knock out a guard or two per minute if I aim. If you were to blend in between them, won't you be able to take the rest of them out?"

"That could work." Nodded Maxim. "If we can lure one of them away and tie them up, we can take their torch and for others we will look like a guard until they get close. But the problem is, I only do have 5 pieces of rope on me."

"I'm fine with that one. We can always use their own equipment to tie them down. But will you be able to aim properly?" Youngwoo turned to Hilda. "Aren't you tired?"

"...this much is nothing." She replied, getting a hold of her scepter. She then stood up.

The three of them looked at each other in understanding. Yes, they now knew what they wanted to do. But, the question was, how were they going to go about it?

"I think I can lure one of them out easily." Said Maxim. "Wait for me here, and prepare for a sign, Lee." He added with a small grin. And as he dashed out, the two waiting between trees.

Youngwoo didn't unsheathe his sword, instead unfastening it together with the sheath. He held it firmly, and after about a minute or so, Maxim ran right past the two of them, going into the forest. Suddenly, he turned around and showed a sign of striking down. Taking his hint, Youngwoo took a wide side swing as he stepped out. The sheathed sword he carried struck the guard who came around cleanly in his head, instantly knocking him out. Maxim turned around and immediately snatched the torch that fell to the ground, placing it in a spot where it wouldn't burn anything.

The boy seemed to be about 16 years old. He wore large clothes, but it was visible that they were somewhat worn down. But Youngwoo turned his eyes away quickly. He knew it had to be done, but it still didn't feel right to do it. In the meantime Maxim quickly tied boy's hands and legs, and stuffed his mouth with a piece of cloth. After tying a piece of clothing around his head (to ensure he wouldn't be able to scream once he woke up), he got up. There was some clear regret in his eyes, but he seemed to think the same as Youngwoo did; it had to be done.

Hilda turned away from the scene altogether. She might've not expressed her feelings outwardly because of Calm Mind, but the two men knew that she also felt wrong with what was happening.

"I'll go and lure another one out." Said Maxim, getting a hold of torch.

"How many more?" Asked Hilda.

"If we can knock out 3 more, that should be enough." He replied, but his voice reflected how much **** he was to say that.

15 minutes later

Hilda was crouching next to one of the tents, one hand on scepter and the other on the ground. As a few long seconds passed, the earth beneath them shifted again. Youngwoo was just next to her, ensuring that she wouldn't be bothered while making the tunnel. Maxim was going about the camp, pretending to be a guard, but generally staying close to them two. There were currently no awake guards in the entire camp, as all of them were taken down.

They were fast approaching the hut. Maxim was walking around with a torch, taking a peek inside. He turned to them and showed them a thumbs up; it seemed that Dulan was asleep. Youngwoo nodded back, and they continued.

It took about 10 more minutes to reach the hut. After casting the final EDA, Hilda sighed deeply in relaxation. Indeed, she hadn't shown it before, but using her magic so much was taking a deep toll on her, both mentally and physically. And now, it was about to be finished.

"Alright. I'm almost certain they're all connected." She nodded towards Youngwoo. He gestured towards Maxim to come over.

"It is done. We can progress to phase 2." He said quietly.

"Alright." Maxim grinned in anticipation. The lossless raid was just about to finish now.

He crept towards the hut's door and stuck a dagger between the structure and its frame. As Hilda and Youngwoo approached him, he tilted the weapon, forcing the door ajar. Silently as wind, he opened the entrance, and walked in. Dulan was sleeping on the bed, covered in sheets.

Hilda took a hold of a large piece of dirt, about the size of a good apple, ready to launch it with EDA at the bandit leader. Youngwoo unfastened his sword and prepared to strike while Maxim slowly reached out. And then, he did the best he could to act.

"Lord Dulan!" He whispered loudly. "You need to get up! It's extremely urgent!"

"...what? What happened...?" The huge man arced his body to sit up. "Wai-" He didn't get to finish the sentence as Youngwoo swiped and struck him right in his face. With a broken nose, the man lost his consciousness and landed on the bed.

"Ah." Said Youngwoo, slowly fastening his sword back to his waist. "That felt good." 'That's for last time you prick.' But he didn't say the words out loud. Instead, he nodded to Hilda.

Taking her hint, she concentrated her magic, and in less than 5 seconds the ground beneath the floor was ruptured, creating a way downwards into the tunnel. In the meantime, Maxim tied Dulan's hands and stuffed his mouth in the same fashion as he did the guards before. However, he made the ties twice as thick for the bandit leader, and made them extra tight, so as to remove the possibility of him escaping easily. And then, they broke apart the floor and descended.

Hilda went first, holding the torch, and Youngwoo with Maxim carried Dulan just behind her. Youngwoo was surprised at the weigh of the man, and it seemed that neither him nor Issar's overseer would be able to carry him for very long. But, that was a trifling concern, to be honest. After Hilda sealed off the entrance, there was no way they would be followed directly. They could take their time.

25 minutes later

The tunnels she made were nearly perfectly connected, and only required a few corrections. Dulan also didn't impose any extra difficulty, as he didn't even wake up. Despite that, quite a few stops were made because of how tired Youngwoo grew. Maxim didn't seem to have much difficulty, but didn't comment on his state. During their breaks, Hilda would open the tunnel up a little, letting in some fresh air (they didn't want suffocate to ****, after all). And then, they met a dead end which didn't connect anywhere despite EDA being cast a few times. They now knew; they were close to camp and Donnie. Within a minute, they all surfaced.

Taking in the fresh air, the three of them actually sat down. Looking at the sky, Youngwoo said:

"We did it."

"...yeah." Replied Hilda, taking a deep breath herself. "It is done."

"Not quite." Riposted Maxim. "Dulan won't face justice until he is brought to Issar. From there, we will have to quickly transport him to Hol."

"MMMMPH!" Suddenly awakening, bandit leader started moving around, but was unable to untie himself immediately.

"...shut up." Said Youngwoo as he took a swing of his sheathed weapon, knocking the man out again. "But yeah, we gotta go to Issar. And we need to get our stuff as well."

"And Donnie." Added Hilda.

"Oh right, Donnie too. He could be useful."

Hilda chuckled lightly at his remark. Maxim got up quickly and did a light stretch.

"Alright, guys." He said. "I'd love to rest for longer, but as long as we stay in the forest, there's a chance that Dulan's henchmen may come around. Hell, it's probable that they woke up already and are starting a search. We need to move, fast.

"...yeah." Nodded Youngwoo. "Let's go."

In a few minutes, they carried Dulan to their camp. The wood was still red as Hilda came closer to Donnie and suddenly used EDA to shift earth underneath him. Suddenly woken up, the soldier man got up quickly in a fighting stance.

"Dragon Witch? Why ya waking me up, man?" He yawned, but stretched nonetheless. "'tis was a good dream I had."

"We came to grab you on our way out."

"Way out?" He wiped his eyes and started looking around. Suddenly, he noticed Dulan laying on the ground. "...Please tell me this ain't who I think it is."

"That's Dulan." Replied Youngwoo, picking up his and Hilda's bags. "Bandit leader."

"...Y'all are crazy!" Donnie suddenly rose his voice. "To do this without me!"

"SHHH!" Maxim hissed at the man.

"What am I, a Caesar to you, for you to stab me in the back?"

"Actually, I think that nickname would suit you." Said Youngwoo somewhat absentmindedly, to which Hilda snickered momentarily. 'Well, he did stare daggers into me in last regression after we woke up.'

The woman fixed her hair and said to Donnie:

"We didn't wake you up because we were already in middle of the plan when we thought about you. But as you can see, everything worked out."

"..." Donnie was dumbfounded, actually shocked, even.

"Oh, and one thing." Dragon Witch continued. "You're carrying him back to Issar."

"What?"

"You heard me. We carried him all the way here. You'll be fine."

Seeing that he had no chance of winning in this argument (well, the other side was Ieva's sister after all), Donnie only sighed before he walked up to Dulan. Taking note of how he was tied up, he wasted no time, and started carrying the man over his shoulder.

"That's a chunky boi." He commented, just barely able to hold his balance. "Oi, Maxim, any chance you wanna help me a bit?"

Well, to say the least, the way back was pretty uneventful. While the sleepy haze swept over everyone (except Donnie and Dulan), they still **** their way forward. Maxim was going in the front, scanning their way to find any traps, and Hilda walked right beside Youngwoo just behind him. Donnie, having some difficulty finding his balance, was **** to walk nearly 10 metres behind the group.

2 hours later

"Enemy in sight!" A soldier on the walls of Issar bellowed. Dressed in light leather armor with some metal plating (mostly on his chest, shoulders, and hips), he was doing another turn on his duty. But then, he noticed some movement in the distance, and after seeing that it was slowly approaching, he shouted towards his comrades. "Come on, on the walls!"

Among some people who were sleeping in some weird things (between themselves they called them sleeping bags) there was a man who simply leaned on a wall while sitting on hay. He had multitude of tools to dispatch of animals and humans alike, and he slept while hugging a very special bow. Didn't he say his alias was Hunter?

"Oi, Hunter!" The soldier quickly took his steps down the walls and shook the man. "We need your eagle eyes!"

"...w-what...?" The man awoke slowly. "...what the hell, man. It's nighttime, let me sleep."

"It's urgent! We need you to look!"

"..." He didn't reply. However, seeing the soldier's worried gaze, he only rolled his eyes before getting up.

Walking up the stairs leading onto the wall, he could hear some unrest happening. However, wasn't this too early for an attack? Weren't the bandits supposed to rest during the night to attack the next day? Oh well, NPCs be NPCs, they probably only pretend to be asleep. As Hunter leaned on the wall, he pinpointed the location where something was moving, about 500 metres away (it's surprising that the soldier noticed it from this distance, to be honest), and cast a spell:

"Farsight." Mana disappeared from within him, consumed to strengthen his eyes. As his irises turned blue, his vision expanded, and after a short moment, he focused on the movement approaching Issar. In a few seconds, he got a good zoom at them. "There's four men and a woman. One of the men is ****. They are armed, but I don't think they're here to fight. I think they are here to seek shelter."

"A-Alright, Hunter, I'll believe your words." Said the soldier who awoke him, and then he turned to someone else. "Send 10 men to help them out, but be wary."

"Yes sir!" The soldier who got his orders quickly walked away, intent on gathering the men.

"Are you certain about your assessment?" Asked the first one.

"Not 100%." Hunter shook his head and pulled the bowstring on his bow. "But that's why I'm gonna be ready." Whether he was awoken or woke up himself, he wouldn't sleep easily now. Not in his war zone. He could've gone back to Safe Zone with uncountable others, but he decided to stay because of one thing. 'Whoever starts earlier will secure more points.'

He's been helping around since he read the quest. After testing how well the bow performed (despite being D-rank), he wanted something more. He didn't approve of this war, but it was an occasion to get a new item for himself, so he would do whatever he could do achieve his goal. He helped around, fended off the bandits, and even managed to shoot down a bandit commander. Overall, his score was a neat 320 points. It would be difficult for others to beat his score. He observed the battlefield diligently, and a few other Hunters managed to kill a few bandits, but overall, the highest score after his couldn't be higher than 160 points.

A few minutes passed. He held the five people at the tip of his arrow, ready to release the projectile at any moment. A group of soldiers exited Issar through now open gate, and approached them carefully. However, as they met, the soldiers suddenly let out a roar. Were they fighting? No, they were... happy? Who was it?

Suddenly, a notification appeared in front of Hunter.

[A hidden quest 'Secret attack' has been finished.
Quest 'Defensive war' has finished prematurely.]

[12th floor quest is finished.
The seal blocking transmit from 12th floor has been lifted.
Transmit to floor 13 will be opened in 24 hours.
10 Hunters with highest score will be given cards according to their rank. Visit Issar's overseer, Savi Mahoney, in 12 hours to receive your rewards.]

Subsequently, in a brilliant light, Hunter saw a card appear in front of him. However, with surprise he noted the rank he placed.

[Your score: 320
Rank: 4]

...what was the meaning of this? He was the one who worked the hardest to reach this score. He almost died a few times from magician's strikes, and only managed to place 4th? No, there was something off about this... was the quest rigged?

He thought about the four people. He placed 4th, there were 5 of them, so there was something off about this. But then, he remembered one of the last lines of the 'Defense war' quest.

'Bandit leader is worth 5000 points... even if you split it between 3 people, that's over 1500 points...' Didn't that make too much sense? Just because there was another person with them didn't mean that they participated. For all that mattered, that additional person could be an NPC guide or whatever. Oh well, it didn't matter much. While he was somewhat discontent with his rank, Hunter felt good inside. Indeed, he was sick of watching people die in this war already. He had seen over 20 people lose their lives, and he was feeling ill just thinking about another bodies piling up in the fields he had hunted in on previous floor. He smiled with content. 'I'll go for my reward in the morning.' And then, he went to sleep, back to his hay bale.

Meanwhile

They walked into Issar, and let out the biggest sighs of relief in their lives. The quest wasn't difficult, but all of them were tired, even Donnie. After the soldiers took away **** Dulan (he was knocked out by Youngwoo a few times on the way), Savi turned around.

"Lee, Dragon Witch, Donnie... I don't know what to say." There were tears flowing from his eyes. He could barely contain his happiness. "Without you, we'd be **** to wait for reinforcements from Hol. I cannot imagine how many casualties would be **** because of that. Truly, no words can tell how I and all of Issar owe you."

"Lord Mahoney." Youngwoo bowed his head. "We did what was right. We, just like you, wanted to stop this war."

"Ah, Lee... I know you're adventurers from far away and want to keep the courtesy, but please. You and Dragon Witch helped us greatly already twice. I think we're beyond you calling me lord. Please, for you, it's Savi."

"We also want to thank you, Savi." Said Hilda, raising her scepter. "Without this scepter, making the tunnels could take an entire day. Success in this mission is just as much our achievement as it is yours."

"Oi, Savi." Said Donnie. "I'm a man of few words, so I'll just say that Lee is right. We did what was right." He nodded towards Issar's overseer.

Savi only smiled at their words, tears flowing non-stop.

"S-Still, we all owe you so much. Please, follow me, I'll give you your rewards."

"Savi." Said Youngwoo. Seeing the man stop and turn around, he made a little sigh. "We, better than anyone, know how tired you are. Please, get some rest first. The rewards are not important."

"*sob* T-Truly, adventurers... no, you're h-heroes... *sob* heroes of Issar. P-Please, follow me. I'll get you some rooms to sleep in."

The three people looked at each other. Seeing their exhaustion, they didn't even need to speak a word to agree with themselves. They started silently following Savi to his estate. In the meantime, Youngwoo received a notification.

[The Tower recognizes your achievements so far. You took on floors beyond your ability and managed to clear them with outstanding results.]

[Your rank in Tower has increased from F-rank to E-rank.]

He smiled inwardly. This was, indeed, very good. The higher his rank, the more likely he was to get better skills in the future from his further achievements.

[A/N: Had to add 3 last paragraphs because I'm an idiot and forgot that Youngwoo was supposed to get E-rank for 12th floor.]