Time to assess the situation, and plan a bit

Youngwoo, Hilda and Donnie walked through the town that used to be a small village. Now it was at least 4 times the size, and nearly all the buildings that they could somewhat recognize had been renovated since they last saw them. Most notably, there were nearly no fully wooden buildings anywhere. Nearly all those that were standing had only wooden supports, and some kind of rock-cement mix filling between. Donnie punched a wall lightly. It didn't budge.

"Whatever caused that." He pointed forward. On a crossroad near them, there was a sign of something heavy landing, and a similar hard wall was downed in one of the buildings right thereafter. "Must've thrown a boulder to break through those walls."

"So, they have siege weapons?" Asked Hilda.

"Probably." He nodded. "Seeing as there are stones all around, I think it was a trebuchet." [trebuchet: A type of medieval siege weapon, using counterweight to launch objects at far distances. Used for sieges. Link.]

Walking forward, they took note how the fight on the walls was calming down. It seemed that for now, the situation was about to calm down. Youngwoo took note of who he could see on the walls. And there was a man that seemed familiar. Yes, indeed, when the rewards for 11th floor were given out, he was there, he received a bow. Didn't he say his alias was Hunter? Well, it must've been just a quickly made one, but seeing as the man was quickly pulling the bowstring and releasing arrows one after another, it did seem fitting.

And then, as they reached main square of the town, they noticed a few people stand around a large table. On the table, there was a map of Issar and nearby terrain. Standing by the table, there was a tall, young, blonde man who was discussing with some people. Looking at the way they were dressed, almost everyone were Hunters, safe for the blonde man and 2 people closes to him, visibly acting as his bodyguards.

Youngwoo immediately recognized the man. It was Savi Mahoney. He now looked at least 5, 6 years older than he was on 11th floor. Indeed, he was now about 21, maybe a little older. Even though he wore armor, there were signs of him severely working out, as muscles on his hands were toned, and his posture was strong. He was about 180 cm tall now. And now, he was arguing with the Hunters.

"Lord Mahoney." Said one of them. "This will get harder and harder every day, but we have ****. We need to wait for reinforcements from Hol to arrive."

"It's going to get harder, yes!" Savi replied, visibly angry. "That's why we should strike exactly at them!" He placed his finger on a map, presumably at the spot where bandit's encampment was.

"Lord Mahoney, we barely have enough manpower to hold the walls! You can't just form a party to charge at the enemy's base! There are hundreds of them! We stand no chance!"

"And neither do we, sitting around and defending! How many of our men have to die because of your tardiness and fear?! Adventurers, I understand that you wish to protect Issar at all costs, but I'm telling you, that is the way to go! We need to strike!"

The argument kept going for some more minutes. Savi was clearly standing by his point of view, but it was clear nobody supported his plan. Still, it looked like he was ready to charge into this mission on his own. Truly, he might've been a ruler of this estate, but he clearly cared about the people. Youngwoo saw it: there was a good reason he was appointed to this position at age of 16.

Savi was red on his face with anger. His hands shaking, he just barely suppressed the urge to yell at everyone present, and instead stormed off somewhere on his own, telling his guards to stay and discuss the defense with the gathered Hunters. Hilda looked at Youngwoo, who reciprocated the look.

"That's our chance." He said. "If we want to finish the quest early, I'm 100% sure we have to speak with Savi."

"Yes, it seems like he will lead a separate expedition. It'd be wise to join him if we want to clear the floor quickly."

"Wait, you guys ain't serious, are ya?" Asked Donnie. "That plan's suicide."

"I don't think it is." Replied Hilda. "The Tower wants Savi Mahoney to be alive to allow entry to floor 13. So it's clear that he won't allow an expedition that won't be able to succeed. He might seem hot-headed, but I'm sure the Tower put some oil in his head as well."

"Besides." Said Youngwoo. "Worst case scenario, we'll simply be turned down. It's worth a shot to me."

Donnie didn't say a word more, deciding to simply follow the two who went after Savi. He remembered what he promised to Ieva he'd do. He promised to keep an eye on Youngwoo and try to dig up some info from him.

Meanwhile Youngwoo and Hilda were chasing after Savi. Finally closing in the distance, the man shouted:

"Lord Mahoney, please wait!"

"...?" Still visibly angry, Savi turned around. "What is it, adventurers?"

"We'd like to help you. We want to attack the enemy base."

"...?!" Light suddenly rekindled in his eyes. "Are you serious, adventurers?"

"Yes." Nodded Hilda. "We wish for you to tell us where the enemy encampment is."

"Hmm... adventurers. I think you may stand a chance, but... I'm not sure if this is a mission for just four."

"...four?" Asked Youngwoo.

"Do you think I'll let you commit a suicidal mission on your own? It is my idea to go there, so it's natural I'll go with you. Still, I think just four may be a little low..."

"We are strong enough." Stated Hilda. "Please believe in us."

"I want to adventurers, but... I don't know who you are."

"Do you really not remember people who helped Issar a few years ago?" Asked Youngwoo, taking out a silver bracelet. "You gave this to us as a reward. And this scepter." He pointed to Hilda's bag, where half of the magic weapon was pointing out from."

"That bracelet..." Savi focused his eyes on the item. Clearly, he was recognizing the gemstones in it. He suddenly rose his hand and inspected his wrist. There was a very similar one in there. "And that scepter... created by a dwarven craftsman... My... Haha..." He laughed. "Excuse my blind eyes. You are the two who both scored rank one. My, it's been almost 6 years. How have the items fared, adventurers?"

"They're excellent." Replied Youngwoo. "We thank you once again for them. And we wish to help you, Lord Mahoney."

"Ah... this is ecstatic!"

"...?" Youngwoo looked at Hilda, a little surprised. She didn't seem to understand, either.

"The great adventurers have returned! Ahaha!" Savi threw his hands in the air. "Please, adventurers, if you wish to help me attack the enemy's base, please come to my home in 1 hour. I'll do the preparations!"

"...Very well." Youngwoo bowed to Savi a little, trying to show as much courtesy as he could.

Savi Mahoney changed his attitude quickly, and was walking with a brighter expression than before. Indeed, one could still see bits of his childish attitude from when he was much younger. He quickly made his way through somewhat destroyed streets, and disappeared behind a corner. Meanwhile, the three that were still standing received a new quest.

[You received a hidden quest!]

[Quest name: Secret attack]
[*Hidden quest*]

[Savi Mahoney wants to set off with surprise attack on enemy's encampment. He will lead you there, so help him!]
[Objective: Find the bandits' encampment and kill or subdue their leader.]

[Quest rewards: Bandits will be unable to cooperate anymore, and the quest 'Defensive War' will finish prematurely. Savi Mahoney will give you a special reward. Spoils of war belong to those that obtained them.
Transmit to floor 13 will be unlocked.]
[*For this quest to be completed, Savi Mahoney MUST survive.]

'... this will be a difficult quest.' Thought Youngwoo as he looked at Hilda and Donnie. She didn't seem too surprised, but the man looked like his eyes were about to go out of their sockets.

"This is nuts." He said. "This is like Suicide Squad, but even worse! There's hundreds of bandits, and only four of us! Come on guys, y'all have to think about this calmly. There is no way we can succeed in this!"

"Tower wouldn't give a quest that can't be cleared." Said Youngwoo. "I'm sure some kind of handicap will be placed on bandits. And besides, I'm pretty confident we can finish it."

"Y'all are crazy."

"Feel free to help the city."

"No way, man. I promised to keep Dragon Witch safe."

"...so be it." Replied Youngwoo. He then turned to Hilda. "What do we do now?"

"I think we should just go and wait for Savi. Is there anything else we need to do for now?"

"...I don't think so. Let's just wait for him there."