The Next Day, At Hunters Guild Headquarters
"So, you're asking to create a C-Team?" Choi Jong-In asked after Min-Jae had explained everything to him.
"Nope, I want a special team. C-Team sounds like... weak," Min-Jae replied, leaning forward and resting his hand on the desk. "Plus, I heard that Hunter Sung Jin-Woo is creating his own guild too. His headquarters won't be far from here. So the Hunters Guild will have competition. Having a special team would be better, right?"
Choi Jong-In paused for a moment, adjusting his glasses as he processed the information. Then he nodded slowly. "You're right. And to be honest, I was also thinking about something along those lines, though I didn't specifically consider creating a new team."
"Yeah, now you can think about it," Min-Jae said, leaning back in his chair.
"That would work perfectly," Choi Jong-In said, his usual composed smile forming. "The A Team will still be the main team and B Team will be second, but when both are unavailable, the special team can—"
"Nope. Not a chance," Min-Jae cut him off. "That sounds bad, like I'm filling someone else's shoes. I don't want to fill someone else's shoes. I want to *be* the shoe."
Choi Jong-In blinked, clearly thrown off by the analogy. "Huh?"
"I mean, you know what I mean, right?"
Choi Jong-In stared at him for a second, then let out a small chuckle. "I do. Don't worry." He cleared his throat and continued, "We've hired new hunters recently, so you can pick or recommend hunters you want for your team if you'd like."
"Of course. Though I'll give one or two names, but to be honest, even D-Ranks will be enough. I mean, they'll be there to fill the compulsory headcount for a raid."
"Sure," Choi Jong-In replied with a slight nod.
Min-Jae stood up from his seat. "I'll leave then. Thanks."
"Wait... Hunter Min-Jae," Choi Jong-In called out as Min-Jae turned toward the door. "Have you received any offers from any guilds, from within the country or outside?"
It was a valid concern. At the moment, Min-Jae's name was being talked about globally, and it wouldn't be surprising for big guilds internationally to try poaching him away.
Min-Jae shook his head. "Nope. Plus, the Hunters Guild is currently managing these things on my behalf, so you'd be the first to know if I actually get an offer." He kept a slight smile on his face as he explained.
Choi Jong-In seemed relieved. "Right. Thanks."
Min-Jae gave a small nod and turned back toward the door, heading out of the office.
---
The Next Day
Min-Jae was scheduled to do a raid with the B-Team. They'd finally been assigned an A-Rank gate again after the incident a little over a week ago, where Sung Jin-Woo had needed to step in and save them.
Because Min-Jae was there now, the guild master trusted they could clear an A-Rank easily.
He got ready in his usual outfit—unusual to wear for a raid most of the time, but he couldn't care less. He walked down the stairs wearing a simple black and white jacket to match his hair color.
"You have a raid today?" Cha Hae-In asked. She was sitting at the dining table, fork in hand, halfway through her breakfast.
"Yes, my second and last raid with this team."
"Did you eat breakfast?" She set down her fork and looked at him with a knowing expression.
"Nope. I told the team that it would be my treat for them after working together for... one raid, and this second raid."
She raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you treat them for lunch instead of breakfast then?"
"Well, it'll be lunchtime when we finish the raid and everything, so it's a lunch treat." He shrugged casually.
"So you *can* take your breakfast?"
"Nope. I'll be late." He grabbed his keys from the counter.
She stood up from her seat, having finished her meal. "You just need a reason for skipping breakfast, don't you?" There was a hint of exasperation in her tone, but her expression remained calm.
"Well, you know me so well, Sis." Min-Jae grinned.
"Are you going somewhere too?" he asked, noticing she was already dressed to go out.
"Yes. And you need to give me a lift."
"Hmm, sure. But what about your car?"
"It's in the garage for repairs."
Min-Jae frowned slightly. "Repairs? But didn't you send your car for repairs last week?"
"Oh, stop with the interrogation," she said, walking past him toward the door.
Min-Jae followed, raising an eyebrow. 'What's wrong with her all of a sudden? Maybe the bad weather is catching up.'
---
Moments later, after dropping Hae-In at her destination, Min-Jae took a U-turn to head to the raid location. But to his surprise, even for his second raid, the number of reporters was nothing less than the first one—in fact, it was more. Probably because his fame had increased after the Jeju Island raid.
Not just reporters either. Fans too. It took about five minutes for Min-Jae to navigate through the crowd and get inside the raid area to meet his teammates. Though if he'd wanted to, he could have just flown over and gotten in—but that would mean ignoring the reporters and fans, which wouldn't turn out good for anyone.
"Welcome, Hunter Min-Jae. We were waiting for you."
As soon as he walked in, he received greetings from everyone—including the mining team and porters.
After a few moments, the raid team entered the gate. It took about eight minutes to clear everything except the dungeon boss. They walked back out for the mining team to do their work.
"You didn't greet me," Min-Jae said as he spotted Han Semi standing slightly apart from the group.
She didn't look up, her eyes glued to her phone screen. "Well, you said we're friends. I don't need to greet you differently."
Min-Jae smiled slightly. "Wow. That's huge growth for you to call us friends by yourself." He walked closer. "Still, it isn't good to speak to your friend while looking at the screen."
She finally tilted her phone toward him. "You heard? Hunter Sung Jin-Woo is creating his own guild. The news just confirmed it."
"I know. It's been rumored for a while."
"He's such a powerful person, and now he's even creating his own guild," she said, a note of admiration in her voice. Then she paused. "But I don't understand why he didn't join the Jeju Island raid."
Min-Jae crossed his arms. "Everyone has their own reasons, right? He probably had a very good reason for it."
"I know. But he was criticized heavily by the media and people on social media." She frowned slightly, concern flickering across her face.
"Well, it doesn't matter. Social media is filled with people who are frustrated with their own lives anyway. They try to make themselves happy by looking down on others who are, in reality, far above them." His tone was casual but carried a note of disdain.
Han Semi looked at him with mild surprise. "Wow, you have a strong opinion about social media. Even though social media is speaking all good things about you."
"Well, do you think I'm someone who needs validation from someone else to know I'm doing good? Or that I did good?" He glanced at her.
"Nope." She shook her head.
"Then I'd say you know me well." He smiled.
After that, the two had a short, casual conversation until the mining team finished their work. When they were done, the raid team entered back to finish off the dungeon boss.
It took about five minutes—or rather, it took Min-Jae five minutes. The team had asked him to show the technique he'd used to defeat the Ant King, so he obliged, using Hollow Purple to completely obliterate the boss in the blink of an eye.
"Do you think it'll be a problem if we don't bring the corpse of the dungeon boss?" Min-Jae asked as they walked out of the gate.
Son Ki-Hoon scratched the back of his head. "I'm sure it wouldn't be a big issue, to be honest."
"Then it's your treat, Hunter Min-Jae!" one of the hunters said enthusiastically.
"Yeah. There's a restaurant nearby that's really good. Let's go there," a male hunter suggested.
Another hunter waved dismissively. "Nope. Don't you think that's a bit cheap? Let's go to a slightly more expensive restaurant at least."
"Are you guys trying to rip off Hunter Min-Jae or something?" someone else joked.
Min-Jae watched their conversation and argument with a smile tugging at his lips. Even though it had only been a week and two raids, he'd definitely remember a few faces from here.
But suddenly, Min-Jae's eyes narrowed. He felt a wave of magical energy nearby—it was giving off energy similar to a gate, but somehow different, which he couldn't describe. But according to the reports, there wasn't supposed to be any raid or gate opening in the near vicinity as far as he knew.
Han Semi noticed his reaction first. She stepped closer, her expression turning serious. "Is there a problem?"
"Well. I don't think so, at least," he muttered, still focused on the sensation.
Then he turned toward the team, his casual demeanor returning. "Well, guys. I have something important to do, it seems."
Their faces fell slightly.
"But don't worry." He raised a hand reassuringly. "Pick a restaurant you all decide on and send me the location. I'll be there in about thirty minutes."
Before anyone could respond, he teleported out of their sight, vanishing in an instant.
The team stood there in stunned silence for a moment.
"...Did he just teleport?" one of them finally said.
"Yeah," Son Ki-Hoon said slowly, still staring at the spot where Min-Jae had been standing. "He just did."