Next Day
Cha Min-Jae woke up around 9 AM, took his time getting ready, and left the apartment at 10. The destination: Hunter Association Headquarters, where the pre-raid warmup for Jeju Island was scheduled.
His real motivation wasn't the warmup exercises, though. He wanted to find out if Sung Jin-Woo was joining the raid, and to size up the Japanese hunters—especially the famous Goto Ryuji and his team from Japan's top guild.
According to the news, a total of ten S-Rank hunters from Japan would participate, representing their country's strongest forces.
Traffic was light for a weekday morning, and Min-Jae made good time. When he pulled into the Hunter Association parking area, he spotted a familiar figure near the entrance.
"Hello, Hunter Cha Min-Jae. I thought I was the only one running late," Choi Jong-In said with a slight smile, adjusting his glasses.
"Forgot to set an alarm," Min-Jae replied, falling into step beside him as they headed toward the entrance. "Nuna probably got here early. She's likely already inside."
"Yes, she arrived about an hour ago."
They entered the headquarters and were immediately directed to the training facility nearby. Min-Jae could sense it before they even reached the doors—a heavy concentration of magical energy emanating from inside. Multiple powerful presences, all gathered in one place.
They'd already started the warmup.
"Hunter Baek Yoon-Ho is getting slightly pushed back."
The voice came from just ahead, near the entrance to the training area. Min-Jae and Choi Jong-In walked forward, and Min-Jae's eyes immediately locked onto the speaker.
*Sung Jin-Woo.*
He looked completely different in person than he had on screen. Taller somehow, more intense. The quiet confidence radiating from him was palpable even from several meters away.
"But if Baek Yoon-Ho were to give it his all, Ma Dong-Wook wouldn't stand a chance," Choi Jong-In said, responding to the observation as they approached.
Sung Jin-Woo turned, his sharp eyes taking them in. Standing beside him was Chairman Go Gun-Hee, the elderly but still imposing leader of the Hunter Association.
"It's been a while, Sung Jin-Woo," Choi Jong-In said warmly.
"Nice to meet you finally, Sung Jin-Woo. Chairman," Min-Jae added, nodding respectfully to both.
'I wonder if he's even heard about the 11th S-Rank yet. He's been pretty disconnected from newses probably.'
The Chairman acknowledged the greeting with a nod. Sung Jin-Woo, however, looked at Min-Jae with obvious confusion—the expression of someone encountering a complete stranger who was addressing them familiarly.
That answered Min-Jae's question. 'He has no idea who I am.'
Noticing Sung Jin-Woo's confusion, Choi Jong-In smoothly intervened. "This is Hunter Cha Min-Jae, Hunter Sung. The 11th S-Rank hunter in the country, announced shortly after you."
Understanding flickered across Sung Jin-Woo's face. "Hunter Cha? That means..."
"Yes," Choi Jong-In confirmed before he could finish. "The brother of Hunter Cha Hae-In, the 9th S-Rank."
Sung Jin-Woo stepped forward and extended his hand. Min-Jae took it firmly, noting the controlled strength in the grip—neither trying to dominate nor giving ground. A mutual assessment.
The four of them turned their attention to the training floor below.
The facility was massive, with a sunken arena surrounded by observation areas. Down in the center, two figures were engaged in intense combat—Hunter Baek Yoon-Ho, guild master of the White Tiger Guild, and Ma Dong-Wook, guild master of the Fame Guild. Around them, other S-Rank hunters watched from the sidelines, including Cha Hae-In.
"You said Hunter Baek Yoon-Ho isn't giving his all, but why would he hold back against Ma Dong-Wook? That's not someone you can afford to slack off against," Sung Jin-Woo asked.
"It's hard to use your full strength when this many eyes are watching," Choi Jong-In explained. "Hunter Baek Yoon-Ho turns into a real beast when he transforms. Quite literally. It's... difficult to witness."
Min-Jae's eyes drifted to the opposite side of the facility, where a group of unfamiliar hunters stood watching—clearly not Korean. "Are those the Japanese hunters?"
"Yes," Chairman Go Gun-Hee answered. "Ten S-Rank hunters from Japan's Draw Sword Guild. Their guild master, Goto Ryuji, is standing at the front."
Min-Jae studied them with interest. 'New characters. If this were still the anime, this would be my first introduction to them.' His gaze lingered on a young woman casually eating candy near the back of their group. 'She's cute.'
Movement caught his attention—Cha Hae-In had looked up from the sparring match and spotted their group. Min-Jae gave a small wave. She rolled her eyes in response, the message clear: *You're late.*
Min-Jae turned his attention to another developing situation. On the opposite side of the arena, voices were rising—an argument between what looked like a translator and Park Jong-Soo, the guild master of the Fiend Guild. The confrontation was escalating quickly.
"Looks like things are getting interesting," Min-Jae murmured.
The argument transformed into action. The two men squared off, establishing rules on the spot—first person to get their wrist grabbed loses. The fight was brief but intense, with Park Jong-Soo clearly having the upper hand despite both being A-Rank. Within moments, he'd secured the grab.
Park Jong-Soo won.
Goto Ryuji stepped forward, his presence commanding immediate attention. "To deepen our trust with each other, I have something I'd like to offer." His translator conveyed the words smoothly. "Using the same rules—how about dueling between our S-Rank hunters? Japan versus Korea."
'He's challenging us to prove ourselves,' Min-Jae thought. 'I'm definitely in for this.'
He noticed Sung Jin-Woo and the Chairman were already heading down the stairs to the arena floor, while Choi Jong-in seemed to walk away somewhere again.
"Alright," Chairman Go Gun-Hee said, his voice carrying authority despite his age. "But only if non-combat type hunters who are hard to distinguish victories from are excluded."
Min-Jae descended the stairs, catching up to the group just as the terms were being finalized. "Means no mage types?" he asked.
"Yes, that's correct. No mage-type hunters," the Chairman confirmed.
Min-Jae rolled his eyes internally. 'Great. So I'm benched from the start. And here I thought this would be interesting. The actual combat-capable mages like Nuna might get to participate though.'
Both sides quickly established additional ground rules—no lethal attacks, matches end with clear surrender or incapacitation, healers on standby.
The format was decided: 4v4, with four S-Rank hunters from each side.
Min-Jae crossed his arms, watching the selection process with mild disinterest.
'How boring,' he thought. 'I came all this way just to watch other people spar.'
Still, at least he'd confirmed one thing—Sung Jin-Woo was here. Now he just needed to find out if the man was actually joining the Jeju Island raid.
That would determine everything.