'I think I had a little too much fun watching,' Min-Jae thought, looking at the injured hunters in front of him. Even after healing, since Min Byung-Gu was injured himself, they weren't at their perfect shape yet. 'I'm ashamed. And here I thought my favorite anime character was Tanjiro Kamado.'
"More ants are coming," Choi Jong-In said. "Though, I'm sure they're not as monstrous as that one. That was probably the Ant King."
"You did really well taking that ant down and destroying the hatchery," Ma Dong-Wook said, putting his hand on Min-Jae's shoulder.
"Yeah. We probably would have died if not for you," Lim Tae-Gyu agreed.
"Don't say it like that. I was just doing what I could. Plus, it's my fault too that you guys got injured. So if anything, I should say sorry to you all," Min-Jae replied. 'Yeah, sorry for being an asshole and watching you guys get battered.'
"Don't be sorry. You did very well back there. My respect for you increased tenfold," Choi Jong-In said with a warm smile.
"Let's end the remaining ants. We can still fight enough," Baek Yoon-Ho said. Everyone nodded and followed behind him.
'My god, now I feel guilty. I should have chosen the Rent a Girlfriend universe. Power responsibility is definitely not for me.'
Cha Hae-In stayed behind, watching him carefully. "Don't feel bad. You can't save everyone. It's not your fault they got injured. You did great yourself."
'More guilt. I feel like I'm gonna die of guilt.'
---
"These are the ants that went outside. They're all coming back in now," Choi Jong-In said, using his flames to take down as many ants as he could despite his injuries. The S-Rank squad started moving toward the entrance while eliminating the ants that had gotten inside the cave.
Soon they reached the entrance. Along the way, they'd taken down all the ants, and Min-Jae had checked every room inside the cave to see if there were any ants or eggs left that might cause danger later.
As they stepped outside, Min-Jae walked forward. The helicopter they'd arrived in was already flying overhead to receive them. Ma Dong-Wook had already contacted the South Korean raid control center.
"Are you sure you're going to stay? Both of you?" Ma Dong-Wook asked Cha Hae-In and Cha Min-Jae. Originally Min-Jae had offered to stay and help to take down the remaining ants, but Cha Hae-In insisted she would stay too. She wasn't as injured or tired as the others.
Other than her sword's edge breaking, she hadn't taken much damage.
"Yes. We'll help clear the remaining ants as much as we can," Cha Hae-In replied.
After that, they climbed into the helicopter. The ramp closed, and the helicopter took off.
"I'll take the flying ants. You take down the ones on the ground," Min-Jae suggested to Cha Hae-In.
"What do you mean take the flying ants?"
As she asked, he simply levitated above the ground. "I mean this. I can do this."
"I guess there's no reason for me to be surprised by this now, after what you did back there," Cha Hae-In said, shaking her head. "Alright then."
Min-Jae levitated higher from the ground while Cha Hae-In headed in her own direction, toward where she could sense the ants.
"Be careful," Min-Jae said while levitating away.
"You too," Cha Hae-In replied with a smile.
---
For the next half hour, both Cha siblings worked on taking down the remaining ants, as did the surviving Japanese S-Ranks—well, somewhat.
Meanwhile, Min-Jae, while taking down ants one by one, reached the ship carrying the Hunter Guild's B-Team hunters, especially Han Semi. As he arrived, he dropped two flying ants heading toward the ship with ease and landed on the deck.
"Hey guys, everything going good?" he asked, standing at the side of the ship.
Everyone was taken aback by his presence at first, but then they started congratulating him and praising what he'd done in the cave.
"We watched what you did in the cave through the live broadcast. You were so awesome," one of the hunters said.
"You singlehandedly took down that Ant King like it was nothing."
"You did well, Hunter Min-Jae," Son Ki-Hoon, the B-Team leader of the Hunter Guild, said.
"Thanks, everyone. Great job," Min-Jae said. He finally spotted Han Semi among the other hunters. They exchanged brief eye contact before both looked away. "Bye. I'll check if any more ants are left."
With that, he left.
"He's so awesome."
"Yeah. He's probably above S-Rank in power."
The praise continued, which was just the start. As the whole country watched the live broadcast—including it being broadcast all over the world—Min-Jae was going to be talked about a lot from this point on.
---
It took another half hour to finish the cleanup of the ants. After that, Min-Jae and Cha Hae-In were picked up by the helicopter, which had returned for them.
The live broadcast and news of South Korea clearing Jeju Island, an S-Rank dungeon, spread across the world. The entire country celebrated the clearance of the Jeju Island dungeon, finally successful after three failed raids.
Social media buzzed with excitement and talk about the raid everywhere. The name sitting at the top of the trending list was Cha Min-Jae, the most recent S-Rank hunter of the country.
@GuildHype_KR
Cha Min-Jae carried that raid like a boss. Cool as ice the whole time. Korea's new legend. 🇰🇷 #JejuRaid
↳ @TankBro88
Reply: Dude didn't flinch once. Total respect.
@HunterCrushDaily
Cha Min-Jae??? That post-raid composure tho 😍 Fine as hell and saved the day. Bias wrecked. #ChaMinJae
↳ @SeoulGalFan
Reply: Girl, same. He's got that quiet hot vibe. Swooning. ❤️
↳ @Jennie_jj
Reply: And those eyes look so dapper. He's definitely the most handsome hunter out there. I think I have a crush. Min-Jae pick me please.
@RaidVet_JP
Watched the broadcast—Cha Min-Jae turned it around. Unfazed hero. Props from Japan. 🇯🇵🇰🇷 #JejuRaidCleared
↳ @TokyoHunterFan
Reply: Yeah, he owned it. Flashy win for Korea.
@LiSA56
Obsessed with Cha Min-Jae. Strong, calm, and cute af. Protect him forever. 🥰 #ChaMinJae
↳ @OtakuHeart
Reply: The way he just... exists. In love. 😩 I'm jealous of anyone who will be in a relationship with him.
↳ @s_a_r_a
Reply: No, he's mine only.
Min-Jae's social media followers went from about 300K to 2.6 million in a few hours.
While South Korea celebrated the success of the Jeju Island raid, the Japanese hunter situation was troubling due to the losses they sustained during this raid.
A total of six of the ten S-Rank hunters they'd sent were killed by the Ant King before it engaged Min-Jae inside the cave.
Overnight, the power balance shifted because of this incident.
As the 4th Jeju Island raid carved its name into history, Min-Jae was one of the most important figures in this piece of history, along with many other hunters.