The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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11
Chapter 11 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
Park Jae-jung’s face broke into a satisfied smile. Our partnership had deepened through this brief exchange. He nodded toward me, then quietly opened the Steel Door and disappeared into the darkness beyond.
As the heavy Steel Door sealed shut, I found myself alone in the Management Office. Through the narrow gap, an ominous green light from the Spore Forest seeped in, casting an unsettling glow across the cramped space. With my back pressed against the wall, I closed my eyes and tried to envision the darkness Park Jae-jung had entered.
‘He has to come back safely.’
A C-rank veteran. His abilities were beyond question. But that Spore Forest was no ordinary space—it defied conventional logic. A single mistake, a moment of bad luck, and everything could end.
I forced away the anxious thoughts and focused on the changes coursing through my body. An E-rank physique now. The core energy within me flowed smoothly and powerfully, and my hearing had sharpened to the point where I could distinctly perceive the faint dripping of water and the corrosion of metal from beyond the wall. My left arm had regenerated completely, appearing even more solid and refined than before.
I clenched and unclenched my fist. Power surged through every joint of my fingers—a grip strength I couldn’t have imagined during my F-rank days. At this level, I was confident I could hold my own in close combat against most E-rank monsters.
‘But it’s still not enough.’
I faced the reality coldly. A rise in physical rank didn’t suddenly grant me the abilities of an S-rank Hunter. I remained the weakest in this perilous E-rank Dungeon. Without Park Jae-jung’s assistance, I couldn’t take a single step beyond this Management Office door.
Time passed. Ten minutes, twenty minutes… As the promised thirty minutes drew to a close, not a sound emerged from beyond the door. My anxiety began to mount.
‘Has something gone wrong?’
Instead of the ticking of the wall clock, only my own heartbeat echoed in my ears. Twenty-eight minutes, twenty-nine… As the appointed hour approached, the air in the Management Office seemed to grow thin. What if he didn’t return? All I had were a short dagger and a bottle of water. Attempting to traverse this forest alone would be suicide.
‘No. He’s a veteran. He’ll definitely come back.’
I shook my head to dispel the dark thoughts.
I settled against the wall, closed my eyes, and began to meditate, slowly circulating my core energy. I needed to calm my anxiety, stabilize my mind, and maintain peak condition. When he returned, I had to be completely prepared.
After some time had passed, I sensed a faint presence beyond the barricade. I sprang to my feet.
Creak…
Accompanied by the careful sound of metal piping being moved aside, the firmly sealed Steel Door swung open, and a familiar silhouette emerged from the shadows. It was Park Jae-jung.
“Park Jae-jung.”
I approached with a sigh of relief, but his condition didn’t look good. Fresh scratches marked his gas mask’s lenses, and his combat suit was torn in multiple places. The moment he closed the door behind him, he leaned against the wall and breathed heavily.
“Hah… hah… It was far more difficult than anticipated.”
Park Jae-jung steadied his breathing and removed his gas mask. His face was streaked with sweat and fatigue, his lips parched.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes. No serious injuries. However…”
He retrieved his water canteen and drained it in one gulp before beginning his reconnaissance briefing with a grave expression.
“The situation has changed, sir. The Watchers’ patrol patterns have shifted slightly. The perimeter around the entrance we used is now far more heavily guarded. It seems to be because of the commotion we caused earlier.”
My heart sank. That meant our escape route had become even more dangerous.
“And there’s a bigger problem. Some of the spore clusters we thought we’d eliminated are beginning to gather energy again—faintly, but definitely.”
It was shocking information. Simply pushing through wouldn’t be enough. When we had to retrace our steps, that path could transform into hell itself.
Hearing the briefing, I realized this operation’s difficulty far exceeded our initial expectations. Yet Park Jae-jung’s expression held not despair, but fierce determination.
“However, I’ve also discovered an opportunity.”
He swept dust from the floor and began sketching a rough map with the tip of his dagger.
“The Watchers’ patrol routes have blind spots, and among the spore nests, there are certain individuals whose energy grows noticeably weaker. They seem to function as relay stations, supplying energy to the boss beyond.”
His veteran’s intuition transcended mere danger detection—it pierced through to the enemy’s weaknesses and the system’s vulnerabilities.
“Therefore, I propose a new strategy.”
He paused to catch his breath, then outlined the detailed plan.
“Now that your physical abilities have reached E-rank, there’s no need to carefully eliminate them one by one as before. I’ll deploy every skill at my disposal to draw as many Watchers’ attention as possible toward the Dungeon Entrance. In that window, you’ll follow the shortest route I’ve discovered and destroy only the three nests I’ve marked. At your speed, you should complete it before they even realize what’s happening.”
If successful, we could break through fastest and most decisively. But if we failed, Park Jae-jung could find himself surrounded by dozens of Watchers, facing a horrific end.
I looked into Park Jae-jung’s eyes. He trusted me completely. He had entrusted his life to my abilities and judgment.
“What’s the success rate?”
“Fifty-fifty. Or rather, considering your abilities, I’d say it’s more like sixty-forty in our favor.”
I fell silent for a moment before responding.
“Good. Let’s go with that plan.”
We began coordinating the operational details while studying the rough map drawn on the Floor. Each person’s role, movement routes, signal methods, anticipated hazards, and emergency evacuation plans in case of failure—we had to achieve perfect synchronization without the slightest margin for error.
When all the planning was complete, silence filled the Management Office. We looked into each other’s eyes and nodded wordlessly. Gone was the previous anxiety; now our gazes burned with the resolve of comrades about to plunge together into a dangerous gamble.
Park Jae-jung rose first and shouldered the Gigas Shield once more.
“Then, shall we begin? Director.”
His voice was low but resolute. I nodded silently. The operation was already perfectly memorized. All that remained was execution.
He moved first. A shimmering aura rippled from his body as the C-rank skill [Concealment Lv.3] activated. His form faded dimly into the surrounding darkness.
Like a phantom, he moved soundlessly toward the Spore Forest entrance beyond the Steel Door, and I held my breath behind him, waiting for the signal.
Moments later, a faint metallic noise echoed from the Spore Forest entrance—the sound of small metal spheres rolling across the ground. Park Jae-jung had begun drawing the Watchers’ attention.
Crack.
Then came the muffled sound of the small mana concussion grenades he’d planted detonating. As expected, I felt several Mutant Watchers rapidly shift toward the source of the noise, even through the darkness.
‘Now.’
I didn’t even need to wait for Park Jae-jung’s signal. This was the single opportunity his perfect distraction had created. I pushed my newly acquired E-rank physical abilities to their absolute limit and burst forward from the Floor.
With my heightened agility, I dove into the Spore Forest following the blind spots Park Jae-jung had shown me. Beneath my feet, unpurified Spore Nests glowed with an ominous green light, and Watchers flew silently overhead, but I didn’t hesitate. I sprinted straight toward my objective along the shortest possible path.
First target: a Spore Nest located beneath a massive Ventilation Shaft at the midpoint of the Passage. This Nest was one of the critical relay hubs, drawing far more energy than the other surrounding Nests.
I kicked off the Ventilation Shaft’s mesh grating, stepped on a Pipeline embedded in the Wall, and reached the side of the Nest in one fluid motion. The Nest was larger than my head, and up close, it was covered in a nauseating viscous membrane. Without hesitation, I drove the tip of my E-rank Purification Dagger deep into the Nest’s root.
Shrrk.
The Nest rapidly shriveled and lost its glow. The Spore Cloud enveloping the area dispersed, and my vision cleared slightly.
‘Good. First one down.’
I immediately moved toward the next target. The second Nest was positioned atop a massive Pipeline suspended from the ceiling. Below it, unpurified Spore Cloud still hung thick. I carefully walked along the Pipeline, surveying my surroundings.
That’s when a single crimson eye flashed in the shadow of the Pipeline directly ahead. A Watcher hiding in a blind spot I hadn’t anticipated.
I saw it spot me and open its mouth to shriek. But before I could even react, a piece of metal flew from the darkness and struck precisely between its eyes. Thunk! With a dull sound, it crumpled to the ground without a sound. Then, with a sizzling hiss, its form melted away.
I glanced toward where the stone had come from and saw Park Jae-jung on a distant structure, giving me a thumbs up. He wasn’t merely drawing aggro—he was comprehending the entire space, predicting dangers before they reached me, and providing perfect cover.
I nodded to him in gratitude and quickly approached the second Nest. Just as with the first, I swiftly neutralized it with my dagger. Now only one remained: the Nest positioned before the final Passage leading to the Boss Room.
I sprinted toward the final objective. My breathing was labored, but I was far from my limit.
The final Nest came into view. But something felt wrong. Unlike the others, not a single Watcher surrounded this Nest. The silence was too complete.
‘Could it be a trap?’
I kept my guard up and approached the Nest cautiously. And when I reached its immediate vicinity, I understood the source of my unease.
The Nest itself was different. Its size was similar, but its surface was covered in a hard, shell-like coating, and dozens of small eyes glowed ominously across that shell’s surface. This wasn’t a simple Nest—it was a Mutant Watcher disguised as one.
It detected me and began emitting a sharp, piercing sound. A far higher frequency than a normal Watcher’s shriek—a dangerous signal. A rallying cry to awaken the entire species. If this sound spread, Park Jae-jung’s distraction would become useless, and I’d be trapped in the Spore Hell.
‘I have to stop it.’
Park Jae-jung was too far away. I couldn’t rely on his help this time. I threw myself directly at the creature. It shed its disguise in response, revealing sharp claws as it lunged at me.
Its speed was incomparable to a normal Watcher. But I was no longer who I had been. I barely dodged its first attack. And in that precise instant when it twisted to launch its second strike—that momentary gap.
I drove my Purification Dagger not into its hard carapace, but deep into the gaping maw it had opened to emit that piercing sound.
“Gack. Gack-gack.”
It thrashed with grotesque sounds. I gripped the dagger firmly and poured every ounce of remaining core energy into it.
Crack—
Light erupted from within the creature’s body, and it crumbled into a handful of ash. It had been a close call.
I drew ragged breaths as I approached the final Spore Nest. With deliberate care, I neutralized it using my Purification Dagger.
All the critical Nests had been eliminated. The Spore Cloud gradually dissipated, and in the distance, a Steel Door leading to the deepest reaches of this Dungeon came into view.
Moments later, Park Jae-jung approached my side.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes. Thanks to you.”
We exchanged silent nods, regarding each other. Together, we had broken through this deadly trap.
At last, we stood before the entrance to the vast chamber at the Dungeon’s deepest point—where the final boss awaited.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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