The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 12

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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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12
Chapter 12 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
I had breached the Forest of Death Spores, yet there was no time to savor victory. Before me stood the final gate leading to the deepest reaches of the Dungeon.
Unlike the Steel Doors from before, this one was far larger and emanated an ominous aura. Dark crimson light seeped through the cracks, and a biting wave of corrupted energy rolled outward, making every hair on my body stand on end. It felt like the entrance to hell itself.
“It’s in there.”
Park Jae-jung swallowed hard, his voice trembling with tension that even a C-Rank veteran couldn’t hide.
We paused to catch our breath. Park Jae-jung retrieved the last Core Energy Potion from his bag.
“Let’s split it.”
He divided the potion in half and handed me one bottle. The liquid was cold on my tongue, but as it slid down my throat, warmth spread through my entire body. I felt energy refilling my depleted Core circuits. Yet against the overwhelming presence emanating from beyond that door, it felt woefully insufficient.
We performed one final equipment check. Park Jae-jung’s Gigas Shield had been repaired, but the scars of battle remained visible across its surface. I steadied my senses once more, acclimating to my newly elevated E-Rank body. My movements felt lighter and my reflexes sharper, but instinctively, I knew it wouldn’t be enough.
“We could die in there, sir.”
His voice was quiet, but his eyes remained unwavering. He had already steeled his resolve.
“I didn’t come here to die.”
I met his gaze directly.
“I came here to win.”
A faint smile crossed his lips, and he nodded silently. No further words were necessary.
Together, we placed our hands on the cold Steel Door. A peculiar vibration transmitted through my palms—rhythmic, like the heartbeat of some colossal creature.
Our eyes met. He nodded.
“One, two, three.”
At Park Jae-jung’s count, we pushed with all our strength.
Creeeeak.
The door, sealed for so long, groaned open slowly.
This was the heart of the Chemical Complex Underground. A dome far more massive and overwhelming than any space we had traversed. But it was different from before. An endless expanse of dark crimson Acidic Lake bubbled and churned, consuming the entire chamber with nowhere to stand.
From the ceiling, grotesque organic growths hung like stalactites, casting a sickly red glow across the lake’s surface. The air was thick with a pungent stench that burned the eyes and nose, saturated with high concentrations of corrupted energy that stung the skin. It felt as though I had stepped into the stomach of some titanic beast.
And in the heart of this hell, a massive island of writhing flesh loomed, regarding us like a king upon a throne.
The Corrupted Slime Lord.
A colossal upper torso rising from the mire—a fallen monarch. Its head wore a grotesque crown of tangled steel pipes, and from its faceless visage, only crimson eyes blazed with malevolent light. The corrupted core pulsing at its center resembled a black hole, drawing in all the curses of this Dungeon.
At the center of its chest, a massive core—the source of all corruption in this Dungeon—beat irregularly like a diseased heart. This creature was at least high C-Rank, perhaps even beyond.
“Good God.”
Park Jae-jung gasped and instinctively raised his Gigas Shield, positioning himself in front of me.
We stood frozen in the narrow entrance Passage, unable to move rashly. The Boss loomed a hundred meters away in the center of the Acidic Lake, with no visible path to reach it.
Park Jae-jung drew a small steel sphere from his waist and hurled it toward the lake with all his might.
Ssshhhhh.
The moment the steel sphere touched the lake’s surface, it dissolved with a violent hiss, vanishing completely. This was far more potent than the Acidic River we had encountered before.
“Direct crossing is impossible. We’d need to lure it out or attack from range, but…”
As his words trailed off, the Boss’s massive crimson eye fixed upon us. Slowly, it raised its arm. The entire lake convulsed, and a towering wave of dark crimson liquid surged toward us.
“Get down!”
Park Jae-jung shouted, driving his Gigas Shield into the ground to shield me. A deafening roar erupted as the colossal acidic wave crashed against the shield. The surface of the B-Rank barrier corroded instantly, releasing white smoke. Park Jae-jung cried out in agony. I could see the shield’s durability depleting rapidly before my eyes.
‘This won’t work.’
I surveyed my surroundings with cold clarity, and something began to come into focus.
I cracked my eyes open. With my ascension to E-Rank, my core sensitivity had sharpened dramatically. Things invisible before now crystallized into view. The Central Island where the Boss sat. And scattered across the Dome’s walls—devices embedded like anchors, each emanating a faint luminescence. Five or six of them, at least.
Then I saw the threads.
Crimson energy sprawled like a spider’s web, lines stretching from the wall-mounted devices to the Central Island.
‘That’s it.’
I pushed my core sensitivity to its absolute limit, reading the flow of that energy.
My vision inverted to grayscale, and only the energy currents remained sharp and clear. The creature was not invincible. Five supply devices embedded in the walls were transfusing contamination into it like umbilical cords. Without severing those cords, it would never fall. This was the only kill switch visible to my eyes alone.
That energy formed a formidable protective barrier around the Boss. Park Jae-jung’s steel sphere had been blocked by it. The Gigas Shield’s durability had plummeted against the acidic wave—all because of this barrier.
I shouted to Park Jae-jung.
“Jae-jung. Direct attacks on that thing are useless. There’s a protective barrier.”
“A barrier? What do you mean?”
I pointed at the devices affixed to the wall.
“Those devices on the wall. They’re the energy source. We have to destroy them first.”
Park Jae-jung’s eyes widened. He looked in the direction I was pointing, but his gaze found nothing. I realized then that only I, with my sensitivity to core energy, could perceive the solution to this battle.
“Understood. Then while I draw its attention, you could target those devices—”
But his words dissolved into despair. Every device on the wall sat on the far side of the Acidic Lake—that deadly, poisonous expanse. Unreachable.
I had found the key to victory, but no way to turn it.
As if mocking our despair, the Boss launched its second assault. This time, not a wave. Dozens of massive crimson tentacles erupted from across the lake like serpents, lashing toward us like whips.
“Damn it all.”
Park Jae-jung desperately blocked the cascading tentacles with his Gigas Shield. Crack—crunch—. Even a B-Rank shield struggled against the tentacles’ corrosive fury. The sound of the shield’s surface dissolving mingled with his pained gasps as his arm trembled.
But I could see the Boss’s true target was not us. Several tentacles were battering the ceiling and walls of the Entrance Passage where we stood.
Boom—
The entire Dungeon shook. Chunks of stone cascaded from the ceiling. Spider-web fractures spread across the concrete walls.
‘It’s sealing our escape route.’
The creature intended to trap us in this chamber and slowly suffocate us. Time was not our ally. The moment Park Jae-jung’s shield shattered or the Passage collapsed, it would be over.
“We need to fall back deeper into the Passage.”
Park Jae-jung shouted. We barely dodged the tentacle assault, retreating several steps deeper into the Corridor. But even there, safety was an illusion. If it attacked again, we were defenseless.
I racked my brain frantically. A way out? Was there none? I couldn’t die here. My Mother’s face flashed in my mind. I couldn’t surrender now.
I swept my gaze across the entire Dome once more. Then something caught my eye. Near that distant ceiling, a structure running faintly along the Dome’s wall. Rusted and broken in places, but unmistakably a maintenance Catwalk—once used for facility upkeep.
That Catwalk ran directly beside the energy supply devices embedded in the wall.
‘That’s it.’
The only path. But simultaneously, the most perilous one. The Catwalk looked ready to collapse at any moment, and reaching it bordered on acrobatics. Even if I made it, destroying the devices while dodging the Boss’s attacks from that narrow, unstable platform seemed nearly impossible.
I explained this reckless plan to Park Jae-jung. His face went ashen.
“That’s insane. That Catwalk is a rusted heap neglected for over a decade—it won’t support your weight and will crumble. Even if it holds, how will you evade the Boss’s attacks in such a confined space?”
His objection was reasonable. But I shook my head.
“If I were still F-Rank, it would be impossible. But I’m different now.”
I trusted the heightened senses of my E-Rank body. My movements were far lighter than before, my reflexes sharper. And most importantly, through my short sword, I could now release purification energy to destroy distant targets.
“While I move across the Catwalk and destroy the devices, you need to keep its attention here. This is our only chance to survive.”
As I spoke with conviction, Park Jae-jung fell silent. He glanced between the ceiling Catwalk, me, and the distant Boss, then seemed to reach a decision and spoke tersely.
“Understood. But we need to modify the plan slightly.”
Park Jae-jung began identifying the flaws and dangers in my strategy, refining it as he went.
“Going straight up the Catwalk is far too dangerous. You’d be exposed to the Boss far too easily. There—at the three o’clock direction—the Collapsed Tank Debris. If we use that as a foothold to climb, we can hide behind the pillars and approach the first device,” he said.
He steadied his breathing and continued.
“The moment you destroy a device will be the most perilous. That creature will certainly unleash a devastating counterattack, so the instant you destroy one, you must be prepared to hurl yourself in the opposite direction to evade. I’ll create as much chaos as I can from here, but I cannot keep its attention indefinitely. Each time you destroy a device, you must signal me. I’ll draw its gaze back with another Provocation Roar.”
We continued our breathless tactical briefing like partners who had coordinated countless times before. Movement routes, signaling methods, the Boss’s anticipated counterattack patterns for each device destruction, and contingency escape plans for the worst-case scenario.
The final operational plan was complete. While Park Jae-jung drew the Boss’s attention near the Entrance to buy time, I would follow the newly discovered route to the Catwalk, then use my Purification Dagger and purification abilities to systematically destroy the energy supply devices one by one.
With all preparations finished, we locked eyes one final time to steel our resolve. Park Jae-jung spoke first, his voice carrying absolute trust in me.
“Director, this operation is genuinely dangerous. But I believe you can do this.”
I met his gaze and replied.
“As long as you hold the line, Jae-jung.”
Park Jae-jung stepped out of the Corridor first. He paused to adjust his grip on the Gigas Shield, took a deep breath, and spoke without looking back.
“Please succeed, Director.”
He roared toward the Boss.
“Graaaah! You wretched creature! Your opponent is here!”
C-Rank Skill: Provocation Roar. The Boss’s massive crimson eyes locked onto him. The entire Acidic Lake began to churn once more.
I seized that moment without hesitation.

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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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