The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 17

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

17
Chapter 17 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
After a moment, having regained my composure, I withdrew my flashlight from my pocket and illuminated the space we had entered.
It was not a monster’s Nest. Towering metal shelves, their surfaces blanketed in thick dust, stretched endlessly before us. Upon them lay countless mysterious crates and equipment components, stacked in mountainous heaps.
Faded lettering adorned the Wall.
[Third Materials Management Zone]
With trembling hands, I opened the nearest crate on a shelf. Inside lay an abundance of high-grade equipment components—corroded and damaged by the passage of time, yet still emanating their own distinctive magical aura.
Park Jae-jung staggered to his feet and opened another crate. Within it lay unrefined mana stones in their raw crystalline state, alongside rare materials obtainable only from C-Rank or higher monsters—all slowly decaying.
This Warehouse had once been a secret production facility, operated covertly in the aftermath of Fate’s Day.
“Boss.”
Park Jae-jung’s voice trembled as he gazed at me, his eyes gleaming with wonder, his pain momentarily forgotten.
“These are not waste materials.”
He withdrew a single gauntlet from the crate—worn, corroded, yet structurally intact. The aura it emanated was unmistakably B-Rank.
“This is… treasure. No—a treasure vault!”
The countless damaged items scattered throughout this space. To others, they would be nothing but scrap metal, but to me, they were something far different.
Before my eyes, this entire colossal Warehouse gleamed like a vault overflowing with pure gold.
We had failed to conquer the Boss and fled in disgrace. Yet from the ashes of that defeat, we had obtained a genuine opportunity that rendered a mere billion won laughable.
I gazed upon thousands of scrap metals glimmering faintly in the darkness and smiled.
“Park Jae-jung, I’m not sure whether we’ve lost our way or found treasure.”
Park Jae-jung collapsed onto the Floor, breathing heavily. Beyond the collapsed Ceiling, the Lord’s rhythmic thuds reverberated through the ground as vibrations. But here, all was silent.
I directed my flashlight toward Park Jae-jung to assess his condition. His combat suit was torn in countless places, and dried blood clung to the corners of his mouth. Though I had administered emergency first aid to stem the worst of it, he appeared as though he might collapse at any moment.
“Are you alright?”
“Hah… I really did brush with death.”
He offered a bitter smile and pressed his hand against the wound visible through the torn fabric of his suit.
“I think my ribs are fractured. My organs are damaged too… but I’m alive, so it’s fine.”
With the composure of a veteran, he assessed his condition matter-of-factly. Yet his gaze remained fixed not on his wounds, but on the depths of the Warehouse illuminated by my flashlight.
“By the way, Boss. What exactly is this place?”
I turned my attention as well. Through the darkness and dust-laden air, the silhouettes of countless massive metal shelves stretched endlessly before us—grand and overwhelming.
Curiosity and instinct drew me forward. Dragging my unsteady legs, I approached the nearest shelf. As I swept away the thick layer of gray dust with my hand, the surface of a metal crate hidden beneath was revealed.
[S-234 / B-Rank Adamantium Alloy / Unprocessed]
‘B-Rank. Adamantium?’
With trembling hands, I unlocked the crate’s mechanism. With a rusty creak, the lid swung open, and a subtle blue light spilled forth from within.
The crate was filled with unrefined mana stones in their raw form—silvery-blue metallic chunks. Though their surfaces were rough, the waves of magical power flowing from within were unmistakable.
“This is…”
Park Jae-jung, who had followed behind, peered into the crate and held his breath.
“Raw Adamantium ore. And the purity is extraordinary…”
He picked up one of the stones, his expression one of disbelief.
“This is something you rarely even see on the market. Most C-Rank and B-Rank shields nowadays use mixed alloys, but this is 100% raw ore. This single crate alone would easily exceed hundreds of millions of won.”
Hundreds of millions of won. It was incomprehensible. Mere moments ago, we had been gambling with our lives, and now we stood before treasure chests worth fortunes.
But it did not end there. These shelves were not singular. Dozens, no—hundreds of them stretched endlessly before us. And upon them lay countless crates and mysterious mechanical components.
We walked into the Warehouse as if entranced, and with each step, new treasures greeted us.
[C-Rank Mana Amplification Circuit (Defective)]
[D-Rank Golem Power Core (Unused)]
[Special Reinforced Fiber Roll (Contaminated)]
It was no ordinary Warehouse. In the chaos following Awakening Day, this had been a materials storage facility for the Secret Military Munitions Factory that produced equipment for Hunters. Abandoned for reasons unknown, it had become part of the Dungeon and lay forgotten for ten years.
Park Jae-jung picked up a piece of equipment scattered across the dust-laden Floor. It was a grotesque gauntlet with one arm section torn away.
“This is an early-model Power Knuckle. It’s so outdated now that you’d only find it in a museum.”
He examined the broken cross-section of the gauntlet.
“The internal frame is solid mithril. Nowadays they just plate it to cut costs, but the old equipment certainly didn’t skimp on materials. However…”
He clicked his tongue and continued.
“It’s been neglected far too long. The mana circuits are completely burned out, and the metal itself has suffered severe corrosion. There’s no material value left.”
His assessment was accurate. These were precious items once, but ten years and contamination had reduced them to worthless scrap.
But for me, it was different.
I took the worn gauntlet from Park Jae-jung’s hands. Along with the cold touch of metal came the acrid sensation of deep contamination flowing through my fingertips. It was unmistakably a dead thing.
Yet my eyes perceived it—beneath the corrupted shell, a radiant essence still lay dormant, holding its breath.
[Purification: You can restore the essence of corrupted materials.]
I looked at Park Jae-jung and spoke quietly.
“Jae-jung. We may have just found a shortcut.”
I tightened my grip on the gauntlet. My remaining core energy was nearly depleted, but I had to verify whether this could become our future.
“Pardon?”
Instead of answering, I closed my eyes and concentrated. I squeezed out the last drop of purification energy from deep within my core and pushed it through my palm.
“Purify.”
Hummmmm—
A low vibration resonated through the quiet Warehouse. Pure white light flowed from my grip, enveloping the entire gauntlet.
Ssshhhhk—
The dark crimson rust and contamination coating the gauntlet’s surface melted away like snow under hot water, dripping to the Floor. The corroded, dull metal surface peeled away, and beneath it, a subtle silver luster began to emerge. The severed mana circuits reconnected like threads of light, restoring themselves.
In just ten seconds, the scrap metal in my hand had transformed into a flawless B-Rank mithril gauntlet—equipment worthy of an S-Rank Hunter’s arsenal, not a museum display.
Park Jae-jung was speechless. He stared back and forth between the gauntlet and me, his expression blank. The shock that overwhelmed him now was greater than when he’d first witnessed my ability. Then it had been a single short sword and shield, but now mountains of such items lay before us.
I handed him the pristine gauntlet.
“What do you think? Is this enough?”
He accepted it with trembling hands. Then, with an expert’s eye, he examined it meticulously. Mana conductivity, durability, joint mobility—everything was perfect. Better than new. It carried the aged mana that ten years had cultivated.
“Boss…”
He swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on me.
“This isn’t just about commercial value.”
He looked around at the hundreds of shelves shrouded in darkness, stacked with thousands upon thousands of pieces of scrap metal.
“Even if we took just one-tenth—no, one-hundredth of what’s here…”
Park Jae-jung couldn’t finish his sentence and burst into breathless laughter.
“A billion? Ha. We risked our lives for that?”
His laughter echoed through the Warehouse—the exhilarating laugh of someone who’d just realized how small and pathetic his original goal had been.
“At minimum, ten billion. Maybe even more if we sell it right. Boss, you’ve hit the jackpot.”
Our attempt to defeat the Boss had failed. We had fled, and we were the defeated. Yet from the ashes of that defeat, we had seized something that even the victors could never possess.
As the tension drained away, exhaustion crashed over me like a wave. I collapsed onto the Floor, catching my breath while a smile played at my lips.
“Our only problem now is figuring out how to carry all of this out.”
Park Jae-jung slumped down beside me, chuckling softly.
We laughed together in the darkness, facing one another. Outside, the mutated Lord still raged, but here within this decrepit Warehouse, we were the wealthiest Hunters in the world.
“A happy problem to have. First, I should dump all the emergency rations from my bag. The space is too valuable to waste.”
“No, sit down.”
I stopped him with a quiet voice, and Park Jae-jung froze, turning to look at me.
“What?”
“Do you really think you can carry all this in your current condition?”
I pointed to his side with one finger. Through the torn combat suit, I could see bandages soaked with blood, and his breathing was ragged, tinged with a metallic wheeze. He was in a state where collapsing into shock at any moment would be no surprise. As for me, my core energy was depleted to the point where I could barely move a finger.
“If you collapse from pushing yourself here, all these treasures become worthless. We won’t make a single coin if we don’t make it out alive, will we?”
Hearing my words, Park Jae-jung fought to suppress his excitement and regain focus. Only then did the pain seem to catch up with him—he groaned and sank back down onto the Floor.
“My apologies. I got a bit carried away.”
“That’s only natural. Who could keep their wits about them after seeing something like that?”
I let out a soft laugh and opened my bag. I pulled out the emergency rations I had been about to discard—rations I would have deeply regretted throwing away. High-concentration nutrient bars and moisture capsules.
“Eat these. Force them down if you have to.”
We chewed the nutrient bars in silence. They were dry, tasteless lumps, but the moment they reached my stomach, I felt vitality flowing back through me. When I burst open a moisture capsule and wet my parched throat, my foggy mind began to clear bit by bit.
Ten minutes of rest. A brief but precious span of time. As my strength recovered slightly, I moved closer to Park Jae-jung.
“Let me see your wounds.”
“It’s fine. This much is—”
“Our only way out might be the Emergency Staircase. We’ll have to climb dozens of stories, and there’s no way you can manage that in your condition.”
I placed my hand forcefully against his chest. I gathered together the core energy I had recovered, meager as it was, from rest and food.
“Purification.”
Warm light enveloped his chest. I couldn’t perfectly mend the broken ribs, but it was enough to reinforce the surrounding muscles so the bone wouldn’t pierce his lungs, and to seal the torn blood vessels and stop the internal bleeding.
“Hgh—”
Park Jae-jung’s complexion improved noticeably. He took a deep breath, then touched his chest with an expression of surprise.
“The pain has decreased dramatically. Breathing is so much easier now.”
“It’s only a temporary measure. If you overexert yourself, it’ll tear open again.”
I stood up, and only then did I properly survey the Warehouse. Now my mind was clear and cold, and the situation came into sharp focus.
“Now, let’s do the math.”
I gathered the nutrient bar wrappers, empty water bottles, and rope scraps that remained in Park Jae-jung’s bag and tossed them into a corner.
“Our carrying capacity is limited, so let’s not be greedy. We’ll take only those items with the highest value relative to their volume.”
This place was a treasure vault, but it was also like being inside a time bomb that could collapse at any moment. Beyond the Wall, the mutated Lord still thrashed about in a frenzy, and with each impact, dust and debris rained down ceaselessly from the Ceiling of the Warehouse.
“Understood. I’ll focus on metal components with high mana conductivity, processed gemstones, and control cores.”
Park Jae-jung grasped my intent immediately, as befitted a veteran. He moved swiftly between the shelves, sweeping up items. I prioritized critical components while he gathered rare metal ores. Our bags swelled to bursting in moments.
“We can’t carry any more.”
Park Jae-jung spoke with reluctance, smacking his lips. Mountains of unclaimed treasures still surrounded us, but if we let greed take over, we might miss our window to escape.
“Let’s go now. We need to get out alive first.”
I turned away, cutting through the regret. Now only one problem remained: how to escape. The Ceiling Hole we had entered through was already too high, and a monster waited for us outside.
Park Jae-jung rummaged through an old metal cabinet tucked in the corner of the Warehouse. Moments later, dust-covered blueprints lay cradled in his hands.
“Bingo. Facility management blueprints.”
He swept his flashlight across the documents, his eyes moving swiftly over the details.
“This is the Third Materials Management Zone. And here—there’s an emergency cargo elevator.”
His finger traced a corner of the blueprint.
“It connects directly to the Disguised Loading Dock on Ground Level. The power’s dead, but there should be a manual Emergency Staircase we can use.”
Hope crystallized within me. We bolted toward the direction the blueprints indicated, racing into the deepest recesses of the Warehouse.
A massive cargo shutter blocked our path. Without power, it wouldn’t budge, but Park Jae-jung leveraged the shattered remains of what had once been a Gigas Shield—now nothing more than a warped hunk of scrap metal—as a makeshift pry bar, forcing a gap open. We squeezed through.
Beyond lay a colossal Elevator Shaft, yawning vertically into darkness. When I looked upward, a faint beam of light descended from an impossibly distant height. Sunlight from Ground Level.
“Let’s climb.”

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