The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 19

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

19
Chapter 19 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
“This… this can’t be…”
With trembling hands, he adjusted his glasses and withdrew a magnifying glass, holding it up to the core.
“A C-rank Control Core, but this resonance pattern is… what on earth…”
He placed the core into the precision analyzer. The machine hummed to life, and the graphs and numerical values on the monitor shot upward with frenzied intensity.
[Subject: Control Core]
[Grade: C (Energy Output Equivalent to B-rank)]
[Purity: 99.99% (Complete Integrity Within Margin of Error)]
[Structural Defects: 0%]
[Estimated Lifespan: Semi-Permanent]
“This is impossible.”
The Old Gentleman alternated his gaze between the analysis results and the core, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
“99.99% purity? That’s only theoretically possible. Even the greatest alchemists struggle to exceed 95% despite refining day and night… where in the world did you obtain this?”
Park Jae-jung answered on my behalf.
“The source must remain confidential. Can we register it for auction?”
“Can we? Of course we can! This is the finest item to arrive all year!”
The Old Gentleman pressed the intercom, urgently summoning someone.
“Branch Manager, come to Appraisal Room 3 immediately. We need to change the main event!”
At that same moment, in the Appraisal Analysis Department of the Hunter Association Headquarters, a woman sat buried beneath stacks of documents in a darkened room lined with dozens of monitors. Sharp eyes, cold beauty—she was Lee Ji-young, the youngest Chief Appraiser of the Hunter Association.
“Team Lead, take a look at this.”
A Subordinate Staff Member approached with a tablet PC in hand.
“An item just registered in the Central Auction database, but the readings seem unusual.”
“Unusual? A malfunction?”
She accepted the tablet with an air of annoyance.
“99.99% purity?”
She let out a hollow laugh.
“The machine’s broken. Do those Central Auction people not maintain their equipment?”
“Actually… they double-checked, and it’s not a machine error. Cross-verification is complete. The item is real.”
Lee Ji-young’s eyes sharpened as she began scrutinizing the data meticulously. The energy resonance graph, the crystalline structure imagery. Her instincts as an Appraiser were sounding every alarm.
This wasn’t naturally formed. Nor was it created using existing refinement techniques. It was perfect, as if it had never been contaminated from the very beginning.
“A C-rank Control Core…”
Control Cores are essential components for Guild Base defense systems and training golems. The higher the purity, the exponentially greater the energy efficiency, and the malfunction probability approaches zero. Major guilds search for these items with desperate intensity.
But 100% purity? This wasn’t merely the emergence of a single high-performance component.
“What do you think the market value would be?”
“Well… typically a C-rank Control Core goes for around 100 million, and at 95% purity it can fetch up to 300 million. But this… the price would be whatever they ask for. I’d estimate a minimum starting bid of 1 billion.”
1 billion. 1 billion for a single C-rank item. An absurd price, yet given this item’s performance, it was entirely justified.
But what captured Lee Ji-young’s attention wasn’t the price.
“Who put this up for auction?”
“Anonymous. They appear to have used an intermediary, but the identity inquiry is blocked.”
Lee Ji-young tapped the tablet screen.
“Was this a stroke of luck? Or…”
An ominous possibility flickered through her mind. What if this item wasn’t a coincidence, but something deliberately produced by someone?
It would be a revolution that could overturn not just the Hunter industry, but the entire paradigm of the global economy. And simultaneously, it was a dangerous element that the existing powers would never tolerate.
“Monitor this auction closely. Report in real-time who the winning bidder is and the final hammer price. And deploy the information team to trace the seller. Money flows, CCTV footage, anything works. Find the thread.”
Ten minutes before the auction began. Park Jae-jung and I sat in the VIP Room on the second floor, looking down into the Auction House through the glass. The 1st Floor Hall was already packed without a single empty seat. Executives from renowned Guilds, scouts from major corporations, and speculators drawn by the scent of money.
“The atmosphere feels unusual.”
Park Jae-jung fidgeted with his champagne glass.
“Once rumors spread that the main event had changed, the heavy hitters started rushing in. The man sitting in the front row is the Vice Guild Master of the Iron Fist Guild, and next to him is the Purchasing Team Leader of the Azure Dragon Guild.”
I couldn’t believe that major powers ranking among Korea’s top ten Guilds would mobilize for just one C-rank item.
“Nervous?”
When I asked, Park Jae-jung shook his head and grinned wickedly.
“Not at all. I’m thrilled. Just thinking about watching those people fight over our item already sends a thrill down my spine.”
Moments later, the lights dimmed and a spotlight fell upon the Podium. An impeccably dressed Auctioneer stepped up to the microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience. Today, I present an item that will rewrite the history of Central Auction.”
With the Auctioneer’s gesture, the display stand at the center of the Podium rose upward. Our [Purified C-rank Control Core] emerged within a transparent glass case. Bathed in light, the core cast a blue radiance across the entire Auction House.
“Wow!”
The appraisal certificate’s contents appeared on the hologram screen.
[Purity: 100.00%] The moment people saw that number, they couldn’t hide their excitement.
“Explanation seems unnecessary. Perfection itself. We’ll start the bidding at 500 million!”
“600 million!”
Before the Auctioneer could finish speaking, the Iron Fist side raised their paddle.
“700 million!”
“800 million!”
“1 billion!”
The price skyrocketed madly. A hundred million rising every second. Park Jae-jung stared at the scoreboard in a daze.
“1 billion… we’ve already hit our target price.”
“We’re far from done.”
I leaned back leisurely against my chair.
“1.5 billion!”
“2 billion!”
Finally, when the price broke through 2 billion, the hall fell silent for a moment. 2 billion for a single C-rank item. It was an astronomical sum. But then, a man in a black hat sitting in the most secluded corner quietly raised his paddle.
“3 billion.”
The hall fell silent as if cold water had been poured over it. The audacity to jump by a billion in one go. People murmured and stared at the man.
“3 billion on the table! Any further bids?”
“3 billion, going once! Twice! Three times! Sold!”
Bang!
3 billion.
Even after the commission, we were looking at over 2 billion. With a single transaction, we had secured more than double the capital needed to establish a Guild.
Park Jae-jung seemed unable to contain his excitement.
“We did it. Director, we actually did it.”
My heart raced as well, but I kept my composure and rose from my seat with measured calm.
“Park Jae-jung, shall we go collect the money?”
We left the VIP Room with light steps.
[Deposit: 2,730,000,000 won (Central Auction Settlement)]
[Balance: 2,742,150,000 won]
It took me a while just to count the digits on my smartphone screen. Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands… hundreds of millions, billions. Two billion, seven hundred and forty-three million won.
The amount after deducting commissions and taxes from the hammer price of three billion won. Just days ago, I had been thrilled to earn fifteen million won, but now there were two more zeros behind that figure. Money I could never touch in a lifetime of labor had entered my hands through a single transaction.
Inside the elevator heading to the parking garage after leaving the VIP Room, Park Jae-jung and I said nothing. What filled the narrow space was an electric thrill coursing through our veins.
Ding.
The elevator doors opened, and a valet attendant brought around Park Jae-jung’s worn truck. Among the luxury limousines parked nearby, the rattling truck stood out conspicuously, yet Park Jae-jung’s expression as he took the keys was confident.
“It feels like a dream.”
Park Jae-jung, now seated in the driver’s seat, tapped the steering wheel as he spoke.
“Over a billion won went into my account too. It feels like I’ve received my entire retirement pension from being a Hunter all at once.”
According to our contract, sixty-forty split. He deserved every bit of the over one billion won that came his way. He had risked his life protecting me and had orchestrated this entire operation.
“That’s not a retirement pension. We’ve only just received the advance payment.”
The truck pulled out of the Auction House and onto the road. The glittering night scenery of the Middle District passing by the window looked different than it had yesterday. The lights of others that had once intimidated me now felt like a landscape I could own.
“Let’s part ways for now. We each have things to take care of.”
As the traffic light turned red at the intersection, I spoke. Park Jae-jung nodded in agreement.
“Understood. I’ll start looking into real estate right away. I’ll find the best Hideout we can get with a billion won.”
“I’m counting on you. I have somewhere I need to go.”
Park Jae-jung didn’t ask further and dropped me off nearby. After seeing his truck off, I immediately hailed a taxi.
“Upper District, Sungshim Hills Hospital.”
The taxi driver glanced at my shabby clothes in the rearview mirror. The Upper District was difficult to enter without authorized vehicles or residency. But when I showed him a bank balance statement, he wordlessly stepped on the accelerator with courtesy.
The taxi climbed a spiral road that stretched toward the sky. As we broke through the clouds, the clear night sky and cascading stars that had been hidden by the smog of the Lower and Middle Districts came into view. The Upper District. A paradise for the chosen.
The hospital was as grand as a hotel. Upon entering the lobby, I headed straight for the information desk.
“I’m a guardian of patient Lee Hye-ja. I’d like to request a room transfer.”
The nurse checked the monitor, then replied in a businesslike tone.
“Lee Hye-ja is currently in a standard ward in the Middle District. The upper ward has a long waiting list…”
“I want a private VIP room right now.”
I pulled out a card and placed it on the desk. A platinum card. A symbol of creditworthiness proven by a balance of 1.6 billion won. The nurse’s eyes changed. She tapped the keyboard for a moment, then made a phone call.
Shortly after, the Administrative Affairs Department director came down personally.
“Are you Lee Tae-hyun? I apologize for the inconvenience. As it happens, a VIP room just became available. I’ll arrange it for you immediately.”
The speed of capitalism was remarkable. The procedures proceeded without delay, and I took the private elevator to the ward where my Mother was.
When I opened the hospital room door, the musty smell peculiar to a six-bed ward and its cramped space greeted me. My Mother lay sleeping with a large oxygen respirator attached, her gaunt face visible. Amid the noise from the other patients and their guardians, she breathed with difficulty. My chest ached.
“…Mother.”
As I called softly, Mother slowly opened her eyes. Her unfocused gaze turned toward me.
“…Tae-hyun?”
“Yes, I’m here.”
I took Mother’s withered hand. A rough, cold hand. The hand that had raised me throughout her life.
“Mother, let’s move,” I said.
“Move? Where… and we don’t have the money…”
“Don’t worry about money. I’ve earned quite a bit. A very large amount.”
Mother’s expression was skeptical, but when the medical staff arrived shortly after and began carefully transferring her bed, she became bewildered.
We arrived at the Hospital VIP Ward – Top Floor. A spacious living area, top-tier medical equipment, and floor-to-ceiling windows spanning an entire wall came into view. Beyond the glass, the night scenery of the Floating City unfolded. Clean air from the air purifier, the warm smile of a dedicated nurse. Everything was perfect.
Mother, lying in bed, gazed blankly out the window.
“My goodness… this is a hospital…?”
“Now rest and receive treatment here comfortably. The finest doctors will care for you.”
I sat in the chair beside Mother’s bed and began peeling an apple. Mother took a slice and hesitated for a long moment before speaking.
“Tae-hyun… you didn’t do anything wrong, did you?”
Her worried voice nearly brought tears to my eyes. I forced a smile and shook my head.
“No. It’s money I earned legitimately as a Hunter. I was just fortunate.”
“Good. I’m relieved. So relieved…”
Mother relaxed and bit into the apple. Watching her, I finally grasped the true meaning of what I had accomplished. The figure of 2.7 billion won meant far less than the sound of Mother’s peaceful breathing.
I clenched my fists. To protect this, I could throw myself into hellfire again and again without hesitation.
I stayed by Mother’s side until she fell asleep, then left the hospital. Next came the time to settle my past.
The taxi brought me to the boundary of the Lower District—the Goshiwon where I had lived. Descending from the glittering Upper District, the stench and dampness of this place felt even more unbearable than before. Though I had lived here until now, it felt like a foreign world.
I passed through the narrow Corridor and opened my room door. A space barely larger than two hundred square feet. Moldy wallpaper, a mattress with springs poking through, and instant ramen containers piled in one corner. This was everything I had.
I pulled out a worn travel bag from under the bed and began packing. There was almost nothing to take. I discarded all the old clothes and kept only a few Hunter-related books, an old watch that was Father’s keepsake, and a photo frame with Mother.
That was all. Everything else was merely a trace of poverty and despair.
I closed the bag and stood, looking around the room once more. I felt no regret. This place had only held struggle, never happiness. My entire twenties fit into a single bag. There was no attachment here. This wasn’t a home—it was a battlefield I had merely endured.
“Farewell.”
I left a brief parting word and exited the room. I placed the key on the counter where the Goshiwon manager sat.
“I’m moving out.”
“What? Suddenly? Your contract still has time left… I can’t refund your deposit.”
The manager replied curtly, clearly thinking I was being evicted.
“Keep it. I don’t need it.”
“What?”
Leaving his bewildered expression behind, I walked out of the Goshiwon building. My impoverished early twenties were receding into the distance.

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