The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 24

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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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24
Chapter 24 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
Several possibilities crystallized in my mind.
First option: direct delivery. Park Jae-jung and I could handle the driving ourselves. But there were only two of us. To manage one to twenty deliveries daily, we’d be spending all our time on the road. What about the restoration work then?
Second option: refuse deliveries. Make customers come to us directly. But that carried far too much risk. Our hideout location would be exposed, and customer complaints would explode.
Third option… I lifted my head as the thought suddenly struck me.
“Park Jae-jung.”
“Yes, boss?”
“We have sufficient funds in our account, don’t we?”
“Of course. We have over ten billion won, but…”
Park Jae-jung looked at me with confusion. I powered on the tablet and opened a job recruitment app.
“Then let’s hire people. Not ordinary drivers—Hunters.”
“Hunters?”
“Retired Hunters or low-rank Hunters who’ve stepped back due to injuries. People capable of driving and possessing at least basic self-defense skills.”
The puzzle pieces in my mind began clicking into place. Ordinary delivery drivers would be frightened. But Hunters were different. They were people who’d risked their lives fighting in Dungeons. They could handle a few thugs.
“With daily delivery volumes of one to twenty packages, two vehicles and four personnel should be sufficient.”
“You’re proposing we establish our own security delivery team.”
“Exactly. We’ll offer top-tier industry wages, plus generous hazard pay.”
I smiled.
“No matter how terrifying Steel Fang is, there are plenty of Hunters who understand the language of money.”
Park Jae-jung accepted the tablet and nodded.
“I’ll post the job listing immediately.”
“And…”
I turned my gaze toward the workbench. The [Contaminated Shock Pouch] resting there came into view. “Before we assemble the delivery team, I need to send them a warning.”
I picked up the shock pouch. A tingling sensation of electricity coursed through my palm.
“They need to pay the price for touching our drivers.”
“What do you intend to do?”
“They’ll assume we’ve lost our delivery capability and won’t be able to move for a while. Or they’ll think we’re secretly searching for alternative routes.”
I unfolded a map and pointed to a sparsely populated Abandoned Scrapyard on the outskirts of the Middle District.
“Tonight, I’m placing a fake delivery truck there. Instead of cargo, I’ll fill the cargo bed with something else.”
I set the shock pouch on the workbench.
“This is dangerous work. Park Jae-jung, step back.”
Park Jae-jung retreated in confusion. I took a deep breath and placed both hands over the shock pouch.
This time was different. Rather than removing contamination, I compressed the unstable electrical energy within to its absolute limit. Like pressing a spring to its maximum tension.
Zzzzzt… The shock pouch began trembling. A dangerous sign. Any more pressure and it would detonate.
“Purify.”
Finally, I wrapped that unstable mass of energy in a thin purification membrane. The transparent barrier enveloped the shock pouch, momentarily halting the explosion like the safety pin of a grenade.
“Complete.”
Sweat beaded on my forehead. My palms tingled. Not completely removing contamination, but compressing the unstable internal energy to its breaking point, then wrapping it in a thin purification membrane to temporarily suspend detonation.
It was an unofficial weapon I’d newly devised—one exclusive to Moonglade.
[Item: Overloaded Electro Orb (Single-Use)]
[Grade: D+]
[Description: The propulsion mechanism of Shock Jelly compressed to its absolute limit. Upon impact, it releases a powerful electromagnetic pulse and high-voltage current within a 10-meter radius.]
In other words, a purification grenade.
“Since we’re having guests, we should give them a warm welcome.”
That night at 2 AM. An empty lot at the Abandoned Scrapyard on the outskirts of the Middle District. A single dilapidated small truck sat shrouded in darkness.
Park Jae-jung and I were hiding atop a pile of scrap metal overlooking the truck. Everything unfolded as expected. Two black vans crept into the lot under cover of darkness, and roughly a dozen masked men climbed out, wielding steel pipes and Molotov cocktails.
“Remnants of the Viper Sect. Looks like they’re working as subcontractors for Steel Fang.”
Park Jae-jung recognized their tattoos and whispered. The men circled the truck with menacing chuckles.
“Hey, this is it, right? The stuff Moonglade was trying to smuggle out.”
“Definitely. The intel was solid. Pop the cargo door open.”
One of them forced the truck’s rear door open with a crowbar. As it swung wide, the men cheered and peered inside. But instead of expensive equipment, only three fist-sized blue orbs rolled about in the cargo bed.
“Huh? What the hell is this?”
The moment they lifted their heads in confusion.
“A gift.”
I whispered softly from above. Simultaneously, I crushed the detonator in my hand—a small mana stone.
BOOM—CRACKLE!
A blinding flash erupted, and a torrent of blue electrical fury exploded from the truck bed.
“AAAAHHHHH!”
They didn’t even have time to scream. A powerful electromagnetic wave and high-voltage current engulfed them. They went rigid like electrocuted frogs and collapsed to the ground. The Molotov cocktails they’d been holding shattered, but the alcohol evaporated from the current before the flames could ignite.
Just three seconds. All twelve intruders were neutralized.
“Let’s go.”
We descended from the scrap pile and approached the sprawled bodies. I crouched before the leader—a man convulsing on the ground.
“Good to see you.”
I smiled faintly.
“Tell Ma Seok-gi that these petty games are getting old. If he wants to play, he can come himself.”
I grabbed the man by the collar and hauled him to his feet.
“And tell him if he touches our people one more time, next time it won’t be electricity—it’ll be acid.”
The man was too paralyzed to even nod. We loaded them into the truck like cargo and dumped them in front of the Steel Fang Headquarters main gate.
The incident spread rapidly through the underworld of the Middle District. Rumors began circulating that Moonglade was not a guild to be trifled with.
The next morning, I sat on the living room sofa watching Hunter Net news.
[Breaking: Mysterious Explosion in Middle Layer Northern Factory District]
[Victims Report “Electrocution”… Police Investigation Ongoing]
The comment section below the article was ablaze.
– Wasn’t that the Viper Sect bastards? Serves ’em right lol
– The Factory District atmosphere has been weird lately
– Is there some friction with Steel Fang?
I smiled and turned off the screen.
“Boss.”
Park Jae-jung entered. His expression was bright.
“We’ve received contact from the first supplier. Cheon-woo Metals—they were the ones providing mithril ore to Steel Fang. They’re expressing interest in doing business with us.”
“What are the terms?”
“Cash payment, and a price 20% higher than what Steel Fang was paying.”
I nodded in approval.
“Accept the deal.”
“Understood.”
Park Jae-jung left, and I gazed out the window. The fractures were beginning. The first crack had appeared in Ma Seok-gi’s supply chain.
Two days later.
“Director, it’s the second one. Daesung Smeltery just reached out.”
Park Jae-jung reported with barely contained excitement.
“Steel Fang has been two months behind on payments, they said. They’ve lost faith. If we provide an advance, they’ll sign with us immediately.”
“How much are they asking for?”
“One billion won.”
I paused to consider. One billion won. It wasn’t a trivial sum. But this was the moment to strike.
“Wire the funds. Draw up the contract.”
“Yes, sir!”
By the fourth day, I was watching a real-time supply chain map on my tablet. Red markers representing Steel Fang’s suppliers were shifting one by one to green—Moonglade’s suppliers. Five out of eight.
“Director.”
Park Jae-jung entered with a grave expression.
“Have you heard? Three of Steel Fang’s factories shut down production today. Their raw materials have been cut off.”
“What about Ma Seok-gi?”
“He’s furious, apparently. Shouting at his executives, conducting surprise inspections at the factories… The situation is dire. Cornered men are the most dangerous.”
I nodded. Park Jae-jung was right. But there was no turning back now.
“Increase security. And…”
I picked up the purification dagger resting on the workbench.
“Make sure to carry this whenever you go out.”
“Understood. Please be careful yourself, Director.”
After Park Jae-jung left, I stood alone at the window. In the distance, I could see that no smoke was rising from the factory district’s smokestacks.
‘The end is in sight.’
Yet unease gnawed at me. A man like Ma Seok-gi wasn’t the type to accept defeat. He would certainly attempt one final gambit.
The fourth day.
“Director, excellent news!”
Park Jae-jung showed me his tablet.
“Seven out of the eight raw material suppliers that dealt with Steel Fang have switched to us. And…”
He zoomed in on a point on the map.
“The mining rights Ma Seok-gi had monopolized. The management company is expressing interest in negotiating. Apparently, Steel Fang still hasn’t paid their management fees.”
“Excellent. We must strike while the iron is hot. Begin negotiations to acquire those mining rights.”
“Yes, sir!”
I sipped my coffee as I gave the order. Ma Seok-gi was now a rat trapped in a cage.
But cornered rats, they say, will bite the cat.
That afternoon, I stepped out briefly to procure a specialized catalyst. Park Jae-jung was away attending interviews for the security team. Given the stringent security measures throughout Mid-tier District Downtown, I moved alone without additional protection.
I was walking through the crowded streets after leaving the materials shop.
Pshhew—!
A faint rupture echoed through the air as something grazed my cheek and embedded itself in the wall. A needle. Impossibly thin, its tip stained black with poison.
I reflexively hurled myself into the alley, narrowly evading the attack. Had my senses not evolved to E-rank, my throat would already be pierced. A sharp sting radiated across my cheek.
‘An assassination attempt?’
I surveyed my surroundings. The street that had been teeming with life moments before fell into an eerie silence. No—not silence. The people remained, yet I felt severed from them.
Sound vanished entirely. Pedestrians passed through me like phantoms, and the city’s ambient noise became muffled as though blocked by a barrier. A barrier. Someone had isolated me from this world.
‘This is… a cognitive obstruction barrier.’
In the heart of the midday street, someone had cut me off from everything.
“Impressive. For an F-rank, you managed to evade that.”
A man emerged from the shadows of the alley. He wore a gray coat, his face half-concealed by a mask. In his hands, he wielded two peculiarly curved daggers.
The killing intent radiating from him transcended anything the Viper Sect had ever displayed. A presence more sinister and dangerous than Park Jae-jung’s—perhaps even exceeding it.
‘D-rank… an assassin.’
“Lee Tae-hyun of Munglade. Your head’s worth quite a sum.”
The man chuckled darkly.
“That pig Ma Seok-gi liquidated his entire fortune to hire me. He wants you dead.”
Ma Seok-gi’s final gambit. When nothing else worked, he’d resorted to direct elimination. I drew my purification dagger with steady resolve. Park Jae-jung wasn’t here. No reinforcements would come. I alone had to face this killer. This was my first true combat encounter since awakening to E-rank strength.
“A shame. He’s about to lose everything.”
“Die.”
His form blurred, then he surged toward me in a heartbeat.
Clang!
Dagger met dagger, sparks erupting between them.

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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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