The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 37

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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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37
Chapter 37 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
9 AM. Gyeonggi Province Munglade Exclusive Mine, Zone 1 Lobby.
“Equipment check. Mana sensitivity normal. Output stable.”
Seo Eun-ha caressed her new staff, the Crimson Queen’s Breath, murmuring to herself. Her expression brimmed with the excitement of a child before an outing, yet her eyes gleamed with the predatory intensity of a beast stalking its prey.
This was her first real combat since being expelled from Dominion. A stage to test both her new body and her new weapon.
“Don’t get too excited. Today is purely an exploration mission.”
I tightened the straps of my protective suit and offered a cautionary word. A pouch containing various potions hung from my waist.
“Don’t worry. I won’t burn through everything in my excitement.”
Seo Eun-ha chuckled and chewed her gum.
Beside us, Park Jae-jung stretched with a heavy Gigas Shield strapped to his back. His joints crackled audibly. His body, grown to B-Rank, boasted muscles so pronounced they seemed ready to burst through his protective suit.
“Ready, Director.”
And finally, Team Lead Lee Ji-young. As always, she wore a beige trench coat, but her hands carried an analysis tablet and specialized magical instruments.
“Map data updated. The area down to 400 Meters Underground is safe. Below that… there’s no data.”
“Let’s go.”
We boarded the central elevator. The massive iron doors sealed shut, and the elevator began its descent.
Whirrrrr—
My ears felt heavy. 100 meters. 200 meters. The landscape streaming past the windows transformed. The lights of the mining operations where workers labored grew increasingly distant, and after passing the 300-meter mark where the Crystal Queen’s Nest lay, complete darkness enveloped us.
“From here on, it’s uncharted territory.”
400 Meters Underground. The elevator lurched to a halt. As the doors opened, humid, frigid air from the depths rushed in.
“Phew… the air itself is different.”
Seo Eun-ha wrinkled her nose.
We descended from the elevator and walked along a narrow mine shaft. The floor was uneven, and water droplets fell steadily from the ceiling. Since the lighting installation hadn’t been completed, our headlamps were the only source of illumination.
“Grrrrr…”
A low growl echoed from the darkness, and Park Jae-jung reacted instantly.
“Three o’clock direction, forward. Biological signature detected.”
At that same moment, bursting from a rocky crevice came a pack of armored moles, each the size of a wild boar. Their carapaces were hard as steel, making them troublesome for novice Hunters.
“Five of them. I’ll block—”
The moment Park Jae-jung raised his shield.
“Move aside, big guy.”
Seo Eun-ha shoved Park Jae-jung to the side and stepped forward.
“Let me show you what I’ve got.”
She thrust her staff forward lightly. There was no incantation. The crimson gem at the staff’s tip flashed, and three compressed flame bullets fired simultaneously.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Screeeee!”
It was a breathtaking sight. The armored moles’ hard carapaces were pierced like tissue paper. The flame bullets penetrated and detonated inside, reducing the creatures to charred husks in an instant.
“…No incantation?”
Lee Ji-young stared at her in astonishment.
“You cast magic of that power without an incantation? How much has your mana circuit efficiency improved?”
“I told you. It’s like a highway now.”
Seo Eun-ha blew out the smoke from the tip of her staff with a soft breath.
“I’ll handle the remaining two.”
This time, I stepped forward. The two remaining moles charged at me without hesitation.
I ran straight at them. D-rank physical abilities. Their movements were crystal clear to me. The first one swung its front paw. I ducked my upper body to evade while simultaneously slashing its abdomen with my purification dagger.
Screech! It wasn’t a simple cut. Purification energy penetrated and paralyzed its core. The creature collapsed without even a chance to cry out.
The second mole dug into the ground, targeting my legs.
“Not so fast.”
I stomped the floor hard with my foot. A wave of purification energy sent through my sole rippled outward beneath the earth.
“Shriek!”
The mole erupted from the ground as if electrocuted, and I finished it by precisely piercing its neck mid-air.
Combat time: ten seconds. Five armored moles annihilated.
“Too easy.”
Park Jae-jung laughed as he slung his shield back over his shoulder.
“In the old days, this would’ve made me sweat. Now it doesn’t even warm me up.”
He was right. Our party’s strength was formidable. Seo Eun-ha’s firepower was devastating, and my close-combat prowess exceeded D-rank standards. With Park Jae-jung and Lee Ji-young backing us up, there was nothing to fear.
“Don’t get overconfident. We’re still near the entrance.”
I dampened the excited atmosphere with my words. Yet even I could feel confidence surging within. At this rate, we could push past 500 meters underground—perhaps even deeper.
We pressed onward. The limestone spiders and cave trolls we encountered along the way were no match for us. Seo Eun-ha incinerated them, Park Jae-jung blocked, and I cut them down. Perfect synchronization.
After descending for about an hour, we reached the 450 Meters Underground level.
“Wait.”
Lee Ji-young, who had been leading, stopped in her tracks. She furrowed her brow and sniffed the air.
“The smell… it’s changed.”
“The smell?”
“Yes. Until now, it was just damp earth. But from here on, it’s sour and fishy. Like… gastric juices.”
She shone her flashlight ahead. The path had ended. Or rather, the terrain had transformed.
Where the jagged rocky terrain had ended, a massive cave entrance yawned open before us. The walls and floor were entirely covered in black moss, while sticky mucus dripped steadily from the ceiling.
[Entering Unexplored Zone]
[Area Name: Black Moss Cave]
[Warning: High concentration of toxic substances in the atmosphere. Respiratory protection equipment required.]
A red warning window from the system appeared in my vision.
“Put on your gas masks.”
I issued the order. We pulled masks from our backpacks and secured them. Rough, wheezing breaths echoed through the air.
“This place feels wrong.”
Seo Eun-ha gripped her staff tightly, muttering under her breath. The composure from moments before had vanished, replaced by tension in her eyes.
“Jae-jung, watch the front. Lee Ji-young, maximize your scan range.”
I drew my dagger. My instincts were screaming. In that black darkness ahead, something far beyond anything we’d faced lurked in wait.
“We’re going in.”
We stepped onto the damp floor covered in black moss. With each footfall came an ominous sensation of sinking. The stage where our arrogance would be tested had begun.
Hisssss… hiss.
A faint sound with each step grated on my nerves. I stopped and looked down at the floor. My sole emitted a hissing sound. The metal alloy of my boot sole was dissolving in reaction to acid. It wasn’t moss—the entire floor was a highly acidic swamp.
“Be careful. This is no ordinary moss.”
At my warning, Park Jae-jung, who had been following behind, lowered his shield and crouched down to examine the floor.
“It’s acidic. Highly concentrated, too. If these were ordinary leather boots, the soles would have dissolved by now, and your feet would be severely burned.”
“Let me analyze it.”
Lee Ji-young pulled a small probe from her waist and jabbed it into a clump of moss. The probe’s LCD screen flashed red.
“pH below 2.5. Highly acidic. And this moss… there’s a faint mana signature. It’s less like a plant and more like a fungus or a collection of microscopic organisms.”
She adjusted her glasses with her fingertip and surveyed the surroundings.
“Think of this entire cave as a giant trap. It slowly dissolves and consumes anything that enters. The acid concentration in the air is steadily rising. Check your gas mask filters regularly.”
“Ugh, disgusting.”
Seo Eun-ha grimaced and tapped the floor with the tip of her staff.
“So what kind of monsters come from a place like this? Anything living in this acidic soup would have poison resistance as a baseline.”
“Exactly. Mostly gelatinous types or insects with hardened exoskeletons.”
Lee Ji-young explained while sketching a map on her tablet.
“According to past database records, environments like this typically spawn acid slimes and corrosive insects. Usually D-rank to C-rank. But since this is an unexplored zone, there’s over a 90% chance of mutations.”
As we talked, we advanced another hundred meters into the cave. The floor grew increasingly sludgy, and viscous liquid dripped like rain from the stalactites hanging from the ceiling.
Thud. Pitter-patter.
The sound of liquid hitting the ground came at irregular intervals.
“Wait.”
Park Jae-jung raised his hand to halt our procession. His ears twitched slightly.
“That’s not the sound of water droplets. That’s… the sound of wings flapping.”
“Wings?”
Seo Eun-ha looked up at the ceiling. From the darkness above, beyond the reach of our headlamps, came a rustling sound.
Screech… screech… SHRIEEEEK!
A horrifying cry tore through the air, and dozens of crimson eyes ignited in the darkness. The sound of leather wings unfurling filled the entire cave—flap, flap, flap.
“Analysis complete.”
Lee Ji-young called out urgently.
“Bloodsucking gargoyles! No—a cave variant. Their skin isn’t stone but covered in gelatinous membrane. They may have fire resistance!”
“Resistance? Burn them anyway.”
Seo Eun-ha stepped forward, aiming her staff.
“My flames devour any resistance.”
Whoooosh! The gargoyles hanging from the ceiling dove in unison. Green saliva dripped from their mouths—acidic venom.
“They’re coming. Defensive formation!”
Park Jae-jung deployed his Gias Shield, blocking the front. I gripped my dagger in reverse grip and positioned myself beside Lee Ji-young.
“Incinerate them all!”
Seo Eun-ha swung her staff.
[Flame Wave]
BOOM!
The red queen’s core embedded in the staff’s tip gleamed, and a massive fan-shaped wave of flame erupted toward the ceiling. The humid cave air evaporated instantly, and white steam exploded outward.
“SHRIEEEEK!”
“Screech! Screech!”
The gargoyles engulfed in flames shrieked in agony. Contrary to Lee Ji-young’s concerns, their gelatinous skin proved utterly defenseless against Seo Eun-ha’s overwhelming firepower. If anything, the mucus ignited like oil, reducing their bodies to ash at an accelerated pace.
Thud-thud-thud. Burning chunks of flesh rained down like a downpour.
“Phew.”
Seo Eun-ha blew out a satisfied breath.
“See? Mutant or not, everything’s equal before raw firepower.”
“Don’t let your guard down.”
I flipped over a fallen gargoyle corpse with my boot as I spoke.
“These are scouts. Normally, gargoyles guard their nests, but the fact that they came all the way to the entrance means…”
“There’s something bigger inside.”
Park Jae-jung picked up my thought. He wiped the gargoyle’s body fluid from his shield, his expression darkening.
“This fluid is highly toxic. Even brief contact is already stripping away the coating.”
We reformed our ranks and pressed deeper. An unsettling dread wrapped around us, overshadowing any sense of victory from the battle.
After another twenty minutes of advancing, the terrain began to shift subtly. The jagged floor gradually smoothed out, and before long, it had transformed into something resembling a spongy swamp.
“My feet… they’re sinking too much.”
Lee Ji-young struggled to lift her feet with each step. Her boots had sunk up to her ankles.
“The moss is so thick. It’s like walking on a sponge.”
I too sensed something amiss. This wasn’t merely a layer of moss. With each footfall, the entire ground felt as though it were trembling and shifting beneath us.
“Park Jae-jung, stop.”
I signaled for a halt.
“Understood. Something feels wrong. There’s a vibration coming from the ground…”
Squelch.
That’s when the floor beneath Park Jae-jung suddenly liquefied.
“What?!”
His massive frame was instantly sucked down to his knees. Simultaneously, the entire flat surface we stood upon began to bubble and roil violently.
[Warning: Massive biological signature detected.]
[The entire floor is a hostile entity.]
Lee Ji-young cried out.
“It’s not moss. This is all… slime. We’ve walked straight into a colony!”
Ssshhhhh!
Green foam erupted from all directions. The black moss covering the ground congealed and transformed into hundreds, thousands of gelatinous monsters that surged upward.
[Acidic Slime D+ Rank]
[Traits: Physical Resistance 80%, Division, Acidic Gas Emission]
“It’s a trap!”
Seo Eun-ha attempted to launch herself into the air, but the creatures rained down from the ceiling as well.
Splat. Thud. Smack.
“Aaaahhh!”
Park Jae-jung roared. The slimes coiling around his legs were dissolving his armor at a ferocious rate.
“Get them off! Shield Bash!”
He brought his shield crashing down onto the floor. The impact sent slimes scattering in all directions, but they didn’t die. They dispersed like jelly, then reformed and clung back with even greater tenacity.
“Physical attacks won’t work. Even cutting them just makes them stick back together.”
I slashed through the creatures with my dagger, shouting as I cut them down. Purification worked—they died—but there were far too many of them. For every one I killed, two more swarmed in to take its place.
“Move! I’ll incinerate them all!”
Seo Eun-ha leveled her staff.
“No. Stop.”
Lee Ji-young grabbed her arm urgently.
“Why? At this rate, we’re all dead.”
“Don’t you see the analysis? Their bodily fluids are volatile acid. If you use fire here, we’ll trigger a chain explosion or toxic gas will skyrocket and dissolve our lungs!”
“Then what do we do? Freeze them?”
“Yes. Cold magic. We need to immobilize them.”
Seo Eun-ha gritted her teeth and switched her incantation.
[Frost Nova]
A torrent of freezing energy erupted from her staff. The slimes around us crystallized white, their movements sluggish. But she was a fire-specialized mage. The range of her cold magic was narrow, and its duration was brief.
Hisssss… hisss….
Toxic gas began seeping through the gaps in the frozen mass. The acidic mist the slimes exhaled seeped through the cracks in our gas masks.
“Cough. Cough.”
Lee Ji-young coughed first. As a non-combatant, her stamina was depleting fastest.
“I… can’t… breathe….”
“Team leader.”
I swung my dagger, batting away the swarm of slimes clinging to her.
“Purification.”
White light flashed, obliterating the slimes, but I felt my core energy drain away sharply.
“Ugh… my legs…”
This time it was Park Jae-jung. His thick alloy boots were nearly melted through, exposing his skin to the poison. If the tank fell, it was over.
I quickly pulled a potion from my waist and threw it to him.
“Drink it. You have to hold on.”
Gulp, gulp. Park Jae-jung downed the potion, but the pain didn’t fade from his expression. His skin continued to burn away, his stamina continued to drain, yet the potion’s cooldown was far too long.
We were sinking into a swamp. Not merely trapped—slowly, agonizingly dying.
“This can’t be broken through by force alone.”
I realized it, cold sweat dripping down my face. Our firepower was strong. Our defense was solid. But the toxic gas was dissolving our lungs, and the acidic fluid was burning our flesh. The potions were running out and their cooldowns were long. We had no healer. A fatal weakness was tightening around our throats.
We were dying slowly, withering away.

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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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