The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 43

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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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43
Chapter 43 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
Vrrrrmmmmm—
The heavy engine roar filled the vehicle. The Moon Rover we rode in sat atop the Zone 4 Lift, a colossal elevator connecting the sky city to the ground below, not an ordinary road.
“We’re descending. Everyone, hold on tight.”
Park Jae-jung, seated in the driver’s seat, manipulated the gear. With a heavy thunk, the safety mechanisms disengaged and the massive steel plate began its slow descent downward.
I rested my arm against the passenger window and gazed outward. Above us, the brilliant lights of the Middle District we had just departed were receding into the distance. Clean air, pristine roads, and a safe existence. The sky city where humanity had fled upward to escape.
But when I turned my gaze downward, an entirely different world yawned open before us.
[Warning: Atmospheric pollution levels rising.]
[Approaching sea level altitude 0m.]
Red warning lights illuminated across the vehicle’s display. As the lift pierced through the cloud layer, the landscape beyond the window rapidly transformed into shades of grey.
Fog. A dense, ashen mist that seemed to have swallowed the world stretched endlessly before us. Through that haze, skeletal buildings rose like tombstones, their frames stripped bare. The remnants of Seoul, the capital of the old South Korea that had perished on that fateful day ten years ago.
“Is that… where we’re going?”
Seo Eun-ha stopped chewing her gum and pressed her face closer to the window.
“From up there, I thought it was just clouds… but up close, it’s like a complete poison gas pit.”
“That’s right. That fog isn’t just ordinary mist.”
Lee Ji-young spoke from the back seat, her goggles already in place.
“It’s toxic fog mixed with contaminated energy and radiation. The concentration is enormous. An ordinary person would have their lungs dissolve just from breathing it, and even a D-rank Hunter can’t survive more than ten minutes without protective gear.”
Thud.
The lift touched ground. With a heavy impact, the doors opened. There stood the frontline outpost guarded by the Hunter Association and military forces—the Zone 9 Entrance.
“Stop. We’re conducting identity verification.”
Armed soldiers blocked our vehicle. They were completely wrapped in thick protective suits, weapons held firmly in their hands.
Park Jae-jung cracked the window open just slightly and extended his ID card. The outside air seeped in through the narrow gap, and the stench of rotten eggs permeated the vehicle.
“Munglade Guild. We received a conscription order.”
“Munglade?”
The soldier conducting the inspection looked us over. His gaze lingered on our vehicle, modified like a tank, and the equipment worn by the members inside. Typically, conscripted smaller guilds appeared terrified or poorly equipped, but we looked far too composed, as if we were heading out on a leisurely outing.
“…Ha, so you actually came. I thought you’d run.”
The soldier clicked his tongue and gestured for us to proceed.
“You may pass. But I’m warning you.”
He fixed Park Jae-jung with a serious gaze.
“Once you cross that gate, no rescue requests will be answered. Your phones won’t work either. Whether you survive and return is entirely up to you.”
“Understood.”
Park Jae-jung raised the window, and the vehicle’s interior filled once more with purified air. The massive steel door began to open.
Screeeeeech—
With a rusty metallic shriek, the gateway to hell opened wide. Beyond it stretched ruins—no roads, only collapsed concrete and grotesquely twisted vegetation tangled together in a desolate wasteland.
“We’re going in.”
Vroom vroom.
The Moon Rover’s wheels touched earth. The vehicle shook violently, but thanks to its sturdy modifications, the impact was barely felt.
We stared silently out the windows. Collapsed bridges, a bus split in half, and violet vines crawling up building walls.
“…That’s Gangnam Avenue over there.”
I spoke with a bitter smile. The street where I had walked hand in hand with my parents in childhood—those memories lingered faintly. Now it had become a hunting ground for monsters.
“Boss, eleven o’clock to the left.”
Lee Ji-young called out calmly.
“It’s not just a simple plant. I’m detecting heat. Those vines… they’re alive.”
Before she could finish speaking—
Shwiiiiing!
A massive violet vine, standing like a street tree, curved like a whip and hurtled toward our vehicle.
“Whoa?! It’s coming!”
Seo Eun-ha cried out.
“Stay calm.”
I spoke with composure.
“Let’s test it. See how durable the gloves we made are.”
Crash!
The vine struck the side of the car. The impact was enough to make the vehicle lurch. But that was all.
Sizzzzle—
Black smoke rose from the car’s surface where the vine touched. Our Munglade Rover’s shell wasn’t mere steel. It was a reflective armor forged from the bodily fluids of acidic slimes combined with the carapace of the Crystal Queen.
A powerful acidic substance erupted from the armor’s surface upon impact, and the vine that had struck the car melted away instead, writhing as if screaming.
“Kieeeek—”
The vine fell away, charred black and lifeless.
“…Wow.”
Seo Eun-ha’s eyes widened.
“The car’s a weapon too? We could just ram straight through.”
“That’s exactly the point.”
I checked the vehicle status displayed on the screen.
[Armor Damage Rate: 0.1%]
“Park Jae-jung, increase speed. Ignore the small ones and push through.”
“Understood. Hold on tight.”
Park Jae-jung pressed the accelerator. Vroooom— The engine roared as the Munglade Rover surged forward like a tank. Decayed car wreckage blocking the road was crushed beneath the wheels, and attacking vines dissolved the moment they touched the chassis.
We carved through the gray mist, driving deep into the heart of the Ruins.
“How much farther to our destination?”
I asked.
Lee Ji-young manipulated the map.
“Five kilometers in a straight line. But the roads are all broken, so we’ll have to detour. Our estimated arrival is at the entrance of the old Guro Digital Complex Subway Station. That’s where the contamination level is highest.”
“Good.”
I opened the glove compartment. Inside were emergency rations and potions I had purified and prepared in advance, neatly arranged.
“Everyone, stay alert. Plants like that are just the opening act. We don’t know what might emerge from the mist.”
Then, Han Su-jin in the back seat shrank back and murmured.
“…I hear something.”
“Huh? What?”
Seo Eun-ha asked.
“Screams…”
Han Su-jin covered her ears. Her complexion had turned deathly pale.
“This entire land… it’s in pain, screaming. It’s so loud…”
An S-rank Healer’s heightened sensitivity. She wasn’t hearing sounds—she was sensing the agony radiating from the contaminated earth itself.
“Su-jin.”
I turned around.
“Raise your collar. Covering your ears should help.”
With trembling hands, she lifted the guardian’s coat collar to shield her ears. As the mana-blocking function activated, her expression eased slightly.
“…Thank you.”
“Park Jae-jung, turn on the lights. The fog is getting thicker.”
The car descended deeper into darkness. Beyond the windows, a dense emerald mist swirled so thickly that even the silhouettes of buildings blurred into obscurity. And from within that haze, colossal shadows crept toward us with deliberate, measured steps.
The true masters of Zone 9 had emerged to greet the intruders.
Screeeech—Boom!
The Land Rover’s chassis lurched violently. This wasn’t the impact of hitting a pothole. Something massive and unyielding had slammed into the side plating with a weighty, bone-jarring force.
“…What was that?”
Seo Eun-ha pressed her face against the window. But the dense gray fog rendered everything outside a murky, milky blur.
Then it happened.
Screech! Scrape!
A bone-chilling sound of sharp metal grinding across the roof pierced the air—like fingernails raking across a chalkboard. Han Su-jin shrieked and clamped her hands over her ears.
“It’s above us. Something has climbed onto the vehicle!”
Park Jae-jung shouted urgently, wrenching the steering wheel to shake it off.
But there was more than one.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
A succession of impacts. Black shadows burst through the fog from all directions, converging on our car.
“Team Leader Lee Ji-young, can you identify them?”
Lee Ji-young manipulated her goggles, reading the data.
“Multiple biological signatures… but their forms are abnormal. They’re humanoid, but with metallic readings mixed in. This is…”
Before she could finish, a face appeared directly beside the passenger window.
“Eek!”
Seo Eun-ha gasped.
It had once been human. Its skin had hardened into a cement-gray crust, and where eyes should have been, only sickly green light flickered. Worse was its body. Rusted rebar protruded where arms should have been, and a car bumper fragment was grotesquely fused into its chest, intertwined with decaying flesh.
[Mutant: Scrap Walker]
[Rank: D+ ~ C-Rank]
[Traits: Metal Fusion, Pack Hunting, Tetanus Induction]
People who had failed to escape ten years ago, consumed by the contaminated mana. They had fused with the surrounding debris and wreckage, becoming tragic abominations.
Crash! The creature’s rebar arm smashed down against the reinforced glass. The window held, but the impact reverberated through the car’s interior.
Hisssss—
Fortunately, the reflective armor we’d prepared activated. Acidic gas erupted from the vehicle’s surface, melting the creature’s flesh as smoke billowed upward.
“Kieeeek!”
It shrieked and fell away. But others filled the void. Dozens—no, hundreds—of Walkers swarmed like locusts, engulfing the car.
Screech… The wheels spun uselessly. Their corpses were wedged between the treads, jamming the drive mechanism. If this continued, the weight would crush the vehicle flat or trap us here forever.
“This won’t work. There are too many of them to push through.”
Park Jae-jung pressed the accelerator with cold sweat beading on his forehead, but the car didn’t budge an inch.
I made my decision. Hiding inside the vehicle wouldn’t solve anything. Besides, this was the perfect opportunity to test our new equipment.
“Everyone, prepare to disembark.”
My teammates’ eyes sharpened with resolve.
“Park Jae-jung will draw their aggression from the front. Seo Eun-ha takes the left flank, I’ll handle the right. Han Su-jin, stay directly behind Park Jae-jung—don’t separate for any reason. Lee Ji-young, provide covering fire from inside the vehicle.”
“Understood.”
“Okay. Time to stretch our legs.”
I pressed the ceiling hatch release button on the Land Rover.
Pshhhhh—
The pressure valve hissed open and the ceiling hatch swung wide. Fetid stench and murky air rushed through the gap, but the purification filter masks we wore filtered it all perfectly.
“Moving out! Let’s go!”
Park Jae-jung burst through first. In his sleek black full-body Black Mamba Armor, he looked like a towering steel colossus.
Crash!
The moment his feet touched the roof, he swung the Gigas Shield in a wide arc, sweeping away the Walkers clinging to the vehicle.
“Get lost, you monsters!”
His taunt drew every nearby Walker into a frenzy. Rusted steel pipes and razor-sharp claws raked across his armor. Screech! Clang! Sparks erupted, but the B+-rank enhanced armor bore not a single scratch. Instead, the weapons of those who attacked shattered or bounced back with reflected damage.
“Now’s the moment! Seo Eun-ha!”
“Clear the way!”
Seo Eun-ha kicked open the car door and emerged. She wore a silvery-white Salamander Suit and aimed her crimson Queen’s Breath staff forward.
“Burn them all to ash. Ignite!”
Whoooosh!
Crimson flames whipped from the staff’s tip like a blazing lash. Normally, she would have felt the searing heat herself, but not this time. The suit she wore absorbed the thermal energy, converting it into mana and cycling it back through the staff—a perfect closed loop.
“Haha! It’s not hot at all!”
Delighted, she swept the staff in arcs, painting red trajectories through the mist. Walkers engulfed in flame shrieked and collapsed. My worry that the damp fog would suppress the fire proved unfounded. Her flames burned hot enough to incinerate even the mist itself.
I descended from the vehicle. White Fang was gripped in my hand, and black Alchemist’s Hand Gauntlets covered both my palms.
“Screech!”
A Walker lurking behind me lunged forward. Its limbs had transformed into razor-sharp scissor blades. I didn’t dodge.
Click. My left hand—the one wearing the gauntlet—caught its blade directly.
“Krrr?”
The creature writhed in confusion. The gauntlet’s surface tension was neutralizing its physical force.
“Filth must be cleansed.”
Purification: Contact Decomposition
The gauntlet’s circuit glowed blue. My core energy amplified and flooded into the creature’s body. Crackle! The corrupted mana that comprised its form disintegrated in an instant. The Walker crumbled to white sand without even a final scream.
‘…Excellent. Efficiency increased by over fifty percent.’
In the past, this would have consumed considerable energy, but now I could deliver a killing blow with minimal expenditure. The gauntlet was preventing energy loss.
“Han Su-jin, are you alright?”
I glanced back. Han Su-jin was crouched directly behind Park Jae-jung’s back, wearing a Guardian’s Vestment.
Then a Walker that Park Jae-jung had missed seized the opening and charged straight at Han Su-jin.
“Kyaaah!”
But before Park Jae-jung could rush to her aid, light erupted from her coat.
Ting!
A transparent spherical barrier materialized automatically, deflecting the creature. The absolute defense option had activated. The moment it touched the barrier, the creature convulsed as if electrocuted and tumbled across the ground.
“Huh…?”
Han Su-jin’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“Did… did that actually work?”
“I told you. You’re a walking fortress.”
I shouted as I hurled White Fang, piercing the fallen creature’s skull. The dagger’s mana-responsive retrieval function activated, and it returned to my hand.
“Twelve o’clock! Large entity approaching!”
Lee Ji-young’s voice crackled through my earpiece from the monitoring station in the vehicle.
“Mana signature C+ or higher! It’s the size of a bus!”
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The earth trembled. The mist parted, and a shadow the size of a house emerged.
[Mutant: Scrap Golem]
[Grade: C+]
A giant constructed from dozens of junked vehicles welded together. Its torso was a crushed bus, and its limbs were tangled traffic lights and utility poles. Over ten years, contaminated mana had breathed false life into the scrap metal.
“Kuoooooh!”
The golem roared and brought its fist crashing down—a truck’s worth of metal and weight.
“Park Jae-jung! Block it!”
“Leave it to me!”
Park Jae-jung stepped forward. Rather than dodge, he planted his feet and raised his shield.
[Iron Fortress – Reflection Mode]
Kwaaaang!
The collision erupted with a deafening boom. The asphalt buckled beneath the impact. But Park Jae-jung didn’t yield. Instead, a crimson shockwave burst backward from his shield.
Crack!
“Krraaagh!”
The golem’s attacking arm recoiled from the reflected damage, the truck-fist crumpling as shrapnel scattered.
“Now! Seo Eun-ha!”
“Got it. Melt it all down.”
Seo Eun-ha grasped her staff with both hands, gathering mana.
[Fireball – Piercing Type]
Whoooosh—Boom! A compressed fireball tore through the golem’s chest cavity, which resembled a bus engine compartment.
“Finish it.”
I kicked off the ground and launched myself upward. Using the golem’s arm as a springboard, I vaulted onto its shoulder. My eyes caught it—the pitch-black contaminated mana core hidden among the scrap metal.
“Purify.”
I gripped White Fang in a reverse grip and drove it into the crown of its head. Through my gauntlet, I unleashed all the purification energy I’d accumulated in one catastrophic surge.
Shhhhiiiing—!
Pure white light flooded through the golem’s body. As the contaminated mana animating it was purified, the scrap metal lost its cohesion and began collapsing inward.
Crash.
The colossal golem crumbled into a towering heap of scrap metal in mere ten seconds.
Dust settled, and silence descended upon us. We stood breathing heavily, eyes locked on one another. No injuries. No equipment damage. A flawless victory.
“…This is way cooler than I expected.”
Seo Eun-ha laughed, bringing her staff to her lips.
“In the old days, I would’ve been gasping for mana, but now my body feels so light.”
Park Jae-jung nodded, inspecting his shield.
“The impact absorption rate is remarkable. It felt less like being hit by a truck and more like someone simply pushing me.”
Han Su-jin still wore a bewildered expression, her fingers absently tracing her coat. She seemed unable to believe she stood unscathed amid this devastation.
“Don’t let your guard down.”
I brushed the contamination from my White Fang as I spoke.
“This was merely a welcome. Barely an entrance-level trial.”
I gazed deeper into the fog-shrouded ruins. We had only just breached the threshold.

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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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