The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 44

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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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44
Chapter 44 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
I adjusted the filter on my gas mask and climbed atop the skeletal remains of the Golem, now reduced to scrap metal.
“Phew…”
In my hand lay the White Fang I’d just wielded. Across its transparent crystalline blade clung black oil and corrupted mana residue that had erupted from within the Golem’s body.
I rotated the dagger into my habitual grip—blade pointing downward. This stance proved far more effective in confined spaces for driving vital strikes or prying open hardened shells. Especially now, when excavating the core from solid wreckage, it served perfectly as a lever.
“Let’s see what we have.”
I drove the dagger’s tip into the dented engine compartment that had once been the Golem’s chest. With a sickening screech of metal, the engine cover tore free. Deep within, an object pulsed with an eerie luminescence.
“Found it.”
I thrust my gauntleted left hand inside and extracted it—a sphere the size of a fist. But unlike ordinary mana stones, this was different. Tangled wires, automotive spark plugs, and a black mana stone had fused into one entity, pulsing with mechanical rhythm.
[Item: Mutated Mechanical Heart]
[Grade: C+]
[Description: An artificial organ created when corrupted mana infused a mechanical apparatus. Upon purification, it can be utilized as a high-efficiency power source.]
“That’s grotesque.”
Seo Eun-ha, who had approached without warning, grimaced at the heart in my palm.
“Is that a mana stone or a battery?”
“Both. It’s the result of ten years of evolution, absorbing the toxins of this land.”
I channeled purification energy through my Alchemist’s hand. With a sharp hiss, the black sludge and malevolent aura clinging to the heart washed away. As the murky surface transformed into a clear azure, the irregular pulsing stabilized into a steady hum.
“Keep it. We can use this as an auxiliary battery for our Moon Rover later.”
I tossed the purified heart to Park Jae-jung. He caught it deftly and stowed it in his pouch.
“The perimeter is secured.”
Park Jae-jung reported while maintaining vigilance over the surroundings.
“Eun-ha incinerated all the lesser Walkers, and we’ve eliminated the Golem, but… the noise was considerable. Other creatures could converge on us from within the mist.”
“Let’s move.”
We climbed back into the vehicle. As the heat of battle dissipated, Zone 9’s characteristic oppressive chill seeped back into the cabin.
The car resumed its slow crawl. Passing the entrance where we’d fought the Golem, the landscape grew increasingly desolate.
The road was completely severed. The asphalt had buckled and collapsed as if struck by an earthquake, and through every crevice sprouted violet poison mushrooms and ferns as tall as a person. Each time we passed, the plants rustled and trembled, as if exchanging signals with one another.
“…This is unsettling.”
Han Su-jin shuddered while gazing out the window.
“Those plants… their roots aren’t in the soil. They’re burrowed into collapsed building basements, sewers—places like that. They’re feeding on something.”
“Corpses, most likely.”
Lee Ji-young analyzed with clinical detachment.
“During the Great Exodus ten years ago, millions were trapped and died here. The organic matter buried beneath the ground has become the fertilizer for this grotesque ecosystem.”
Her words cast a heavy pall over the cabin. The reality that we were driving across a vast graveyard became viscerally apparent.
“Representative, there’s a crossroads ahead.”
Park Jae-jung, at the wheel, reduced our speed.
Before us lay the wreckage of a collapsed overpass blocking the path. To the left stretched a narrow alley; to the right, a half-submerged underground passage.
“Ji-young, what’s the route?”
Lee Ji-young manipulated her goggles.
“The underground passage won’t work. The water’s too deep, and there are too many heat signatures within it. We’d encounter corrupted crocodiles or aquatic leech swarms. We need to detour left through the alley—toward the Old Guro Digital Complex Food Alley.”
“An alley… the perfect terrain for an ambush.”
I adjusted the Queen’s white fangs against my thigh holster.
“Reduce speed and enter slowly. Eun-ha, be ready to open the window and fire at any moment.”
“Got it.”
The Moon Rover crept into the narrow alley. Charred signboards lined both sides—’XX Samgyeopsal’, ‘YY Karaoke’… streets that once thrummed with life now festered beneath mold and algae.
Rustle.
Something shifted beyond a shattered window on the second floor. I turned my head immediately, fixing my gaze on the spot. But there was nothing. Only torn curtains swayed in the wind.
“…I’m being watched.”
Han Su-jin murmured.
“By whom?”
“I don’t know. But… so many eyes are watching us. There’s no hostility, though… it feels sad. Very cold and hungry…”
Her words sent ice down my spine. Were these not monsters, but lingering spirits unable to leave this place? Or perhaps intelligent mutants of another kind?
“Don’t worry about it. If they don’t attack, we ignore them.”
I forced my gaze forward. Survival mattered now, not sentiment.
After another thirty minutes deeper in, the mist began to lift, revealing a massive plaza.
“We’ve arrived.”
Lee Ji-young said.
It was the entrance to an old subway station. But the entrance was completely sealed by enormous violet cocoons and tangled vines. And surrounding them were monsters far more grotesque and massive than the Scrap Walkers we’d faced earlier.
[Zone 9 Deep Layer Entrance]
[Contamination Level: Extremely High]
“…We have to break through that and get underground?”
Seo Eun-ha swallowed hard.
Among the creatures guarding the entrance were mutated ogres exceeding three meters tall, and massive swarms of venomous moths clinging to the building walls.
“A frontal assault would be suicide.”
Park Jae-jung shook his head.
“Fighting all of them would drain our ammunition and mana reserves.”
“And we can’t turn back either.”
I prepared to exit the vehicle.
“We’ll use a diversion tactic. Create chaos to scatter them, then slip through the entrance in the confusion.”
I turned to my teammates.
“Eun-ha, can you manage the most spectacular and loudest fireworks display possible?”
Seo Eun-ha’s lips curved into a grin.
“That’s my specialty. I’ll wake up the whole neighborhood.”
Thump. Thump.
My heart pounded in my ears. We’d killed the Moon Rover’s engine and now crouched in silence behind the ruins of a collapsed building.
Beyond the mist lay the Old Guro Digital Complex Station Plaza. It resembled a gathering ground for colossal monsters. Contaminated ogres over three meters tall patrolled with bone clubs in hand, while human-sized venomous moths rested with folded wings against the building exteriors.
“…There are too many.”
Lee Ji-young whispered as she reviewed the drone footage on her tablet.
“Over 200 in the plaza alone. The subway entrance is blocked by thorny vines, and two Named-rank monsters stand guard like sentinels.”
“Named-rank?”
“One is the Corroded Blade Butcher, a C+-rank Ogre variant wielding car doors like swords in both hands. The other is the Acidic Spore Lord, a B-rank giant fungal monster spewing toxic gas around it—approaching is impossible.”
They hadn’t simply overwhelmed us with numbers; they’d constructed a systematic defensive line.
“Eun-ha, can you reach them?”
At my question, Seo Eun-ha activated the zoom function on her goggles and measured the distance.
“Direct line of sight: 800 meters. My Red Queen can reach it easily. But… if I shoot there, 200 of them will charge at me simultaneously. Can you handle that?”
“No. We’re not fighting.”
I pointed at the map.
“You’re not shooting at the plaza, Eun-ha. You’re shooting at the Gas Station Ruins on the opposite side of the plaza.”
“The gas station?”
“Yes. If the underground storage tank is still intact, there should be fuel left. We’ll blow it up. While their attention is diverted there, we’ll make a dash for the entrance.”
“Ah, a feint attack, I see?”
Seo Eun-ha chuckled and opened the hatch on the car’s ceiling, leaning her upper body out.
“Park Jae-jung, prepare to start the engine. We move the moment it explodes.”
“Understood.”
Park Jae-jung gripped the steering wheel tightly. Tension filled the vehicle. Han Su-jin sat in the back seat, clutching her coat hem with her eyes closed.
[Target locked on.]
[Mana charge: 100%.]
Red light began condensing at the tip of Seo Eun-ha’s staff.
“A gift for you ugly bastards.”
Pyuuuung—!
A sharp detonation, as if a silencer were attached, accompanied the crimson mana projectile as it pierced through the mist. The flame that traveled 800 meters struck the old underground tank’s ventilation shaft at the Gas Station Ruins with perfect accuracy.
0.5 seconds later.
Kwaaaang—!!
A colossal mushroom cloud bloomed skyward. The earth trembled, and a deafening roar consumed the ruins. The decade-old fuel tank erupted in a chain reaction, spewing hellish flames.
“Kieeeek?!”
“Kraaaah!”
The monsters in the plaza shrieked in unison, their eyes fixed on the explosion. Sensitive to light and noise, they grew frenzied and surged toward the blast site in a stampede.
“Now. Step on it.”
Buaaang!
Park Jae-jung slammed the accelerator to the floor. The Moon Rover shot forward. We raced across the empty plaza toward the Subway Entrance. Everything was proceeding as planned. Their main forces had withdrawn toward the explosion, leaving only two gatekeepers at the entrance.
“We’re ramming straight through.”
“Hold on.”
The vehicle hurtled toward the gatekeepers. But that was when it happened.
Kugugugugun…
A vibration different from the explosion—something heavy and primal—rose from the deep underground.
“Huh?”
Han Su-jin’s eyes snapped open.
“No… it’s not from the explosion. The earth… the earth is angry!”
The moment she spoke, something extraordinary happened. The monsters rushing toward the Gas Station Ruins, and the Named Ogre and fungal monster guarding the entrance—they all froze simultaneously.
They weren’t concerned with the explosion or our vehicle. They trembled in terror, pressing their bodies flat against the ground. Like herbivores sensing the arrival of a lion.
“Park Jae-jung! Stop. Emergency brake!”
My instincts screamed danger.
Screeeech!
The vehicle skidded to a halt. Just ten meters ahead, the asphalt directly in front of the Subway Entrance cracked open with a sharp snap.
Crackle—BOOM!
It wasn’t a simple fracture. The entire road buckled upward, and a massive column of dark earth erupted from below. And from between those earthen pillars emerged something we had never truly witnessed before.
“Kuooooo—.”
A roar that tore through the atmosphere. It sounded less like a living creature’s cry and more like the metallic screech of bedrock grinding against itself.
As the dust cleared, the creature’s form was overwhelming. A massive worm or serpent exceeding twenty meters in length. But its skin wasn’t flesh—it was covered entirely in obsidian-black scales, and between those scales flowed energy the color of molten lava.
Its mouth was circular, with thousands of diamond teeth rotating like gears.
[Core Beast: Obsidian Worm]
[Rank: A-]
[Origin: Deep Underground]
This was it. The primary culprit that drove humanity from the surface ten years ago. Not a mutation born from contamination, but a primordial monster that grew by consuming the energy of Earth’s core directly.
“Insane… what the hell is that? A dragon?”
Seo Eun-ha’s mouth hung open in shock.
It didn’t target us—it lunged at the Named Ogre beside us. The ogre tried to flee, but the Obsidian Worm’s speed was far superior. Crunch! The worm erupted from the ground and swallowed the ogre whole. The C+-rank Named Monster didn’t even have time to scream before it was ground between those diamond teeth.
Crackle, crunch. The sound of rock being chewed echoed. It wasn’t merely consuming the ogre—it was devouring the asphalt and earth around it as well.
“So… that was the true master of the surface.”
Lee Ji-young murmured with a pallid face.
“The mutants were merely its snacks.”
The problem was that it blocked the entrance. The worm’s massive body coiled around the Subway Entrance like a serpent claiming its territory.
“Should we reverse?”
Park Jae-jung’s hand trembled as he reached for the gear shift, cold sweat beading on his brow.
“No. Look behind us.”
The ground was splitting open in the plaza behind us as well. Not just one. Two, three more Obsidian Worms erupted upward, slaughtering the mutant monsters that tried to flee. If we went backward, we’d be surrounded.
“We have to break through. Now, while it’s sluggish from digesting the ogre—that’s our window.”
I drew my white fangs.
“Change of plans. Forget the lure. Full power, straight through to the Underground. Park Jae-jung, ram it with the vehicle. Seo Eun-ha, target its sensory organs—its eyes.”
“…Got it. Let’s do this.”
“Moving out.”
Vrooooom!
The Moon Rover surged forward again. The Obsidian Worm detected the engine sound and turned its massive head. Scorching heat poured from its mouth.
“Get out of the way, you worm bastard!”
Seo Eun-ha swung her staff from atop the vehicle.
[Fire Spear – Maximum Output]
A colossal lance of flame shot toward the worm’s head. Boom! It struck the obsidian scales and erupted in fire. The damage seemed negligible, but it succeeded in drawing its attention.
“Kraaaa!”
It thrashed its head and lunged toward Seo Eun-ha.
At that moment, Park Jae-jung wrenched the steering wheel and shouted.
“Grab it! We’re going to collide!”
Crash!
The modified Moon Rover’s front bumper slammed into the lower body of the worm. Any ordinary monster would have been sent flying, but this creature didn’t budge an inch—solid as a mountain of stone. The sound of metal crumpling filled the air.
But our goal wasn’t to kill it. We needed to create a gap between the creature and the entrance.
“Keep pushing! Just a little more.”
The wheels spun uselessly, spewing smoke. Screech! Steel and obsidian scraped against each other, sending sparks flying. The creature’s coiled body loosened ever so slightly. Through the gap, I could see the shutter of the Subway Entrance.
“Now! Eun-ha, blow the shutter!”
Seo Eun-ha unleashed her magic without hesitation. Boom! The rusted shutter exploded, tearing open.
“Go!”
Park Jae-jung floored the accelerator, threading the vehicle precariously beneath the worm’s body. The car roof scraped against its scales with a bone-chilling screech, but the reflective plating erupted with acidic gas, repelling the creature’s advance.
Crash!
The car tumbled down the stairs and careened into the Subway Station Lobby.
“Shrieeeek!”
Behind us, the obsidian worm thrust its head through the entrance, releasing a piercing wail. But its massive body was too large to fit through the narrow stairwell. Frustrated, it gnawed and tore at the concrete around the entrance before eventually giving up and turning to seek other prey.
“Gasp… gasp…”
The car was filled with nothing but ragged breathing.
“…We made it.”
Park Jae-jung muttered, his head pressed against the steering wheel.
But relief came too soon. Through the car windows, the interior of the Subway Station stretched before us—plunged in absolute darkness with the power cut, only green emergency lights blinking faintly in the gloom.
And within that darkness, other eyes watched us. If the worm ruled the surface above, then something else entirely commanded this underground realm.
[Zone 9 Underground Deep Layer—Entered]
[Warning: Unknown mana wavelengths detected.]
“Turn on the lights. The real trial begins now.”
We had fled the hell above, seeking refuge below. But whether this place would be a sanctuary or a deeper tomb, no one could say.

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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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