The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 5

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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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5
Chapter 5 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
Not a single grain of dust remained where the Corrupted Juggernaut had stood. The overwhelming presence that had filled the Cave vanished like a lie, leaving only the faint scent of ozone and slowly settling dust particles drifting through the air. The only sounds were the water droplets falling from cracks in the Wall and the ragged breathing of Park Jae-jung and myself.
“Haa… haa…”
I slid down the Wall, my back against the cold stone. The wound at my side tore open again, and pain swept through my entire body. But what exhausted me far more was the severe depletion that came after pushing my ability to its absolute limit.
Park Jae-jung remained motionless, staring at the empty space where the monster had vanished. Gone was the cold calculation and seasoned composure of a C-rank veteran. What remained was the expression of someone whose entire world had just crumbled.
He began to move slowly. Approaching the spot where the Juggernaut had been, he bent down and swept his hand across the Floor. Nothing. He then examined the traces of destruction the monster had left behind.
The deeply gouged Floor, the deeply scratched Wall, and the half-crushed shield that had fallen from his hands. The marks of destruction were vivid, yet the monster that had caused them had simply evaporated before his eyes—a confusion that was written all over his face.
His gaze finally turned to me. The suspicion that had been testing me was gone from his eyes. It wasn’t admiration. It was the bewilderment of someone whose long-held common sense had been brutally shattered before him. As if possessed, he swept his hand through the empty space where the Juggernaut had vanished, again and again.
He spoke, his voice slightly strained.
“Explain… please.”
I steadied my ragged breathing and answered.
“That’s more like an added service.”
“An added service?”
“Yes. It’s an added service to the real business I’m planning…”
His brow furrowed at my cryptic answer. I gestured with my chin toward the sack we’d been collecting during the hunt. The bag of miscellaneous items we’d thrown into a corner during the battle.
“That’s the real deal.”
Park Jae-jung pulled the sack toward him with a puzzled expression. Inside were only the dark, unsightly Corrupted Magic Stones left behind by the ordinary monsters we’d hunted.
“Lee Tae-hyun. Are you joking? What exactly are these pieces of trash…?”
“Sit there for a moment.”
I pointed to the Floor of the Cave. Park Jae-jung looked confused about my intent, but without complaint, he sat down across from me. I pulled out the most common F-rank Corrupted Magic Stone from the sack and rolled it in front of him.
“Look carefully.”
I placed my hand on the Corrupted Magic Stone. And I used my Purification ability.
White light flowed from my hand in the dark Cave. It wasn’t the explosive brilliance that had obliterated the monster. It was quiet, subtle—a sacred light that seemed to wash away all impurity.
When I opened my hand, Park Jae-jung wasn’t even breathing.
He roughly wiped his face as if doubting his own eyes, but the result in my palm couldn’t possibly change.
The viscous contaminants that had flowed across my palm were washed away by the white light. When the light faded, in place of the dark stone lay a crystal so transparent and radiant it seemed carved from stars. Zero impurities. The tangible reality of 100% purity—something that theoretically existed only in theory.
With trembling hands, he carefully picked up the Purified Magic Stone. F-rank Superior. 100% purity. Perfect quality incomparable to any Magic Stone of the same grade available on the market. A C-rank veteran Hunter would know the value of this item better than anyone.
His gaze darted frantically between the jewel and my face. His lips pressed tightly together, his pupils trembling slightly. It seemed calculations were occurring in his mind at a speed I could scarcely imagine. Combat ability that obliterated a C-rank mid-boss in a single strike. And alchemy that turned trash into gold. The value of these two combined…
I didn’t stop. This time, I picked up an E-rank Corrupted Magic Stone. I used my Purification ability the same way. This time the light was more intense and took slightly longer. When I opened my hand again, Park Jae-jung flinched as if he might jump to his feet without thinking.
Before his eyes lay an E-rank Superior Magic Stone, rare even in C-rank Dungeons, radiating brilliant light.
He looked at me again with eyes completely overwhelmed—a dimension beyond what he’d shown when we defeated the Juggernaut. No longer did he see me as an F-rank novice or an unknown powerhouse. In his eyes remained the gaze of a miner who had just discovered a vast gold mine for the first time.
Park Jae-jung asked no more questions. His face showed the desperation of someone who knew that missing this opportunity might mean losing everything. He carefully set down the Magic Stone in his hand and spoke with a seriousness and sharpness that bore no comparison to before.
“A contract. Let’s make it right here, right now.”
Sincerity resonated in Park Jae-jung’s low voice. His voice echoing in the dark Cave carried no trace of C-rank veteran pride or tests directed at an F-rank. What remained was only the sharp determination of a businessman standing before the opportunity of a lifetime.
I watched him in silence. He seemed far more intense than when we’d faced the Juggernaut.
He had perfectly understood the true value of the Purification ability—that it was far more than a simple combat skill or a means to earn money. It was an ability that could shake the very economic laws of this world.
I set down the Purified Magic Stone I’d been holding and spoke.
“A contract, then. Good. But before that, Jae-jung, you need to understand the dangers this venture carries.”
A smile played at the corners of his mouth at my words.
“Danger, you say? Lee Tae-hyun, it seems you still don’t understand. The ability you possess isn’t merely dangerous—it’s catastrophic. The moment this truth leaks to the outside world, we’ll find ourselves at war with every major Guild in this nation, possibly the government itself, and perhaps even massive foreign powers. They’ll stop at nothing to seize your ability.”
He saw through the situation far more clearly than I did.
“That’s why we need a contract. You are the core and the producer of this ability. You must never be exposed to the outside world.”
He struck his own chest with his fist.
“I will be your shield and the face of this enterprise. I’ll deflect every threat and distribute the wealth you create to the world. Instead of the F-rank Lee Tae-hyun, they’ll see Park Jae-jung—a seasoned C-rank merchant. You simply work safely behind the scenes, producing value that cannot be imitated. What do you say?”
It was a perfect proposal for me. An answer to the problem I’d been vaguely contemplating but couldn’t solve concretely. Not merely a sturdy shield, but the finest strategist and operator to protect me in this harsh world.
“How will we split the profits?”
“I take four, you take six. No, I take three, you take seven. Since you’re the core of this business, that’s only fair.”
I shook my head at his offer.
“No. Let’s do six to four. I’ll take six, and you’ll take four, Jae-jung. Considering the risks and weight of responsibility you’ll bear, you deserve at least that much.”
Park Jae-jung looked slightly surprised at the ratio I proposed. He seemed to realize I wasn’t merely someone with a skill who wanted to make money—I was someone who could recognize and value a partner’s worth.
He exhaled long and deeply, then with apparent resolve, withdrew an old parchment scroll from his pocket.
“What is this?”
“A magical contract scroll. It’s a C-rank item. If we seal the contract with blood here, its terms will be inscribed upon both our souls. Should either of us break the contract, our Core Energy will go haywire, forcing us to take our own lives. I purchased it expensively long ago as a precaution, but I never thought I’d use it like this.”
He unrolled the contract. It was already densely filled with the contract terms he’d been considering.
1. Party B (Park Jae-jung) shall protect all secrets regarding Party A’s (Lee Tae-hyun) [Purification] ability at the cost of his life.
2. Final decision-making authority for all business matters rests with Party A, but all external activities shall be handled exclusively by Party B.
3. All profits shall be distributed at a ratio of 6 for Party A and 4 for Party B.
4. Under no circumstances shall either party betray the other or commit acts that would harm the other.
….
“Once you imprint your blood here, we’re boarding the same ship. A ship we can never leave. Are you truly certain about this?”
At his final question, I smiled slightly and nodded. I drew a small dagger across my fingertip, as did he, and we both drew blood.
The moment our crimson blood fell upon the contract, brilliant light erupted from the parchment, and the contract’s words materialized in the air. Then they seeped directly into our bodies.
Crimson threads of magical energy surged up and constricted our hearts. An absolute, irrefutable prohibition. Deep within my soul, a chilling sentence—betrayal is death—was branded like a seal, and I felt my skin crawl. We had become accomplices bound together by death itself, never to be separated.
As the contract concluded, the subtle tension between us vanished, replaced by solid trust and camaraderie. A brief silence fell, and I spoke first.
“Jae-jung.”
“Yes, Tae-hyun… or rather, I should call you Director now.”
I felt the weight of the title he was about to use and continued calmly.
“I no longer want to live trembling before a single monster in the Dungeon, scraping together pittance while worrying about tomorrow’s survival. I want to build a stable system. A fortress that no one can ever threaten—one that belongs only to us…”
This was no longer the vague dream of F-rank Lee Tae-hyun. This was a vision presented by a Director wielding the Purification skill. Park Jae-jung listened to my words in silence.
Looking at him, I asked.
“As a C-rank veteran, as an expert who has witnessed the rise and fall of countless Guilds, I ask you this: Jae-jung, what must we do first to turn dreams into reality?”
Park Jae-jung smiled slightly at my question. He no longer tried to teach me. Standing before a leader who needed his knowledge and experience, he became an advisor and began to answer.
“A Guild, Director.”
He paused briefly, then began to explain.
“The fortress you speak of is precisely a Guild. Rumors that you sold a high-tier D-rank Magic Stone have already begun spreading through the Trading Post. For now they’ll call you a lucky F-rank, but if you continue flooding the market with high-purity Magic Stones, the hyenas—the mid-sized Guilds—will catch the scent first. They’ll tail us, kidnap us, and do whatever it takes to uncover our secret.”
He was speaking harsh reality.
“But if we establish an official Guild as our umbrella, everything changes. We’ll receive the Association’s protection and gain the only legitimate means to bare our fangs at those who threaten us. With a Guild House as our base, we secure safety, hire new personnel legally, and build our foundation.”
The explanation was crystal clear. I nodded and posed my next question.
“How much will it cost to build this fortress?”
“At minimum, one billion. That’s the baseline capital required to establish a Guild. Of course, that’s only enough to construct a small outpost. To build a true fortress that won’t crumble under any threat, you’d need ten times that amount—twenty times, even.”
‘One billion.’
I doubted my own ears. But then I nodded slowly.
“Then our first objective is one billion.”
I rose from my seat and, as the representative, issued my first directive.
“Park Jae-jung. Starting now, I need you to map out the most efficient route to generate one billion by liquidating every depleted Magic Stone in this district—including the C-rank and E-rank stones we acquired today.”
A smile of evident satisfaction crossed Park Jae-jung’s face—the expression of a specialist who had finally found someone capable of utilizing his talents, and who sensed the magnitude of what lay ahead. He met my gaze with unwavering confidence and replied.
“Looks like I won’t have a moment’s rest. I’m ready for this, Director.”
I felt reassured knowing I was no longer alone.
As we emerged from the Dungeon, the sky outside had already begun to pale with the first light of dawn. It felt like the end of the days that had weighed upon me, and the beginning of a new life.

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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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