The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 54

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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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54
Chapter 54 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
“This is Blue Tower Technical Control. Moonglade in Zone 9, do you copy?”
This wasn’t the static-laden voice from yesterday. It was crisp, measured, and dripping with arrogance—the kind of tone that suggested someone in a white lab coat looking down at us from an ivory tower.
“…I read you loud and clear. The signal quality is excellent.”
I gripped the microphone and responded.
“We’ve temporarily neutralized the jamming signal on our end. Since maintaining security is difficult, let’s keep this brief.”
Of course. Blue Tower’s technological prowess was undeniable. They’d pierced through Dominion’s S-rank interference and carved out a secure channel just for us. It was proof of how much interest they had in us.
“Did you review the data we sent?”
“I did. It was quite fascinating. Or rather, I should say it was shocking.”
The other party’s voice grew more serious.
“The Abyss Project… I never thought those Dominion bastards would actually touch that taboo.”
“Taboo?”
“Yes. It’s a plan to mine the deep core energy from the underground. The Three Major Guilds determined that the contamination levels there were uncontrollable and implicitly agreed to restrict access. But then…”
There was a brief crackle before the voice resumed.
“That drilling pipe in the video you sent—it’s irrefutable evidence that Dominion secretly inserted a straw. Thanks to it, we can now be certain.”
A success. We’d seized leverage against Dominion, and our card had landed.
“So the deal is done? We’ve handed over Dominion’s dirty secret, so you provide the supplies.”
“No. Not yet.”
Blue Tower flatly rejected my proposal.
“We’ve confirmed Dominion’s blunder. But the latter half of your video… that white light requires verification.”
“Verification?”
“A light that annihilates contaminated core energy? According to established magical theory, such a phenomenon is impossible. Our researchers claim that video is manipulated CGI.”
I couldn’t blame them. My purification ability was an anomaly in this world.
“So we want tangible proof. If you truly possess the ability to wield that light, bring us the result.”
“The result?”
“The purified magic stone shown in the video. Deliver a pure magic stone with all contamination completely removed to the designated location. If it’s genuine, we’ll acknowledge your value and provide full support without reservation.”
They wanted to see if it was real. Ultimately, it was a test.
I muted the microphone momentarily and turned to my colleagues. Park Jae-jung and Lee Ji-young both nodded. It meant we had no choice.
“Fine. Where do I go? You’re not insane enough to ask me to come to the surface, right?”
“Of course not. The surface is practically a banquet hall for S-rank monsters right now. What we want is the ceiling of the Lower District.”
“The ceiling?”
“The District 4 Vertical Ventilation Tower. A massive chimney that vents the contaminated air from the Lower District outward. Our drone port is at the Third Exhaust Port there. Leave the magic stone in that port by midnight tonight.”
“The ventilation tower, huh…”
The Lower District was a three-dimensional labyrinth woven from massive metal plates and buildings. The ventilation tower hung at the highest point of those structures—essentially the sky of the Lower District.
“It won’t be easy. You’ll have to climb more than fifty meters up the old steel framework. And there are plenty of flying monsters swarming around that ceiling area, aren’t there?”
“…”
“Can you manage it? We want to see if you have the capability to deliver through Dominion’s surveillance network and past the monsters to that height.”
Arrogant bastards. They get to receive it comfortably with their drones while ordering us to risk our lives on a cliff climb. But I could sense the greed hidden beneath it all. They were desperate to know—was this white magic stone real or fake?
“Understood. Tonight, we’ll send the item. Just make sure you keep your promise.”
“Blue Tower does not lie before knowledge. I will wait.”
Click. The communication cut off. The speaker’s light went dark, and silence returned to the Repair Shop.
“Sigh… one mountain after another.”
Seo Eun-ha collapsed onto the ground and ran her hands through her hair.
“The Broadcasting Station this time? That’s the highest point in the entire Lower District. It’s practically begging to be noticed.”
“And if it’s tonight… we might overlap with the gas influx time.”
Lee Seung-ryong unfolded the map with a worried expression.
“The area around the Broadcasting Station lacks cover… Not only from monsters, but the risk of being spotted by Dominion’s surveillance is significant.”
All eyes turned to me. Dangerous. Far too dangerous. But I couldn’t refuse. Four days’ worth of food. After that, we starve. If I don’t seize this rope now, there is no future.
I pulled a purified mana stone from my pocket. A small pebble emitting a soft white glow. This was our admission ticket.
“We have to go.”
I felt the same as everyone else, but I spoke calmly.
“This is the process of making Blue Tower—a massive faction—our ally, or at least our sponsor.”
“Do you think they’ll keep their promise?”
Han Su-jin asked.
“They will. Until we’re no longer needed…”
I pointed at the map with my finger.
“This operation will move with a small, elite force in secrecy. The goal is to avoid monsters and simply leave the item behind.”
I looked around at my teammates.
“Just the three of us—myself, Lee Seung-ryong to guide us, and Ji-young.”
“What?!”
Seo Eun-ha bristled.
“You’re leaving without me?”
“If firepower erupts, Dominion’s people might notice. Eun-ha and Park Jae-jung, you stay here and guard the base. If we fail and don’t return… take the remaining food and escape to safety with Su-jin.”
“Hey! Don’t say such unlucky things.”
Seo Eun-ha shouted, but her eyes were wavering.
“Don’t worry. We’ll come back safely.”
I had no choice. I had to account for the worst-case scenario. Otherwise, my teammates might wait indefinitely or recklessly search for us and put themselves in danger.
“Get ready. We’ll depart when the gas recedes during the low tide.”
After preparations were complete, our send-off was brief. Seo Eun-ha crossed her arms and looked away, while Park Jae-jung and Han Su-jin watched with worried eyes as we disappeared into the darkness through the gap in the shutter.
The weight of the backpack on my shoulders felt heavy. Not from food or water. Inside was merely a fist-sized purified mana stone. Yet that weight equaled the lives of everyone on our team.
The target point, the 4th Vertical Ventilation Tower, was 2 kilometers away in a straight line. During the low tide when gas had receded, the distance was relatively quiet. But instead of picking up speed, I held my breath and moved silently.
Throughout the journey, my senses were on edge. The sound of water dripping from somewhere, the creak of a sign in the wind—each noise grated on my nerves. The obsession that discovery meant the end made my footsteps even more cautious.
Thirty minutes later. We arrived before a massive structure.
“…Hah.”
Lee Seung-ryong let out a sigh. Looking up into the darkness, a towering cylindrical structure pierced through the ceiling of the Lower District. A colossal steel chimney over fifty meters in diameter. Its surface was covered in dark reddish rust, and tangled pipes and conduits twisted grotesquely like the veins of a monster.
“We have to… climb that?”
Lee Ji-young seemed tense.
“Yes. There’s no elevator.”
I checked the gloves I was wearing again. The ventilation tower’s outer wall had inspection ladders attached, but it was clear that many sections were broken or bent, rendering them useless.
“I’ll take the lead. Lee Seung-ryong in the middle, Ji-young at the rear. We’ll tie ourselves together with rope. If one of us falls, we all fall.”
We secured the rope around our waists—a lifeline and, simultaneously, a curse waiting to happen.
“Let’s move.”
Clang. I gripped the first rung. The cold metal bit through my gloves, and as I applied pressure, rust powder crumbled away.
One rung, two rungs. The ground level receded below us.
For an ordinary person, climbing even five or six meters on a ladder is exhausting. Fortunately, there were platforms spaced throughout where we could rest our feet. We climbed, paused, climbed again. But it wasn’t merely a matter of stamina.
Ten meters, twenty meters. As the altitude increased, the wind grew fierce. Whoooosh—the rising currents circling the Ventilation Tower seemed determined to tear us from the wall.
“Ugh…”
I felt Lee Seung-ryong’s legs trembling as he looked downward.
“Don’t look down. Focus only on your hands and the rungs beneath your feet.”
At the thirty-meter mark, the ladder abruptly ended—exactly as I’d anticipated. From here on, we had to navigate like circus performers, stepping on protruding pipes and steel beams.
I launched myself upward to grasp the H-Beam overhead. Thwack! My fingertips caught the edge. My arm muscles screamed with pain. Gritting my teeth, I hauled myself up and pulled the rope to guide Lee Seung-ryong.
“Your foot—to the right. There’s a bolt head there. Step on it.”
“Huff… huff… understood.”
We were like fleas crawling across the back of some colossal mechanical beast. The stench of grease and rust, the air growing thinner with each meter of altitude. This wasn’t simple climbing. It was a battle against gravity and against fear itself.
That’s when it happened.
“…Stop.”
Ji-young, climbing behind us, whispered urgently, her voice barely audible.
“Why?”
“Above… ten meters up. Between the pipes. Biological signatures.”
I lifted my gaze upward. The pipes tangled in darkness made visual identification impossible. But Ji-young’s Eyes of Truth could see what I couldn’t.
“What are they?”
“Steel Wings… bat mutants. Five of them.”
Steel Wings. Bat mutants with steel-reinforced wings. Their eyesight was poor, but their hearing and echolocation abilities were insanely acute. Right now, they hung upside down from the pipes, sleeping.
But that was precisely the path we needed to take.
“Is there a way around them?”
“No. We’d have to detour twenty meters to either side, but the pipes block us. We have to go straight through.”
Detouring meant performing acrobatics while suspended in empty air; going straight meant disturbing them.
I closed my eyes for a moment. A deep breath, and my heartbeat echoed in my ears.
‘They’re asleep now. Small sounds might be swallowed by the wind.’
“…We’re going through.”
I pointed upward with my finger.
“As slowly as possible. Don’t even breathe loudly. If they wake, I’ll handle them. Both of you—stay pressed against the wall.”
The climb resumed, this time at half our previous pace. Each time I reached for a pipe, I tensed my muscles to prevent any metallic sound, and my entire body grew rigid with the effort.
Forty meters. The creatures came into view. Beneath the corroded pipes, their dark leather wings folded, they hung suspended. Sharp talons dug into the steel.
The distance was barely two meters. With each gust of wind, their bodies swayed like pendulums.
I passed directly beside them. The reek of their fur, the acrid stench of beasts, washed over me.
Lee Seung-ryong’s face behind me had turned ashen. Eyes shut, he followed my path upward.
Creak. A bolt beneath Lee Seung-ryong’s foot, unable to bear the weight, turned slightly.
A barely perceptible sound. But was it enough to wake them?
A sharp sound—the Steel Wing right beside me spread its wings wide. Its red eyes snapped open, turning its head directly toward me.
“Kii?!”
It was opening its mouth to send an ultrasonic signal to its companions.
In that instant, my body reacted first. Hanging from the pipe with one hand, I drew the short blade from my waist with the other and hurled it.
Thwack!
The blade drove straight into its gaping maw.
Its body went rigid, its claws losing their grip as it plummeted downward.
The problem came next. As it fell, it brushed the wing of a sleeping companion beside it.
The remaining four opened their eyes simultaneously. They began turning their heads, searching for the intruder.
“Damn it…!”
I yanked hard on the rope, my voice barely a whisper.
“Press against the wall! Don’t move.”
We flattened ourselves against the cold metal surface as if we were part of the rusted steel framework itself. My heart felt like it would burst from my chest.
Flap, flap, flap. The awakened creatures spread their wings and began circling above our heads.
‘Have we been discovered?’
I held my breath. The tip of a wing brushed past my shoulder. Its dark eyes swept across me.
But they didn’t attack. The stench clinging to our bodies—from yesterday’s monster blood and mud, combined with the reek of the Lower District—made them perceive us not as humans, but as background or fellow monsters.
They circled a few more times before hanging upside down from the pipes again. Fortunately, the fierce wind had disrupted their senses.
“Phew….”
I exhaled the breath I’d been holding, slowly and deliberately. Cold sweat trickled down my back, soaking my shirt.
“Let’s go. Quickly.”
No one spoke. There was no room to speak. Lee Seung-ryong’s hands were trembling, and Lee Ji-young gripped the pipe with her eyes squeezed shut.
I was the same. If that blade throw had missed? The very thought sent chills down my spine.
We fled silently, but without sound, from that section.
Fifty-five meters. Finally, the sealed space above came into view. The ceiling of the Lower District. And the exhaust port of the Ventilation Tower.
Through the gap where the massive fan stood motionless, I could see faded paint reading “Third Exhaust Port.” And beside it, a small railing jutting out—the Drone Port the Blue Tower operatives had mentioned.
“We’ve… arrived.”
I squeezed out my last reserves of strength and crawled onto the railing. Then I pulled up Lee Seung-ryong and Lee Ji-young. The three of us lay sprawled on the narrow railing, unable to move for a while.
“Haa… haa… I think… I’m going to be sick….”
Lee Ji-young gripped the railing, retching. It made sense. Climbing the ladder was exhausting enough, but she’d done it while constantly verifying everything with her Eyes of Truth.
I staggered to my feet and looked down below the railing. Abyssal darkness. Far below, where we’d been looked like a matchbox. And above it, the rusted ceiling.
“So this is… our sky.”
I opened my backpack and retrieved the purified mana stone. In the darkness, only the mana stone emitted a pure, radiant white light.
[Authentication: Blue Tower Drone Port access confirmed.]
[Opening item deposit slot.]
An old mailbox-like device in the corner of the railing opened with a ding. Without hesitation, I placed the mana stone inside.
Click. The deposit slot closed.
[Receipt confirmed. Analyzing composition……..]
[Analysis complete. Purity 99.9%. Purification grade: EX.]
The mechanical voice ceased, and moments later, that arrogant voice returned through the Drone Port’s speaker.
“…Remarkable. You actually brought it. And this purity… it’s a miracle.”
There was no longer any doubt in his voice. Instead, it brimmed with unbridled excitement.
“Test passed, Moonglade. You’ve proven yourselves.”
A metallic clang rang out as the lower section of the Drone Port opened, and a metal briefcase tumbled down.
“This is the first installment of the contract. And… from now on, you are unofficial partners of the Blue Tower.”
I picked up the briefcase. It was heavy. The weight of our future contained within.

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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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