The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 55

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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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55
Chapter 55 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
We descended the rusty ladder of the Ventilation Tower and returned to the Lower Floor. The descent was easier than the climb, but the tension remained. We never knew when the gas might rise again.
“Haa… we made it.”
The moment Ji-young’s feet touched the ground, she collapsed. Her legs had given out.
“You did well. Let’s return to the base quickly.”
We slipped back to the Hideout under the cover of the gas-free darkness.
Clang. The moment the Hideout’s shutter closed, our waiting comrades greeted us.
“You’re back? Are you hurt?”
Eun-ha rushed over and examined my body.
“I’m fine. And…”
I placed the metal bag that Blue Tower had given us on the Workbench. Everyone’s eyes fixed on it. The first installment payment. The price of crawling fifty meters with our lives on the line.
Zing—click.
I unlocked the case and opened the bag.
Ten packs of high-concentration combat rations. Five bottles of intermediate potions. One worn tablet PC. That was all.
“Are you kidding me?”
Eun-ha let out a scoff of disbelief.
“That’s it? Our lives are worth only this?”
Lee Seung-ryong couldn’t hide his disappointment either.
“I thought Blue Tower would give us something impressive…”
The atmosphere grew cold. I was equally disappointed, but I understood their position.
“I expected something like this.”
“What? You expected this?”
“They don’t see us as partners yet. They’re just keeping us alive with food, that’s all.”
“This is really infuriating.”
Park Jae-jung frowned.
“Wait a moment.”
Just then, Ji-young, who had been examining the bag carefully, grabbed my wrist. She removed her glasses and narrowed her eyes. She seemed to have discovered something with her eyes of truth.
“Boss… that thing.”
She pointed to the inside of the bag, the bottom of the foam padding. Nothing was visible to the naked eye.
“What’s there?”
“A faint magical wavelength. It’s hidden very cleverly.”
I slashed open the bottom of the bag with my dagger. When I lifted the foam, a rice-grain-sized black chip was embedded inside.
A listening device. And a location tracker.
“Ha… these bastards.”
Flames flickered in Eun-ha’s hand.
“Burn it right now!”
“No, leave it.”
I stopped her.
“What? You want us to be monitored?”
“For now, there’s nothing bad about it. They’ll feel reassured as long as we’re alive, and they’ll give us the next task. Besides, we still need them.”
I placed the chip back in its slot and covered it.
“Ji-young, keep this in a mana-blocking pouch normally, and only take it out when necessary to reassure them.”
“Understood. You’re saying we should turn the tables on them?”
“Exactly.”
Seo Eun-ha looked at me with disdain.
“You’re really… the type who’d smile even after getting stabbed in the back.”
“That’s precisely why I’m doing this. There’s nothing to smile about.”
I turned on the tablet PC from my bag. The moment the screen lit up, a message appeared alongside the Blue Tower logo.
[Congratulations on passing the test. Here is your first supply. Use it wisely.]
[Next directive: In three days, investigate the Lower District West Facility 7 Waste Disposal Plant. Dominion’s waste is being dumped there. Recover samples.]
Another dangerous mission. And such arrogant language.
“We’ve been completely played.”
Han Su-jin sighed.
“In three days…”
Lee Seung-ryong’s expression hardened. He clearly knew something.
“Where is that place?”
“The 7th Processing Plant? That’s…”
He trailed off. It didn’t sound like good news.
“Tell us.”
“It’s where Dominion illegally dumps the mana stone residue left over from processing. The toxic gas is no joke. Skin melts, and gas mask filters oxidize in ten minutes.”
Ten minutes.
No matter how strong you are, you die if you can’t breathe.
“Why would ordinary filters melt?”
“Because the toxic gas is mixed with acidic mana. Activated charcoal can’t purify it.”
Mana against mana.
I pulled out the purified mana stone from my pocket. A stone that emitted a soft white glow.
“Seung-ryong, do you have any used gas mask filters?”
“I do, but… what are you planning?”
Instead of answering, I extended my hand to Park Jae-jung.
“A hammer.”
I wrapped the mana stone in cloth and placed it on the workbench. Crack. Crunch. The hard stone became powder.
“C-Chief!”
Lee Seung-ryong gasped in shock. For a D-Rank Hunter, this quantity of purified mana stone was worth an entire house.
“I’m making a filter.”
I emptied the black activated charcoal from inside the filter canister and densely packed it with the white powder.
“The purification waves this powder emits will incinerate the toxic gas. It’s like a mana firewall.”
That’s what I said, but honestly, I wasn’t certain. It was only theoretically possible.
I attached the improvised filter to the gas mask and approached the gap in the shutter where gas was seeping in slightly.
I took a breath.
It was refreshing. There was no smell at all.
“…It works.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You should try it too, Lee Seung-ryong.”
Lee Seung-ryong put on a reluctant expression but accepted the gas mask and put it on. He stood hesitantly in front of the Shutter and took a breath.
“Huh?”
He turned his head.
“There’s no smell. It’s as fresh as wearing an oxygen tank?”
It was a success.
The purified mana stone dust didn’t block contaminated substances—it annihilated them the moment they made contact. My ability’s true nature was fully embodied in it.
“There.”
I looked around at my teammates.
“Now we have a way to breathe.”
Seo Eun-ha crossed her arms.
“So? What good is breathing? What about the monsters there?”
“We’ll need three days to prepare for that.”
I surveyed Lee Seung-ryong’s party members. Their eyes were filled with defeat. In this state, they could become a liability.
“Over the next three days, I’m going to overhaul all of you.”
The next morning, I gathered Lee Seung-ryong’s party members in the center of the Hideout.
Five people. Ju Mi-sung, Lee Chung-hyung, Choi Min-ji, Han Ae-ri, and Lee Seung-ryong. I’d already serviced all their weapons a few days ago. Now only the people themselves remained.
“We’re starting team training today.”
“Team training?”
Lee Seung-ryong tilted his head in confusion.
“No matter how good your weapons are, they’re useless if you don’t work together. The 7th Processing Plant is a place where we need to collect samples and escape in a short time. If even one person falls out of sync, we all die.”
The atmosphere grew tense. I said it deliberately because we needed that tension.
“Let’s start by establishing a formation, shall we?”
I crouched down on the floor and roughly sketched out a formation with chalk.
“Park Jae-jung leads the front. Open the path with your shield.”
“Understood.”
“Behind him, Ju Mi-sung. When Jae-jung blocks, you thrust through the gaps. Don’t force your way through with strength—aim for vital points in one strike.”
Ju Mi-sung nodded.
“Both flanks are Seo Eun-ha and Han Ae-ri. Eun-ha provides fire support, and Ae-ri strikes from the side and retreats.”
“Hit and run. I’m good at that.”
Han Ae-ri fidgeted with her dagger.
“The rear is Lee Chung-hyung. Provide covering fire with your crossbow. Clean up anything coming at our backs.”
“Yes, understood.”
Lee Chung-hyung answered with a tense expression.
“Choi Min-ji stays next to Han Su-jin. When Min-ji binds enemies with terrain magic, Su-jin replenishes stamina. That’s how it flows.”
“Got it.”
Han Su-jin tapped Choi Min-ji’s shoulder. Choi Min-ji laughed awkwardly.
“Finally, Lee Seung-ryong.”
“Yes.”
“You’re the roaming position. You observe the overall situation and fill in any gaps. It’s the most difficult role.”
Lee Seung-ryong swallowed hard.
“And Ji-young will use her Eye of Truth to observe our surroundings while I command from the center and provide support.”
Once Park Jae-jung finished explaining the formation, he stood up.
“Words alone won’t make it stick in your body.”
He picked up his shield.
“Let’s move and practice it directly.”
Training began.
At first, it was a mess. Ju Mi-sung pushed too far forward and stepped outside Park Jae-jung’s shield range, Lee Chung-hyung’s crossbow bolts whistled past our allies’ heads, and Han Ae-ri dove too deep on her own and became isolated.
“Stop.”
I raised my hand.
“Mi-sung, if you advance too far, you’ll die alone. Thrust from within Park Jae-jung’s shield shadow.”
“Yes….”
“Chung-hyung, lower your aim. You’ll hit our allies in the back of the head.”
“I’m s-sorry.”
“Ae-ri, don’t go too deep. Strike and retreat immediately. Greed will get you killed.”
Han Ae-ri bit her lip hard.
“Again.”
Park Jae-jung tapped his shield.
“Let’s try again.”
Two hours passed.
Everyone was exhausted, but their movements had clearly improved. Ju Mi-sung had found the timing to thrust from within the shield’s shadow, Lee Chung-hyung’s crossbow now accurately covered the rear, and Han Ae-ri had mastered the rhythm of striking and withdrawing.
“Should we take a break?”
When I spoke, everyone collapsed where they stood.
“Haa… I’m dying.”
Ju Mi-sung sprawled flat on the ground.
“But I’m definitely getting the feel for it. It’s completely different from fighting alone.”
“Of course it is.”
Park Jae-jung said, drinking water.
“Because we’re a team.”
In the afternoon, Lee Ji-young arrived with a tablet.
“Director, I’ve compiled the information on the 7th Processing Plant.”
Everyone gathered around the workbench. When Lee Ji-young displayed the screen, the rough layout of the processing plant appeared.
“This is the entrance. It looks like we can enter through the sewer line.”
“The sewers?”
Seo Eun-ha frowned.
“It must smell terrible.”
“We have gas masks, so it’s fine.”
Lee Ji-young answered calmly.
“The problem is inside.”
She swiped to the next screen.
“There’s a waste storage tank in the center of the Processing Plant. We need to get the sample from there. But….”
“But?”
“There are rumors that contaminated monsters inhabit the area around it. Creatures mutated by absorbing toxic fumes.”
“What kind?”
Lee Seung-ryong asked.
“I’m not certain, but I heard they’re slime-type. Things that grew larger by absorbing the toxic gas.”
“Slimes don’t take physical damage.”
Ju Mi-sung looked down at his spear. His expression made it clear that stabbing would be useless.
“We need to burn them with magic.”
Seo Eun-ha conjured flames in her palm.
“I’ll handle it.”
“How many can you take down with your mana, Eun-ha?”
Seo Eun-ha paused to think before answering.
“It depends on their size and rank, but… if they’re A-Rank or higher and large, maybe two or three? Beyond that, my mana runs dry.”
“Then we should avoid combat as much as possible.”
I examined the Processing Plant’s layout once more.
“We go in, collect the sample, and get out immediately. Ten minutes might be pushing it, but we move as fast as we can. Fighting is a last resort.”
“Understood.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Dawn of the third day.
Everyone gathered in front of the Hideout wearing specialized gas masks around their necks. The polished weapons gleamed faintly in the dim light. But what had changed most was their eyes. These weren’t the eyes of people fleeing for their lives days ago.
“Are you ready?”
Lee Seung-ryong stepped forward.
“Ready, sir.”
He hesitated for a moment, then added.
“…Commander.”
Commander, not boss. I couldn’t help but smile.
“Good.”
I was about to depart when I stopped. I looked around at their exhausted faces. They’d trained for days without proper meals. Surely they deserved some reward for this level of hardship.
“Wait a moment. Before we leave, I have something to tell Blue Tower.”
I pulled out the tablet.

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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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