The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 68

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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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68
Chapter 68 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
A deafening roar echoed through the void.
At the bottom of the Sinkhole, a colossal violet maelstrom raged with terrible fury. This was no mere wind current. It was the wound torn into the earth when Dominion’s Research Laboratory had ruptured to avoid explosion—and from that fissure poured forth pressurized gas that, trapped within the narrow Underground Cavern, had coalesced into something resembling a singular, monstrous will.
This was the true nature of the tide. It swelled periodically, surging toward the Ground Level, poisoning the inhabitants of the Lower District, mutating monsters into abominations. And it was the physical manifestation of my guilt—born from my failure to contain it perfectly that day.
‘I have to clean this up.’
I clenched my white dagger tighter. The moment it sensed my presence, it lashed out in all directions with tendrils of gas, like an enraged beast expelling an intruder.
A sickening crack split the air.
Where the gas whip struck the ground, solid bedrock corroded and melted away in an instant. A single touch meant death. B-Rank physiology or not, contact with that concentrated toxin would leave nothing but bone dust.
Yet I did not evade. I could have—my synchronization allowed its movements to transmit directly into my mind—but I chose not to.
I slipped through the attack by the narrowest margin and drove toward its core.
Up close, the horror was magnified. Tangled within the violet haze were fragments of laboratory piping, collapsed steel beams, and the bones of test subjects who had perished in the toxic maelstrom.
“I’m sorry.”
I whispered the words beneath my breath. I could blame Dominion for creating this catastrophe. But ultimately, it was I who failed to seal the final valve. So it falls to me to end this hell.
“Burn.”
I drove my dagger into its core, toward the deepest violet nucleus. Simultaneously, I ignited the mana within me—that white flame I had kindled by burning my own life force to save the Lee Seung-ryong Party.
[Holy Flame]
The fire erupted in pure white brilliance.
Where before it had flickered like a fragile candle, now it blazed like a wildfire consuming the massive gas as fuel, burning with frenzied intensity.
A piercing shriek tore through the darkness.
As the corrupted energy touched the sacred flame, it began to purify and sublimate into white smoke.
“You’re not escaping.”
It writhed and convulsed, attempting to slip free. But my left hand—clad in the Alchemist’s Gauntlet—seized its form with an iron grip. The gauntlet’s surface hissed and melted away, yet I refused to release it. Instead, I drove deeper.
“Synchronization Amplification.”
This was not mere destruction. Such vast energy could not be wasted. I connected myself and the entity into a single circuit.
A deep resonance thrummed through the space.
Like inserting a straw, its energy began to be drawn into my body. But if it entered unfiltered, I would die. I layered purification as a filter at the point of entry.
The toxin burns away. Only pure power remains.
High-concentration mana flooded through me as my circuits overloaded. Yet I was breaking through my limits.
Thunder roared within my body.
A C-Rank vessel? I had already shattered that ceiling long ago. Tremendous quantities of mana surged through my veins, forcibly evolving every cell in my body.
‘It’s burning.’
My body felt as though it were melting, yet my mind remained exhilarated. It was like finally casting off a sandbag I had carried my entire life. My guilt washed away, replaced by surging power.
The B-Rank vessel filled swiftly. But I did not stop. Its energy had barely diminished by half. I had to consume it all. Every last drop.
“More… come into me!”
The transparent barrier that had enveloped my soul shattered. B-Rank. Yet still I did not stop. Its energy had barely diminished by half. I had to consume it all. Every last drop.
I greedily amplified my absorption. As I transcended the B-Rank threshold, the quality of the mana transformed. It was not mere quantitative expansion—my very class was evolving. My blood began to harmonize with the purified mana, taking on a subtle luminescence.
A low, resonant sound.
The colossal gas storm began to subside. The entity, once the size of a house, was drawn into my palm and rapidly compressed. It thrashed in terror, but I had become its natural predator.
With a final gulp, it was consumed.
Every last drop. Decades worth of core energy accumulated in the Research Facility Basement. That power Dominion had coveted so desperately—I consumed it all.
Thump—!
My heart pounded violently. In that instant, even the second wall enveloping my body shattered into fragments.
[Rank Ascension: B → A]
The second wall wrapping around my soul burst apart. The sensation of being reconstructed into a transcendent form.
A-Rank. The domain of the elite hunters counted on one hand even in South Korea. An F-Rank porter had reached that pinnacle through a single act of gluttony.
Exhale….
I released a long breath. White vapor from my mouth erased the lingering toxins in the air. A state where purification occurred with every breath.
I surveyed my surroundings. The violet storm that had raged so fiercely was gone. All that remained was thin smoke weakly rising from the Fissure in the ground. Now I just needed to seal that hole.
I drove my white fangs deep into the Fissure’s crevice, into the bedrock itself. Using the dagger as a conduit, I embedded my overflowing A-Rank magical power into the earth.
“Sanctuary.”
It wasn’t a word I consciously thought and spoke. It burst from my lips without my knowledge. My will covered the space. A radius of ten meters centered on me. The ground and air within that circle began to glow white, instantly decomposing the residual gas pouring forth in real time.
Sizzle—
The violet smoke turned transparent the moment it touched the white circle. A perfect filter. This place was no longer a source of calamity. It was my territory, my safest home.
Only then did I collapse onto the ground. Fatigue washed over me, but my heart felt light as a feather.
“It’s over….”
No, this is just the beginning. With this power, I can properly repay those waiting for me up there. But for now.
I pulled a top-grade D-Rank mana stone from my pocket. A small, hard gem. The starting point of Lee Tae-hyun the Hunter. I gripped it tightly in my hand and curled up in the center of the sanctuary I had created.
The floor was cold, but it didn’t feel cold. My body burned like a furnace. At Hell’s Bottom, I became a king and fell asleep.
I opened my eyes. The first thing I felt was an oppressive silence. The roar of gas that had torn at my ears just days ago, the bizarre screams echoing from the abyss—all of it was gone.
I rose to my feet. The top-grade D-Rank mana stone in my grip had warmed from my body heat, now lukewarm. This small gem the size of my fist. Since the day I first made a deal with Park Jae-jung, it had been like a talisman to me.
“….”
I looked down at the Fissure beneath my feet. Centered on the white fangs I had driven in, a white circle with a ten-meter radius was drawn. Sanctuary. The violet smoke intermittently rising from the Fissure’s crevice was oxidizing into white light and vanishing the moment it crossed this boundary.
Perfect control. I hadn’t pulled the dagger out. As long as it remained embedded, a portion of my magical power would belong to it, continuously running the filter. A stopper sealing the mouth of the underground. This was the final mark I left in this place.
“Let’s go.”
I put the mana stone back in my pocket and looked up at the Sinkhole above. A cliff so dizzyingly high that even a typical Hunter would struggle to climb it with equipment.
Breathe—
I steadied my breathing. A body reconstructed as A-Rank. That transformation wasn’t merely a matter of enlarged muscles. High-concentration magical power flowing through my veins enveloped every cell in my body.
‘Light.’
As if gravity had been halved. I bent my knees and gave a gentle push.
Tap.
There was barely a sound. Yet my body shot upward like an arrow, perfectly vertical. It wasn’t about pushing off the ground with raw strength. It was the sensation of the magical power enveloping my body stepping on air and propelling me upward. This was my body evolved as a Purifier, different from mages like Seo Eun-ha or tanks like Park Jae-jung.
Tap, tap!
Using the protruding rocks as stepping stones and bounding a few times, light suddenly pierced through the darkness. The Sinkhole’s entrance. For the last time, I stepped on empty air and launched myself toward the Ground Level.
Soft.
The landing made no sound. I straightened my back and looked around. The Ruins near Guro Digital Complex Station.
“Ha….”
A sigh escaped my lips. The landscape had changed.
The yellow sulfuric mist and violet toxins that had always obscured my vision were clearing. Of course, it wasn’t completely clear yet. Faint residual toxins still rose weakly from the ground, and the sky remained covered in gray dust. But at least it was air I could breathe.
With the source of gas cut off, the ecosystem on the Ground Level responded immediately. I walked through the ruined streets.
Crunch. Crunch.
The countless gas mutants were nowhere to be seen. Those creatures that fed on toxins had either starved to death when their nutrient supply was cut off, or retreated into deeper darkness.
Instead, I sensed very faint presences. Giant Rats crawling between the rubble of collapsed buildings, Low-Grade Slimes with only their eyes peeking out from sewer holes. F-Rank and E-Rank level monsters. The creatures that had once hidden in fear of being devoured by apex predators now filled the void.
I ignored them and continued forward. With A-Rank senses, the world read like data before me. From the mere flow of air touching my skin, I could discern the structural collapse risk of buildings, and I could hear the heartbeat of a rat a kilometer away with crystalline clarity.
I crossed the main road of Guro Digital Complex and stood beneath a massive Elevated Highway. Rusted steel frameworks tangled like spider webs overhead. And precariously suspended above them were container boxes and Shantytown structures.
[Lower District].
Thirty meters above ground. An aerial settlement built by the poor fleeing from monsters toward the sky. There were people there. If anyone survived the gas catastrophe, they would surely be hiding there.
I grasped the pillar of the Elevated Highway. The Elevator had been broken for ages, and the ladders were destroyed.
Thud!
I leaped up the vertical concrete pillar as if it were flat ground. Gripping crevices with my fingertips, pushing off with my toes against protruding rebar, I covered thirty meters in an instant. I seized the edge of the steel plate supporting the Lower District and pulled myself up in one fluid motion.
Clang.
I stood on the Floor of the Lower District, the perforated steel plate beneath my feet. Air different from ground level. This place smelled of people. The scent of old oil, rotting garbage, and…
‘Smoke?’
My nose twitched. Not toxic gas or fire smoke. The smell of something burning. The scent of a campfire lit for cooking or warmth.
I suppressed my presence and pulled the hood of my tactical jacket down. My clothes were torn and bloodstained, but concealed in shadow, I remained unnoticed.
Passing through the labyrinthine Shantytown Alley, a slightly wider Plaza opened before me. A place that once served as a Helicopter Landing Pad. And there, an incredible sight unfolded.
There were people. Dozens of them, it seemed. All wearing gas masks around their necks, their appearances grimy, but they were outside.
In the center of the Plaza, several drums had been gathered to create a large fire. People sat around it, murmuring among themselves.
“I’m telling you it’s true? The alarm hasn’t sounded since this morning.”
“I went down below, and the Mist has almost completely cleared.”
“Did Dominion handle it?”
“No way. Those bastards abandoned us.”
The voices of people. Living sounds. On this Isolated Island that Dominion had cut off and abandoned, they had persevered tenaciously. No, the moment the gas stopped, they were already beginning to resume their lives.
Then, a man standing guard at the edge of the Plaza flinched and looked toward me. A man with a limp in one leg, wearing worn leather armor. Not an ordinary person. A retired Low-Rank Hunter with a detection skill capable of sensing magical wavelengths.
“Who goes there!”
At his shout, the noise in the Plaza ceased instantly. With trembling hands, he leveled a spear and cried out.
“You in the darkness! Come out now!”
His eyes wavered with fear. He had sensed my presence. With his meager detection skill, he couldn’t determine my exact Rank, but he knew instinctively. The being in that darkness was something fundamentally different from the monsters they had faced until now.
All eyes fixed on me at once. Tension pulled taut.
In the cold shadow untouched by the campfire’s warmth, I moved slowly forward. Beneath the hood covered in blood and soot, only my two eyes glowed blue.
Now, it was time to reveal myself before them.

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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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