The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 81

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

81
Chapter 81 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
Whoooosh—!
Rain poured down in sheets. The neon-lit streets of Neo Seoul District 7 blurred through the downpour, their vibrant colors bleeding into the water like some grotesque, iridescent mirage that assaulted my vision.
I avoided the main streets where checkpoints dotted every corner. Instead, I sprinted through the narrow gaps between buildings. The alleys twisted with massive heat-exhaust pipes, their tangled forms designed to dissipate the city’s weight and thermal burden.
Hisssss—
Scalding steam erupted from the pipe joints, meeting the cold rain and dispersing into a murky haze. The ground beneath our feet glistened with a lukewarm, oily mixture of coolant and rainwater.
Splash. Splash.
We ran through that contaminated water without hesitation.
I led from the front, cutting a path through the maze. A quick glance back confirmed Seo Eun-ha was close behind, her wet hood pulled up to conceal her crimson hair, followed by Han Su-jin, with Park Jae-jung bringing up the rear, his vigilance unwavering.
‘They really are S-Rank Hunters.’
Seo Eun-ha was a mage, Han Su-jin a healer-class, but the baseline physical prowess of S-Rank Hunters transcended ordinary humans by an incomprehensible margin. They vaulted over two-meter walls and traversed rain-slicked pipes with flawless efficiency, their movements devoid of wasted motion.
Whirrrr—whirrrr—
An eerie mechanical whine echoed from above the alley. I immediately raised my right hand, signaling everyone to halt.
‘A drone.’
I compressed my body into the shadows behind a dilapidated recycling station. The others fell silent as if by unspoken agreement. A red laser scanner swept across the puddle we’d just passed through. My heart hammered against my ribs. If that beam had shifted just one meter to the left, we’d have been finished.
“Static… Zone B-4, nothing unusual. Continuing patrol.”
As the drone receded, Seo Eun-ha cursed quietly under her breath.
“Those tin cans are absolutely everywhere. It’s infuriating.”
“It just means they’re desperate too.”
I whispered the words and resumed moving. The secondary safe house Park Jae-jung had identified was 1.5 kilometers away—Guro Market, a relic of the old world built by merchants.
We passed through the Closed Subway Ventilation Passage and entered the market’s back alleys.
The air shifted.
Gone was the acrid stench of exhaust; instead, a humid mixture of fishy brine, aged chili powder, and mold assaulted my nostrils. It was surreal—directly beneath Neo Seoul’s glittering facade existed this crumbling, forgotten world.
It was 3 a.m. The market lay dead silent. Weathered tarps hung above shuttered storefronts, shielding them from the rain. We navigated swiftly through the labyrinthine alleys. Incandescent bulbs dangling from the ceiling swayed in the wind, casting our elongated shadows across the ground.
“Here it is.”
Park Jae-jung, now leading, came to a stop. A shabby shop tucked into the market’s deepest, most isolated corner. The sign was half-torn away, leaving only the faint characters: [Jae-jung Butcher…]
“A… butcher shop?”
Park Jae-jung smiled sheepishly and pulled a bundle of keys from his pocket—not a digital lock, but an old, rusted metal key.
“I bought this place years ago, thinking I’d retire and butcher meat. It has a freezer with excellent soundproofing, and more importantly… Dominion operatives rarely venture into places that reek like this.”
Click. Creeeeak—
The rusted shutter groaned as it rose. We slipped inside quickly and lowered it behind us.
Click.
The lights flickered on, bathing the space in the red glow of butcher-shop lighting. The air was cool but stale from prolonged disuse. Empty meat hooks hung grotesquely beyond the display counter.
“The freezer in back—that’s the real setup.”
Park Jae-jung opened a heavy iron door. The space beyond was far more expansive than the storefront.
What had once been a cold storage facility for meat now served as a perfect sanctuary—cots, emergency rations, and weapons stacked methodically. A whiteboard on the wall displayed a detailed map of Neo Seoul with Dominion movement patterns meticulously charted across its surface.
‘When did he prepare all of this…?’
The meticulous care Park Jae-jung had invested became evident. He’d orchestrated everything alone. All to protect his comrades.
“Haa….”
Seo Eun-ha peeled off her soaked hoodie and collapsed into a chair with a heavy sigh. Rainwater dripped steadily from her crimson hair.
“I finally feel like I can breathe. We looked like drowned rats out there, seriously.”
Han Su-jin removed her wet coat and folded it carefully, then asked me with a pallid expression.
“Director… aren’t you cold? Your clothes are completely soaked…”
“I’m fine. You should be more concerned about yourself, Su-jin.”
I shook my head and glanced around the warehouse.
Park Jae-jung switched on the old coffee pot and spoke.
“I wanted to be ready to strike back the moment our guild leader returned.”
The quiet conviction in his words carried weight. While I was gone, he had been sharpening his blade in this cramped warehouse, protecting his comrades.
Hisssss—
As the old coffee pot began to whistle inside the Butcher Shop Freezer, Park Jae-jung poured instant coffee into a paper cup and set it before me. My hands warmed around the steaming cup, but the air flowing through the warehouse remained bitterly cold.
Seo Eun-ha sat in her chair, irritably brushing her wet hair back. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on the back of her hand gripping the table were prominent. Han Su-jin kept her head bowed like a criminal, fidgeting with her fingernails.
The joy of returning alive had been fleeting. The reality we faced was still that of fugitives—soaked, bedraggled, hunted.
“Now tell me what happened.”
I took a sip of coffee and opened my mouth.
“I stayed in the Lower District, and you all clearly boarded the Blue Tower Transport Ship. It was a rescue operation backed by Blue Tower, one of South Korea’s Three Major Guilds.”
I looked at Park Jae-jung.
“How many days has it been? And why are you being hunted by Dominion? Where are Seung-ryong and his team, and where is Team Leader Lee Ji-young?”
Park Jae-jung wiped his face and let out a weary sigh.
“The exact date… I’m not certain. Everything’s been a blur while running. Roughly two weeks? Maybe closer to twenty days.”
“Twenty days…”
More time had passed than I expected. During all that time, they had been living a nightmare of constant flight.
“It was a trap.”
Park Jae-jung spoke heavily.
“They never intended to rescue us… They only needed something. An object.”
His eyes stared into the void. Through his voice, the memory of that day two weeks ago seeped into this narrow warehouse.
[Approximately 15 Days Earlier – Blue Tower Transport Ship Cargo Hold]
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Open the door! You bastards! Open it!”
Seo Eun-ha pounded frantically against the bulkhead door. Through the window, Lee Tae-hyun’s figure grew smaller and smaller, becoming a mere speck. His final image—smiling and waving—pierced through my chest.
“Calm down! If you go out now, we’ll all die!”
Park Jae-jung, drenched in sweat, embraced Seo Eun-ha from behind to restrain her. But he was no match for the strength of an S-Rank mage. Crimson flames erupted from her body.
“Move! Tae-hyun is out there! He’s alone!”
Whirrrrrr—!
At that moment, a blue light poured down from the transport ship’s ceiling. A high-output mana suppression field—a restraint device used when transporting dangerous-class monsters or criminals.
“Ugh…!”
Seo Eun-ha dropped to her knees. The agony of her mana being forcibly suppressed stole her breath. Han Su-jin screamed and rushed over, while Lee Seung-ryong and his four party members huddled together in the corner, trembling with fear.
Creak.
The cockpit door opened, and a Blue Tower Chief Researcher in a white coat entered. He looked down at Seo Eun-ha sprawled on the floor as though she were vermin.
“An S-Rank, you say? Quite the temperament. Since you’re such a valuable specimen, behave yourself. Your body is worth a fortune, after all.”
“You all… what about Lee Tae-hyun…?”
Lee Ji-young clenched her teeth and asked. The Researcher tapped his tablet dryly in response.
“That contamination source? Protocol is to isolate it in the Lower District. Bringing it back would only crash Ma Seok prices anyway.”
“What? Contamination source?”
“Engine output normalized. Route configured. Destination is not headquarters—it’s the Fourth Secret Port.”
The Researcher left those words behind and departed. That’s when it became clear. This wasn’t a rescue. It was plunder—carefully curated to extract only the valuable mana stones and S-Rank Hunters.
[Neo Seoul Upper District – Fourth Secret Port]
When the transport ship landed, what awaited them wasn’t an ambulance or cheering crowds. Only a dim hangar. And hundreds of armed soldiers.
Click—!
The moment the cargo hatch opened, laser sights locked onto their foreheads. Then, parting through the ranks of soldiers came a man clapping—impeccably dressed in a suit, gold-rimmed glasses perched on his serpentine face. Kang Chang-gyung, Strategic Planning Director of Dominion.
“Well done, Director Park.”
Kang Chang-gyung shook hands with the Blue Tower Research Director.
“The merchandise is confirmed?”
“Of course. The mutated mana stones we collected from the Lower District, and…”
The Blue Tower Director gestured with his chin toward Mun Glade’s group behind him.
“These loose-lipped witnesses as well. As promised, exclusive research rights to the 100% pure purification stones go to Blue Tower.”
Their conversation was shocking. The 100% pure purification stones Lee Tae-hyun created. If that reached the world, the economic cartel that Blue Tower and Dominion had maintained by controlling the mana stone market would collapse. To those selling impure mana stones at inflated prices, Lee Tae-hyun was an eyesore—an economic criminal who needed to be eliminated.
“You bastards… throwing people away just for money?”
The moment the suppression field lifted, Seo Eun-ha raised her staff. But Kang Chang-gyung remained composed.
“Don’t move.”
At a single gesture from him, Dominion soldiers seized Lee Seung-ryong’s group and forced them to their knees. Gun barrels pressed against the heads of five D-Rank Hunters.
“Please! We don’t know anything!”
“Please… send us home…”
Lee Seung-ryong wailed. Kang Chang-gyung smiled coldly, his gaze fixed on Seo Eun-ha.
“S-Rank Mage. If you ignite a flame here, what happens to these trash? You’d be killing them with your own hands, wouldn’t you?”
“You… coward…”
Seo Eun-ha’s hands trembled violently. She was strong. But against evil that held the weak hostage, she was powerless. The nightmare of losing all her abilities to Kang Chang-gyung and drowning in alcohol every day resurfaced.
Then it happened.
“That’s enough.”
Lee Ji-young, who had remained silent, stepped forward. Her eyes gleamed with a crimson light unlike their usual appearance.
[Skill Activated: Eye of Truth]
“Director Kang Chang-gyung. And Director Park. I’ve just witnessed every detail of your transaction with these eyes.”
Lee Ji-young’s calm yet undeniable, overwhelming voice. Chief Appraiser of the Association. An S-Rank skill holder who pierces through all falsehoods and values in the world. Her eyes were more certain evidence than any recording device.
“Illegal mana stone trafficking, conspiracy to kidnap and murder civilians. This truth I’ve witnessed is now etched into my mana circuits. If I die here, this imprint automatically transmits to the Association Central Server.”
Kang Chang-gyung’s expression hardened for the first time. The Chief Appraiser’s Eye of Truth. It was sacred ground within the Association—even Dominion couldn’t touch it.
“What do you want?”
Kang Chang-gyung growled. Lee Ji-young hid her trembling hands behind her back and spoke with resolve.
“Take me with you.”
“What?”
“What you want is value, isn’t it? I’m the only one who can properly appraise the purification stones Lee Tae-hyun created. With my eyes, you could inflate that stone’s value and sell it for a fortune.”
She pointed to the Moonglade members behind her.
“Instead of taking me, let these people go. And spare those D-Rank Hunters as well. If you break this promise….”
Her crimson eyes fixed on Kang Chang-gyung with a piercing stare.
“I’ll gouge out my own eyes. Then you’ll never be able to prove the value of that stone.”
It was a perfect deal—a negotiation only the Appraiser could make, using her own worth as collateral to save her comrades.
Kang Chang-gyung seemed to calculate for a moment, then smiled coldly.
“As expected of the Chief Appraiser. You know how to assess value. Fine. Your eyes are worth the trade.”
He checked his wristwatch.
“I’m giving you five minutes. If you don’t disappear from my sight by then, the deal is off.”
“Run!”
Park Jae-jung didn’t hesitate, pulling a military smoke grenade from his pocket and hurling it to the ground.
Boom—! Hisssss—
Gray smoke engulfed the hangar. Park Jae-jung forcibly dragged the weeping Han Su-jin and the stone-faced Seo Eun-ha toward the emergency exit.
“Seung-ryong! Seung-ryong!”
Seo Eun-ha cried out, glancing back. But through the smoke, she could see Lee Seung-ryong and his group being dragged away by Dominion soldiers. As D-Ranks, they had neither the strength to escape nor the ability to resist. Though Seo Eun-ha, an S-Rank, possessed the power to save them, she was rendered helpless before the cruel reality of being used as leverage.
Thus, the three Moonglade members plummeted into the Junkyard aboard the cargo shuttle, while Lee Ji-young and Lee Seung-ryong’s group were left behind.
That was the truth of that day, two weeks ago.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————