The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 84

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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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84
Chapter 84 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
‘Eun-ha is the most expensive one.’
A bitter thought crossed my mind. The value of an S-Rank Mage. A world where human beings are reduced to currency.
Park Jae-jung also saw the bounty board. His face and the price on his head. His expression hardened, but he said nothing.
“Let’s go.”
I lowered my head and walked past. Pedestrians stared at us. My heart pounded. But their reaction was exactly as expected.
“Ugh, the stench. Why do they even let vagrants like that into the market?”
“Disgusting. Let’s avoid them.”
People wrinkled their noses, covered their mouths, and hurried past. No one looked at our faces properly. They didn’t want to look at something filthy.
Success.
We used their disgust as a shield and burrowed deep into the market.
“We’ve arrived.”
In a corner of the market stood a shabby shop with a faded red sign reading “Adult Shop.” The lettering on the sign was half-peeled away, and dust had accumulated thick on the display window. At first glance, it looked like a dying business.
Inside, the Fat Shop Owner was reading a newspaper. A middle-aged man with a protruding belly. He wore multiple gold rings on his fingers.
Park Jae-jung mimicked a hoarse voice and placed crumpled cash on the counter.
“In the underground warehouse… *cough*, came to catch rats.”
The owner looked us over like insects. From top to bottom. Grease-caked face, tattered clothes, the stench rising from our feet. He wrinkled his nose.
“You stink. Get out quick. And don’t get bitten.”
He pocketed the money and gestured with his chin toward the worn curtain behind the counter. A door lay beyond it. I pulled back the curtain and entered. A narrow, steep staircase descended into darkness. Mold bloomed on the walls, and rusted pipes jutted out from each step. Down one level, two levels, three levels. The deeper we went, the more stale the air became. Instead, the smell of human presence grew stronger.
Basement Level 3.
Black Market. The Pit.
As I opened the door, a wave of humid heat washed over me, and a massive underground cavern sprawled before us.
‘…It’s vast.’
Much larger than I’d anticipated. The ceiling soared over five meters high, and the floor space seemed to cover at least half a football field. Market stalls and tents were scattered throughout, and hundreds of people milled about in chaotic clusters.
Illegal Hunters, merchants, Bounty Hunters, figures of unknown origin.
A lawless zone beyond the reach of law.
“Be careful. There are many Bounty Hunters here,” Park Jae-jung whispered beside me. The shield strapped to his back seemed to radiate an intimidating presence, and the peddlers instinctively gave us a wide berth. No one asked what it was. In a place like this, showing interest in someone else’s business was a quick way to die.
We passed between the tents. Various goods caught my eye. Illegal weapons, contraband, stolen mana stones, forged identification papers, prohibited drugs. A marketplace of darkness. Shouts erupted from somewhere. It sounded like a deal had fallen through and people were fighting. No one paid attention.
We kept our bodies as low as possible as we headed toward the Mineral Trading District.
“Wait.”
I stopped.
A crowd had gathered around one market stall. It was unusually loud compared to the others.
“I’m telling you, this is genuine! It was created during the Cataclysm Day!”
A bald Old Merchant was waving a fist-sized black stone. The surface of the stone was crisscrossed with red veins like blood vessels, and it emanated an ominous aura. Just looking at it filled me with an unsettling feeling.
“Come on, old man. You’re scamming again. That’s just contaminated waste.”
“You’ll catch a plague if you touch it.”
Hunters jeered and walked past. The old man shouted with an aggrieved expression.
“It’s real, I tell you! Trust my eyes!”
“I’m telling you, it’s true! Trust what I saw with my own eyes!”
No one paid him any attention. The Old Merchant sighed and set the stone down.
But my eyes remained fixed on that stone.
‘That’s….’
I narrowed my eyes. My Purifier’s senses were reacting. Beneath the contaminated shell, I felt something. A faint yet intense resonance. Like a jewel buried deep within thick mud.
[Contaminated Ancient Mana Stone]
[Grade: S]
[Contamination Rate: 98%]
My heart raced.
‘It’s an S-grade Mana Stone.’
This wasn’t waste. It was an S-grade Mana Stone generated at the epicenter of the Cataclysm ten years ago. It had simply absorbed so much toxic energy from its surroundings that it had taken on this grotesque appearance.
To everyone else’s eyes, it would look like garbage. In its current state, it was truly worthless. In fact, touching it risked contamination. But I was different. I could strip away that corruption.
‘If I purify that….’
It would become the finest vessel capable of holding S-grade mana. The perfect material for crafting a mask to conceal Seo Eun-ha and Han Su-jin’s mana.
“How much is it?”
I asked in a hoarse voice, stepping forward. The Old Merchant looked at me—a vagrant who appeared to not have a single coin to his name.
“You buying? It’s expensive.”
“How much.”
“Fifty million.”
Fifty million won. A substantial sum. But considering the value of an S-grade Mana Stone, it was practically a steal. Of course, that was only if there was someone who could purify it.
“I don’t have cash. Let’s trade for goods instead.”
I gestured to Park Jae-jung. He retrieved something from deep within his garments—a small leather pouch. A foul stench wafted from inside.
A venom pouch from a mutated Tube Worm we’d collected from the Lower District.
It was a rare alchemical material unobtainable on the Ground Level. Refining the venom could produce assassination toxins of A-grade or higher, and with special processing, it could serve as the raw material for antidotes.
“Will this do?”
The Old Merchant’s eyes widened. A foul-smelling vagrant had just produced premium-grade materials—it was understandable to be shocked.
“This… this is….”
“Let’s make the deal.”
Just as I was about to extend my hand.
Clack.
A rough hand suddenly seized my wrist.
I turned around to see a menacing Large Man standing there. He had to be at least two meters tall. His muscles bulged prominently, and his face was covered in scars. A tattoo on his neck caught my attention—the image of a snarling dog.
‘Dominion subcontractor. Black Dog.’
A thug organization that managed the Black Market with Dominion’s tacit approval. Ostensibly maintaining order. In reality, hyenas preying on the weak.
“Hey there, vagrant.”
The man laughed menacingly, gripping my wrist tightly.
“Why sell something so good to the old geezer? Hand it over to me instead?”
“Let go of this.”
I warned quietly. Causing a commotion here would be problematic. If my identity was exposed, it would be the end.
“Oho, look at that glint in his eyes?”
The man chuckled darkly.
“A beggar with eyes still gleaming? Hey, you lot. This bastard needs a lesson. Grab that liquor pouch!”
At the man’s signal, those behind him moved. Four of them. All massive. They wielded steel pipes, brass knuckles, and daggers in their hands. Somewhere between C-rank and B-rank. For black market thugs, they were formidable.
Onlookers gathered to watch. They formed a semicircle around us. Their eyes sparkled with anticipation. The expression of those who’d found entertainment. It didn’t matter who got beaten. As long as it was amusing.
This is the worst. All eyes are on us.
“Park Jae-jung.”
I called out quietly.
“Understood.”
Park Jae-jung stepped in front of me. But he didn’t untie the straps of the bundle on his back. Instead, he twisted his body and shoved the bundle itself into the man’s attack trajectory.
“What, this bear of a man?”
The leader sneered. Mana coalesced in his fist. Blue light spread across the back of his hand. A B-rank enhancement skill. A punch that could shatter stone.
“Get lost, you trash!”
The fist drove toward Park Jae-jung’s back.
Boom—!
A dull impact echoed through the air. Dust billowed up. The onlookers screamed, certain that Park Jae-jung’s spine had shattered.
But.
The dust cleared. Park Jae-jung hadn’t budged an inch. Instead, the tattered leather and waterproof canvas wrapping the bundle on his back had been torn away.
Through the shredded fabric, the heavy, cold luster of steel gleamed. A Gigas Shield.
A gray alloy surface inscribed with the emblem of a giant. An overwhelming shield bearing countless scars from battlefields like medals of honor. It had taken a B-rank enhancement punch head-on, yet not a single scratch marred its surface.
“Is that all?”
Park Jae-jung turned his head, his face caked with filthy grime. His face was smeared with grease and oil. But his eyes were different. The bearing of a guardian. The weight of one who had clawed his way up from the hell of the Lower District.
“This… what…?”
The leader wrapped his wrist and stumbled backward. His hand was trembling. The fist he’d thrown seemed to have taken more damage than dealt.
“A shield?”
“What is that….”
The spectators murmured among themselves.
“Wait, that emblem….”
Someone spoke up.
“Gray alloy with a giant’s emblem… isn’t that a Gigas Shield?”
“A Gigas Shield? That’s from Moonglade….”
“Park Jae-jung from Moonglade?”
The air froze. The way people looked at us changed. From curiosity to greed. A bounty of three billion. A life-changing opportunity for anyone here.
Dangerous.
“Park Jae-jung, finish this.”
Before my words had even finished, Park Jae-jung moved.
His body rotated. A heavy shoulder strike using the centrifugal force of the shield on his back. He didn’t use any skills. Pure physical force. But when tens of kilograms of solid steel come flying at a hundred kilometers per hour, that itself becomes a weapon.
Crash!
“Ugh!”
The leader flew like a bowling pin and crashed into a market stall. Goods scattered in all directions.
“You bastard!”
The remaining four rushed at him. Steel pipes swung. Brass knuckles flew.
Park Jae-jung raised his shield. Rather than meeting the attack head-on, he twisted his body and let the blow slide past. The steel pipe scraped across the shield’s surface, scattering sparks. The recoil shattered the attacker’s stance.
Park Jae-jung didn’t miss the opening.
Crack!
The shield’s edge slammed into the first man’s ribs. The sickening crunch of breaking bone echoed through the air.
“Aaaahhh!”
The second man thrust a dagger forward. Park Jae-jung didn’t block with his shield—instead, he seized the man’s wrist with his left hand and twisted.
Snap.
“Argh!”
The dagger clattered to the floor. Park Jae-jung grabbed the man’s body, spun him around, and hurled him at the third attacker.
Thud!
Both men crashed down in a tangled heap.
As the last man tried to flee, Park Jae-jung hurled his shield.
Whoosh—Crash!
Dozens of kilograms of steel slammed into the man’s back. He pitched forward onto the ground. Park Jae-jung walked over slowly and retrieved his shield.
Five seconds.
All five men lay sprawled on the floor.
The onlookers fell silent. It hardly deserved to be called a fight—it was a one-sided slaughter. B-rank thugs had been swept aside without landing a single blow.
Park Jae-jung slung his shield back across his shoulders and spoke.
“Who’s next?”
No one answered. The eyes that had gleamed with greed moments before now burned with fear. A bounty of three billion. But facing him meant risking your life. The math didn’t add up.
“Let’s go, Guild Master.”
Park Jae-jung spoke to me, brushing blood from his shield.
I tossed a pouch of coins to the old man.
“Keep the change.”
I snatched the black magic stone and turned to leave.
“It’s Mun Glade!”
“Get him! The bounty!”
Shouts erupted from behind. Not from the fallen thugs—some of the onlookers were pursuing us. Bounty hunters. Those willing to stake their lives.
“Run!”
Park Jae-jung shouted.
We bolted. Weaving between tents, vaulting over market stalls, pushing past boxes and people, we ran. Footsteps thundered behind us.
“Get out of the way! Move!”
“Stop right there!”
The Black Market’s labyrinthine layout was a blessing. A maze of tangled corridors. We changed direction at every intersection.
“Left!”
Park Jae-jung shouted. He seemed to know this area.
We turned left. A narrow passage opened before us, warehouses lining both sides. Glancing back, the pursuers were still closing in.
“There!”
Park Jae-jung pointed to a warehouse with an open door. We burst inside. He slammed the door shut and threw the bolt.
Boom! Boom!
A knock sounded from outside the door.
“It’s here! Smash the door!”
I held my breath. My heart hammered wildly in my chest.
Commotion erupted outside. But the door was sturdy—an iron door. It didn’t look like it would break easily.
“Let’s try another way!”
“This way!”
The sound of footsteps faded. They seemed to have gone to search elsewhere.
I waited for a long time. Silence fell. Park Jae-jung carefully opened the door and checked outside.
“They’re gone.”
Behind the Underground Warehouse, there was a small Ventilation Shaft. It appeared to be an emergency escape route. I squeezed my body through and crawled upward. After passing through the narrow Passage, I emerged into the Market Back Alley.
“…Phew.”
Cold outside air filled my lungs. I was alive.
We arrived at an Alley near the Safe House, breathing heavily.
I pulled out the S-rank Magic Stone from my pocket and examined it. A black, grotesque surface. Crimson Fissures. An ominous aura.
But to my eyes, it appeared different.
My identity had nearly been exposed, but I had obtained the most crucial material. If I purified and processed this stone to create a mana concealment device, then Seo Eun-ha and Han Su-jin would be able to move freely throughout the city.
“You worked hard, Park Jae-jung.”
“Not at all. You’re the one who did the real work, sir.”
Park Jae-jung laughed. His face was caked with grease and grime, but his smile was radiant.
“I need to wash up. The smell is unbearable.”
“Tell me about it.”
We looked at each other and laughed.

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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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