The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 85

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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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85
Chapter 85 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
Click.
As the shutter of the Safe House descended and the sound of the double lock mechanism engaging echoed through the space, tension finally drained from my shoulders.
“Phew…”
Park Jae-jung lowered the Gias Shield from his back, breathing heavily. As the shield touched the floor, a dull metallic ring reverberated through the warehouse. His face was still smudged with grime, but he bowed his head anyway.
“I apologize. My carelessness nearly exposed us.”
Revealing the shield in the Black Market—the guilt of nearly putting us in danger weighed on him.
“No. We survived because of you.”
I removed my outer coat and draped it over a chair as I spoke.
“Without that shield in that situation, we would have been in serious trouble. It was only because you took down five people in five seconds that we managed to escape.”
“But there were witnesses…”
“That might actually work in our favor.”
Park Jae-jung looked up.
“Those witnesses will spread word that ‘Moonglade appeared in the Black Market.’ Then Dominion forces will scatter across the entire Market searching for us, never knowing we’re hiding right under their noses.”
The darkest place is beneath the lamp. They would never imagine we were concealed in this butcher shop, so close to them.
“So don’t blame yourself. Without you, I’d have been alone fighting five people, and the commotion would have been far worse.”
Park Jae-jung nodded. His expression was still heavy, but it seemed to have lightened somewhat.
“…Thank you, Director.”
“I’m the one who should be grateful. I obtained this today because of you.”
I pulled a black stone from my pocket and showed it to him. A Corrupted S-Rank Magic Stone. This was why we’d ventured to the Black Market in the first place.
Then, a rustling sound came from deeper within the warehouse.
“Mm…”
Seo Eun-ha stirred on the sofa and opened her eyes. Her red hair was disheveled across her face. She rubbed her eyes and looked around, then spotted us and frowned.
“What? When did you two leave and come back? And why are you so dirty?”
“We went to the Black Market.”
“The Black Market? Without me?”
Seo Eun-ha bolted upright.
“Why did you go to such a dangerous place with just the two of you? You should have woken me!”
“Your mana hasn’t fully recovered yet. If we’d forced you to come and you’d triggered a detection device, it would have been even more dangerous.”
“Still…”
Seo Eun-ha glanced to the side and lowered her voice.
“Su-jin is still asleep. We need to be quiet.”
Han Su-jin was still sleeping soundly on the opposite end of the sofa. A blanket covered her up to her shoulders, and her face bore a peaceful expression.
Seo Eun-ha brushed back the hair that had fallen across Han Su-jin’s forehead. Her touch was gentle—so different from her usual rough manner of speaking.
But that movement caused Han Su-jin’s eyes to open.
“Mm… Eun-ha noona?”
“Oh, I woke you. Sorry.”
Han Su-jin sat up and rubbed her eyes. Her face still bore the softness of sleep.
“When did you wake up, noona…?”
“Just now. But they said these guys went to the Black Market without us.”
“The Black Market?”
Han Su-jin’s eyes widened as she looked at us. Only then did she seem to properly register Park Jae-jung’s and my appearance. Grease-stained, tattered clothes, tears and rips scattered across our bodies.
“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere…?”
“We’re fine. And thanks to that, we managed to get this.”
I placed a black stone on the table. About the size of a fist. Red veins like blood vessels writhed across its surface, and a nauseating toxic stench emanated from it the moment one drew near.
“Ugh…”
Han Su-jin covered her nose. Seo Eun-ha also frowned and stepped back.
“What is this? It’s just a rotten rock. You paid 50 million won for this garbage?”
“It is filth. But once we strip away the shell, the story changes.”
I pulled up a chair and sat down. I drew out the short dagger Shadow’s Fang and placed it on the table.
“Everyone please step back a bit. The toxic energy will be released quite intensely.”
“What are you doing?”
“Purification.”
The four of them stepped back with tense expressions.
I took a deep breath and placed both hands over the black stone.
Thump.
The stone pushed against my palms as if it were a living heart. An ancient mana stone generated during the Cataclysm Day ten years ago. The S-Rank mana and contamination condensed within it were clumped together, resisting roughly.
‘This won’t be easy.’
It was a different dimension from ordinary purification. Most of what I’d purified before was contamination on the surface. A simple wash and it was done. But this was different. The contamination had penetrated deep into the stone’s interior, tangled with the very crystalline structure of the mana stone itself.
‘If I touch this wrong…’
It could explode. If an S-Rank mana stone detonated, this warehouse—not to mention several hundred meters around the Market—would be obliterated. Failure was not an option.
‘Focus.’
I closed my eyes and opened my mana circuits. Pure white purification mana drawn up from my core gathered at my fingertips. But I didn’t push it in immediately. First, I needed synchronization.
The essence of purification wasn’t destruction—it was separation. I had to distinguish the contaminated from the pure and burn away only the contaminated. To do that, I first had to synchronize my mana wavelength with the stone’s.
“Synchronize.”
I whispered softly.
My mana enveloped the stone’s surface. Not seeping in, but wrapping around it like a thin membrane, reading its wavelength. I felt the stone’s heartbeat. Irregular and rough. It was the contamination.
‘Here…’
The pattern of contamination began to reveal itself. Fissures spreading like red blood vessels. Toxic energy flowing along those cracks. Black mana embedded like invaders between the pure crystalline structures of the mana stone.
‘I have to extract only the black without touching this structure.’
It was like surgical operation. Removing only the tumor while preserving healthy tissue.
“Purify.”
White light bloomed from my fingertips.
Whoooosh—!
The purification mana seeped into the stone. It wasn’t simply being pushed in. Following the contamination’s pathways I’d identified through synchronization, I directed it with precision. White light spread along the red fissures.
Ssshhhhh!
Black smoke erupted from the stone like a scream. The contamination was being purified and vaporized. The warehouse filled with acrid smoke in an instant.
“Cough, cough!”
Seo Eun-ha coughed.
“Is this okay?”
I had no time to answer. A searing heat radiated through my palms as if they were burning. The contamination was resisting. Everything that had taken root in this stone over ten years was thrashing, refusing to be expelled.
‘Hold on.’
Thick beads of sweat rolled down my forehead, stinging my eyes. My hands trembled. My mana was depleting rapidly.
“Tae-hyun…”
I heard Seo Eun-ha’s worried voice.
“Are you alright? Your face has gone pale.”
“…Just a moment longer.”
I clenched my teeth. I couldn’t stop now. If I interrupted the purification midway, the incompletely stimulated mana stone could go haywire. I had to see this through to the end.
‘Deeper. Purer.’
I increased my mana output. The white light intensified. Black smoke erupted more violently. The stone vibrated fiercely in my grip.
Crack!
The sound of fracturing echoed. My heart lurched for an instant. Was it exploding?
‘No.’
The fracture wasn’t in the stone itself. It was the black shell coating its surface. The contamination layer was peeling away.
‘Yes!’
I squeezed out my last reserves of strength.
Burst—!
A blinding flash erupted. Even with my eyes shut, white light seeped through my eyelids. The darkness within the warehouse was completely banished.
And then.
I opened my eyes.
What lay in my palm was no longer a grotesque stone. It was a translucent crystal gleaming with radiance—a gem clearer than diamond, holding a deep blue luminescence richer than sapphire.
[Purified Ancient Mana Stone]
[Grade: S]
“Wow…”
Han Su-jin gasped in awe, her hand covering her mouth as she stared at the crystal.
“Is that the same stone from before?”
“The same stone. I simply removed the contamination.”
“Unbelievable…”
Seo Eun-ha approached with wide eyes.
“Wow, it’s really beautiful. How much is this worth?”
“I’m not sure. If we put it on the market, it might fetch hundreds of billions.”
“Hundreds of billions?”
“It’s a 100% pure S-grade mana stone. But I have no intention of selling it. I have something I want to make with it.”
I wiped the sweat from my brow and picked up the short blade. Shadow Fang—an A-grade dagger obtained from the Lower District. I had coated its blade with a thin layer of purification aura.
“What are you making?”
“A mask.”
Seo Eun-ha tilted her head in confusion. Rather than explain, I began working.
Scrape. Scrape.
I pressed the blade against the crystal. Though its hardness would normally resist any ordinary tool, the blade infused with purification mana cut through the crystal like a knife through tofu.
I divided the raw stone into four pieces. One for me, one for Seo Eun-ha, one for Han Su-jin, one for Park Jae-jung. Four pendants for four people to wear.
“Why four?”
“Because the four of us will be wearing them.”
I shaped each fragment into a flat circle, no larger than a thumbnail. Perfect dimensions for a pendant necklace.
This was no simple craftsmanship. I had to inscribe delicate mana circuits across the stone’s surface—a device that would absorb the mana radiating outward, circulate it internally, and emit it back as a colorless, odorless wavelength.
I had to carve invisible, intricate circuits by hand.
Time slipped away.
The market noise outside would fade, then swell again, then fade once more. Day turned to night, then morning broke again. I couldn’t tell exactly how much time had passed.
“Tae-hyeon, take a break.”
Seo Eun-ha tapped my shoulder.
“You’ve been working all night. You’re going to collapse.”
“I’m almost done.”
“You’ve been saying ‘almost done’ for hours now. At least eat something.”
Han Su-jin held out a paper cup of coffee.
“Boss, please have this at least. Your hands are shaking.”
Only then did I notice my hands trembling. The mana expenditure had been immense. But I couldn’t stop. Only one piece remained.
“Just a little longer. Once I finish this…”
Scritch. Scritch.
I carved the final circuit.
Done.
I set the four completed pendants on the table.
Within the transparent crystals, threads of white light were embedded like a galaxy. Small but beautiful necklaces.
“Is this… a mask?”
Seo Eun-ha picked up one of the pendants.
“Try wearing it. And let just a little mana flow through it.”
She put on the necklace and carefully released her mana. Normally, a scorching heat would have radiated outward.
Whoooosh…
Nothing happened. Seo Eun-ha’s body was still channeling S-Rank mana, yet the aura emanating from her was nothing more than a faint wavelength—that of an ordinary person, or perhaps an E-Rank Hunter at best.
“…What is this?”
Seo Eun-ha murmured, staring down at her own hands.
“I can’t feel my mana. I’m definitely wearing it, but…”
“Your mana itself remains unchanged. I’ve only neutralized the wavelength being released externally. Dominion’s detection equipment will perceive Eun-ha as just an ordinary person with slightly elevated mana levels.”
“That’s insane…”
Seo Eun-ha fingered the pendant.
“You can’t even get something like this on the black market. Isn’t this special forces equipment grade?”
“Su-jin, you try wearing one too.”
Han Su-jin fastened the pendant around her neck. As she released her mana, her wavelength vanished just the same.
“Wow… it’s real. I can’t feel my mana at all.”
“It works for Su-jin too?”
“Yeah, Eun-ha. It’s really amazing.”
Park Jae-jung also wore the pendant. As a B-Rank, his aura was already faint, but now it vanished entirely.
In an instant, the oppressive presence of high-ranking Hunters that had filled the cramped warehouse dissipated. Now we appeared to be nothing more than ordinary citizens.
“What’s the name of this thing?”
Seo Eun-ha asked.
“…How about Mist Blossom?”
“Mist Blossom?”
“It obscures magical energy like mist. Like hiding a flower within the fog.”
“Oh, that’s clever.”
“Well, we’re ready now.”
I rose from my chair. My body felt leaden from working through the night, but my mind was sharper than ever.
“What are you planning to do with this?”
Seo Eun-ha asked.
“I’m going to meet Seung-ryong and his people.”
“What?”
“You saw it on the news. Seung-ryong’s people are hospitalized. They’re probably under Dominion surveillance, but with this pendant, we can get close.”
Seo Eun-ha’s expression grew complicated.
“Those people… they testified that we’re terrorists. Even if they were brainwashed by drugs…”
“That’s why I need to verify it myself. Especially someone named Han Ae-ri. Do you remember her?”
“The short-haired assassin? The one who didn’t say anything in the interview?”
“She was different from the other party members. She didn’t read from a script. It seems she hasn’t completely broken yet.”
Han Su-jin spoke carefully.
“Are you… trying to save her?”
“If I can. At minimum, I need to gather information. What exactly is Dominion doing? What’s the condition of the other party members? Where is Team Lead Lee Ji-young?”
Park Jae-jung nodded.
“It’s dangerous, but… a worthwhile venture.”
“How are we getting in?”
Seo Eun-ha asked.
“As visitors. Eun-ha will be in a wheelchair with Park Jae-jung pushing. You’ll play the patient. Su-jin will be the caregiver, and I’ll be the guardian.”
“Why do I have to be in the wheelchair?”
“Your face is the most recognizable. If you sit in the wheelchair wearing a deep hat, you’ll draw less attention.”
Seo Eun-ha grumbled but didn’t object.
“Wash up and change clothes. If we look too shabby, they’ll turn us away at the Hospital entrance.”
I pointed to the old clothes stashed in the corner of the warehouse—plain shirts and pants that Park Jae-jung had procured. They weren’t pristine, but once washed and pressed, they’d be enough to pass as visiting family.
We looked at each other and nodded.

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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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