I Got a Monster Spaceship from the Tutorial Tower - Chapter 10
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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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Episode 10
10
The sudden intrusion of two fighter aircraft sent the Control Center into chaos.
Reinforcements for their own side were welcome enough.
But why all of a sudden? From where?
A single aircraft might be attributed to a brave sortie by a novice pilot unaffiliated with the summoned Clan.
But two aircraft appearing simultaneously, as if by prior arrangement, only deepened the confusion.
It was then that one of the staff members monitoring the CCTV—rather than tracking via sensors and radar—called out as if entranced.
“D-Director, sir, could you look at this…….”
“What is it?”
The footage in question was soon enlarged and displayed on the screen.
“…….”
Everyone who saw it fell silent, their minds reeling.
Friendly and enemy aircraft darting about in chaotic patterns.
Yet all of it rendered utterly insignificant—like the meaningless flight of gnats—by what loomed above.
“A Space Battleship……?”
That very Space Battleship, which had turned the world upside down these past few days and become sickeningly familiar to all eyes.
At an altitude undetectable by radar.
It surveyed the ground below with overwhelming presence and serene indifference.
Tae-geun, struck by shock, thought to himself.
‘Are those really Carrier Aircraft from the Space Battleship? Well, the Thunder Hound makes sense, but when on earth did they get a Full Mail……?’
* * *
In the midst of a dogfight involving nearly a hundred aircraft.
The entry of just two machines had completely reversed the tide of battle.
A frenzied aerial melee that left minds reeling.
— Ngh, argh! There’s a Goblin Scout Fighter on my tail! Help!
A pilot shrieked and desperately tried to evade the Goblin Scout Fighter bearing down from behind, its cannons ready to unleash at any second.
Even among aircraft piloted by monsters, their classifications varied widely.
Scout fighters, by and large, ranked among the lowest tier.
Yet the maneuverability of a Goblin Scout Fighter was far beyond what a single-digit level, ordinary-grade fighter could easily shake off.
But.
Crack!
— What, what is that?
A yellow Thunder Hound pierced through from above, driving downward as if transfixing the Goblin Scout Fighter.
In the same instant, the enemy craft tumbled pathetically downward, trailing smoke like a long tail.
Snap!
The Thunder Hound disengaged from its position via Blink just before impact with the ground.
Crash!
An enemy aircraft that had given chase without thinking, unable to control its speed, plowed straight into the road.
From that point on, the Thunder Hound ranged across the battlefield like a bolt of lightning unleashed, free to move as it pleased.
It performed death-defying aerobatic maneuvers, grazing buildings with casual grace.
Boom!
— I, I’m alive!
With an uncanny tactical instinct, it plucked imperiled aircraft from the jaws of crisis.
Red dots on the tactical displays of the Control Center and various Clan control rooms vanished in rapid succession.
And the Full Mail, which had entered the battle alongside the Thunder Hound, was proving its worth in an altogether different manner.
Ha-yoon watched the Full Mail draw near the Hades and found herself thinking.
‘……Is it escorting me?’
Yet there had been no standard radio frequency opened—the intrusion was far too abrupt for that.
Ha-yoon, for all her renown, felt a flutter of uncertainty at the appearance of this ally whose identity and intentions remained a mystery.
Should she trust them?
Then.
Thud!
“……!!”
Focused as Ha-yoon was on the Full Mail, she failed to perceive the air-to-air spear thrust down upon her from above.
A thick air-to-air spear, fired with enough force to pierce clean through the Hades.
A critical oversight.
There was no time to evade.
The best she could manage was to present the least vulnerable portion to the blow.
But even minimizing the damage would leave her situation dire.
Then.
Whirrrrr!
The Full Mail, a heavy defensive craft, blocked out the Hades with movements so nimble it seemed impossible for such a bulky frame.
Crash!
At the same instant, the Full Mail’s Barrier flared to life.
‘Is that really a Full Mail?’
There were indeed Full Mails among the fighters engaged in battle today.
Yet none of them had seemed capable of withstanding an Orc’s spear thrust.
Whether by perfect timing or something else, this mysterious Full Mail flicked aside the spear that had nearly skewered the Hades as though it were nothing.
The Orc Scout Fighter, its center of gravity thrown off, crashed ungracefully into a nearby building.
“Ah…….”
One exchange had proven it beyond doubt.
To Ha-yoon, this single Full Mail was a more reliable ally than all the fighters she’d been flying with combined.
Truth be told, her squadron was only a squadron in name—torn apart and scattered, each fighter struggling alone against enemies on all sides.
Grip.
Strength flooded back into Ha-yoon’s hands, which had been tensing with despair.
Or perhaps it wasn’t strength at all, but will.
Whirrrrr!
The Hades’ engines, responding to Ha-yoon, surged with renewed thrust.
Fwip-fwip-fwip!
The Antimatter Cannon rounds dropped two Goblin Scout Fighters that had been carelessly darting around the Hades.
As a result, enemies swarmed toward Ha-yoon even more fiercely.
Bang-bang-bang!
The Full Mail intercepted most of the incoming fire with movements that bordered on supernatural.
The occasional damage that did strike the Hades was well within acceptable limits.
For Ha-yoon, it felt as though she could breathe again.
‘How on earth…… could our coordination be this seamless?’
Of course, Ha-yoon knew the truth.
She was simply fighting in her own style.
It was the Full Mail that was adjusting the rhythm to match her.
Was such a thing even possible with a ten-level gap?
She had no time to dwell on it, but the more she thought about it, the more astonished she became.
And then, as Ha-yoon’s gaze happened to tilt the Hades’ nose upward,
“Ah…….”
A quiet gasp escaped her lips.
Have you ever gazed at the moon hanging in the daytime sky?
A natural object simply suspended in heaven, and yet—in the next moment—a vast, overwhelming mystery descends upon you with undeniable presence.
That was the feeling.
In Ha-yoon’s vision, at this very moment, the sight of the Space Battleship—filling the sky above her—crowded out every other fighter in her field of view.
It was massive, inescapable, all-consuming.
* * *
“Phew, looks like we’ve put out the worst of the fire.”
On the Bridge of the Space Battleship.
Yeon-woo let out a sigh of relief.
The battle situation, which had been desperate to exaggerate only slightly, had begun reversing rapidly the moment Markos and Gudru joined the fray.
Thanks to Markos, who appeared like a knight in shining armor whenever danger struck, even the novice pilots seemed to have found their footing.
“Surely this is all thanks to the Captain’s valor and commanding prowess?”
“Ha ha! I’d like to think so myself.”
“Uh-ha-ha!”
The Captain and Executive Officer’s hearty laughter rang out!
……Yeon-woo was merely hovering high above, observing the situation, but what’s wrong with taking the win where you can get it?
Psychological stability—how crucial that was in combat.
But this moment of respite was short-lived.
As though they’d made an unspoken agreement, Yeon-woo and Urelka grew serious once more.
“Still, the boss remains.”
“Indeed. This Raid Portal—the enemy forces are stronger than anticipated. The Flagship will be proportionally formidable.”
Enemy fighters were being wiped out rapidly by Markos and Ha-yoon’s efforts.
With each passing moment, the boss’s arrival drew closer.
Yeon-woo gazed at the landscape unfolding below, his tone tinged with concern.
“To be honest, with the Main Cannon at our disposal, I’m not too worried. The problem is…….”
It wasn’t a question of whether the boss could be defeated or not.
To take down the boss, they’d fire the battleship’s Main Cannon down over Incheon?
The scale was incomparable, but it was no different from burning down three cottages to kill a flea.
Then again, he wasn’t eager to have Makros and Gudru face the boss alone.
“No matter how skilled they are, they can’t beat it outright just yet.”
“You’re right. If the Carrier Aircraft took damage, it would put you in a difficult position, Captain.”
Most pilots could just drop their craft at a repair shop and be done with it.
Given the circumstances, full repair costs would be covered anyway.
But Yeon-woo?
— I dealt with that Raid Portal earlier, and the Thunder Hound and Full Mail got damaged. Could you fix them?
— Oh? Are you a Space Battleship pilot?
— Ah, no—not a pilot. I’m the captain.
‘I can’t pull something like this…….’
The situation was complicated in every way.
As he was mulling over various approaches.
Whoosh.
“Captain! Unusual energy signature detected! Enemy Flagship incoming!”
Urelka’s urgent report came through.
Beneath the Space Battleship, at the precarious edge of their control range, a massive enemy Flagship slowly revealed itself.
Despite its crude appearance—iron plates jaggedly patched together at irregular angles—it radiated a terrible pressure.
‘……Still, it’s nothing compared to the Space Battleship.’
Accustomed to the battleship as he was, Yeon-woo barely blinked at ordinary sizes anymore.
But compared to the other fighters currently engaged in Dogfight, it was clearly enormous.
It was several times larger than the Hades, which was already outstandingly big.
“My. An Orc Cruiser. For a 10-level Raid Portal, that’s quite the monster that emerged.”
Urelka scratched her chin as if troubled.
An Orc Cruiser.
Essentially the strongest-class among Orc-type fighters.
By Tutorial Tower standards, roughly equivalent to the thirtieth floor.
Even accounting for the fact that the Raid Portal imposed no limit on the number of participating vessels, it was a cruel adversary.
Grrrr…….
Upon entering, the Orc Cruiser began slowly raising its head as if to engage the strongest opponent in this arena.
“Huh, that thing?”
It turned its attention toward the Space Battleship, tilting its bow upward in a measured, deliberate way.
A grim resolve, as if ready to charge at any moment!
‘Is it coming for me first?’
Seriously?
Yeon-woo tensed at the unexpected turn.
With Main Cannon use restricted right now, it would certainly be difficult.
Then.
Grrrr!
The Orc Cruiser, having belatedly recognized its opponent’s true nature, sharply dropped its bow once more.
“A wise judgment. What’s the point of attacking the Space Battleship? It would take ages.”
Urelka nodded in agreement.
‘Why are you sympathizing with it?’
It’s still a monster, isn’t it?
In any case, it not turning toward them was a relief.
But if that thing descended into the battlefield and wreaked havoc, the problem would only grow.
‘No matter how much Makros flies and fights, some of them will still get shot down…….’
Just the visible machine guns, missile launchers, and various cannons easily numbered over a dozen.
That level of firepower was genuinely catastrophic.
What now?
What could he do?
In truth, there was only one answer.
Yeon-woo had been considering it from the start.
Only.
‘Is it… really okay?’
It would completely overturn his original plan, which made him hesitant.
When he asked Urelka for her opinion, this was what she said.
“Certainly…… given the situation, I don’t see any other choice.”
If Urelka said it, then it must be true.
Goblin or human aside, he seemed certain in his abilities and knowledge.
And it was also the only method that could minimize the shockwaves to the world.
“Ugh…….”
After a moment’s hesitation, Yeon-woo made his decision.
“There’s no other way.”
“Then……?”
“Hades, open the channel.”
He did tend to be reserved around strangers, admittedly.
But if this was the only way to save Korea safely, what choice did he have?
A Space Battleship captain who feared Ha-yoon aboard the Hades more than the Orc Cruiser itself — that was Yeon-woo!
“I’ll connect you now.”
“Wait, give me a moment to prepare myself……. Breathe, breathe, okay.”
“Would it help if I handled the communication instead?”
“……No, I’ll do it.”
Yeon-woo refused immediately.
Even nervous, it was better this way.
Show Ha-yoon a goblin out of nowhere?
If she got startled and crashed, it’d be a catastrophe.
“Yes, opening the channel now.”
And before the tense Yeon-woo, a communication window opened, linking directly to the Hades.
* * *
— Enemy flagship spotted! Orc Cruiser! Orc Cruiser!
— We’re finished…….
— This can’t be happening! It can’t!
Troubles piling upon troubles.
The phrase fit the situation perfectly.
They’d barely managed to turn the tide with the Thunder Hound and Full Mail joining in.
But the appearance of an Orc Cruiser seemed hopelessly bleak to the pilots who’d been rallying their resolve.
A massive hull, thick armor to match it, a Barrier, and overwhelming firepower.
Honestly, she couldn’t even guarantee that the Hades’s Antimatter Cannon could pierce its defenses.
‘Even with those two…….’
Shouldn’t they retreat?
Still, they were clearing out the smaller enemy fighters, and if it was just one flagship, maybe they could minimize the damage after all.
Even as Ha-yoon fought desperately, such thoughts crossed her mind.
Ding.
“?”
A communication request appeared in front of her.
A private channel with the sender’s aircraft unidentified.
Suspicious.
Definitely suspicious.
Click.
Ha-yoon accepted the channel as if bewitched.
Soon, a young man standing in a vast space appeared in a small window at the corner of her interface.
‘The Control Center……? No, that doesn’t seem right.’
At first, she thought it was the Control Center or perhaps another Clan’s headquarters, the space was so expansive.
But the atmosphere was different.
Above all, a young person like that wouldn’t be alone as the commanding officer of such a place.
No, actually — she had a good idea.
Who else would contact her in this situation?
If not the massive Space Battleship floating in the sky above.
The private channel made sense too, when she thought of it that way.
Ha-yoon’s eyes swept over the other person with calm assessment.
“Who are you?”
To Ha-yoon’s question,
— Ah, yes. Um. I am.
The flustered man revealed his identity carefully.
— The…… captain of the Space Battleship. My name’s classified……, but you’re the Ha-yoon pilot in the Hades, right? I, er, called because there’s something to discuss about this wretched Orc Cruiser, yes, I contacted you about it.
“?”
The identity was confirmed, at least.
He was nothing like Ha-yoon had expected.
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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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