I Got a Monster Spaceship from the Tutorial Tower - Chapter 23

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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 23
Episode 23
15th Floor.
Beyond the thirty Slime Fighters they’d faced before, the stage now featured roughly ten Goblins as well—a sampling of what was to come.
Ordinary Pilots, even in a full five-person party, found themselves overwhelmed by the sheer numbers here.
And since they faced real monsters rather than unmanned machines, the worst-case scenario demanded constant vigilance against enemy boarding parties inside the cockpit.
But then.
“Overwhelming,” Yeon-woo breathed.
“There’s no question about it, Captain.”
Yeon-woo watched the battle unfold, more decisive than he’d anticipated, and found himself impressed at Ha-yoon’s words—the enemy was being pressed back with crushing force.
This floor marked Ha-yoon’s Hades joining them for the first time in a while.
She’d been waiting on the platform, her expression cold as always, before requesting to join.
Normally he might have hesitated, but this time Yeon-woo accepted without reservation.
‘It’s time to settle this,’ he thought.
There were matters that could no longer be postponed.
And though it mattered little to him.
“Let’s do this together, Captain!”
“The black fighter—good work. Gudru, excellent.”
Yeon-woo had given it little thought, yet his subordinate Pilots had taken such a liking to Ha-yoon.
In any case, led by Hades, Macross’s Thunder Hound and Gudru’s Fullmail continued to prowl through the enemy formations like predators.
Above all, the Thunder Hound’s performance stood out this time.
Crackle-crack-crack!
As always, it cut through dozens of enemy fighters like a bolt of lightning, but there was something more.
Boom!
Macross, piercing into the densest cluster of enemies, seized the moment and unleashed an enormous surge of energy.
“Ah.”
The enemy fighters struck by that energy froze in place, unable to move or fire their weapons.
The Electronic Warfare Module—obtained from the summon.
While it couldn’t disable the Slime Bombers, it was more than sufficient to stun the Scout Ships and Fighters.
Even if they pushed themselves to full power, these frozen enemies had nowhere to go.
Bzzt-bzzt-bzzt-crack!
Naturally, they could only melt beneath Macross’s Plasma Gun.
Meanwhile, Sureka, a D Rank from whom little had been expected, proved herself a capable partner to her teammates.
Her role was to escort Hades, much as Gudru had done during the last Raid Portal.
She neither shrieked like Macross nor spoke in Gudru’s halting cadence.
Rather, Sureka communicated with Ha-yoon with relative ease.
— Left Slime Scout Ship.
— On it!
Though duller and more clumsy than her peers, she executed escort duties with solid competence.
Whoosh!
Bang!
At Ha-yoon’s command, Sureka’s Gauntlet rushed forward, unfurling a Barrier to shake off the enemy pursuit.
Ha-yoon moved freely through enemy territory even alone, but with support at her side, her mobility only increased.
— Two Goblin Scout Ships closing in from below.
— I’ll hold them off with everything I have!
— No, that won’t be necessary.
Though Sureka occasionally grew overzealous enough to require Ha-yoon’s restraint, her assistance was clearly more asset than liability.
Yeon-woo hadn’t noticed yet, but Ha-yoon carried her own quiet objective.
‘I cannot afford to be a burden.’
Though she’d been pushed into party play at Jin-yong’s behest.
The Universe Spaceship, which had maintained a Clear record at the unprecedented S+ Rank, could not be allowed to lose that distinction because of her.
At minimum, she had to cover the increase in difficulty that her own addition brought.
Clear Rank was, after all, relative evaluation.
There was already some margin in fighting as a duo rather than a full party, but.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Ha-yoon concentrated with minimal shots, channeling even greater focus than during her solo runs in order to eliminate the maximum number of enemies with the least expenditure.
And that extreme concentration was rapidly awakening her latent potential.
Though neither Yeon-woo nor Ha-yoon had yet noticed it.
In fact, there was one more reason the 15th Floor’s battle had tilted in Yeon-woo’s favor.
Urelka, observing the situation map, reported to Yeon-woo.
“Captain, enemy contact at two o’clock—slime bombers closing in.”
“I see them.”
The thrum of the engines swelled.
Yeon-woo banked the spaceship hard to starboard.
Not to flee—but to drive straight toward the approaching bombers with absolute confidence.
The slime bombers at this depth packed formidable firepower for their class.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
Two massive cannons mounted on the wings erupted, spewing viscous slime projectiles in a relentless barrage.
The bombers themselves were sluggish, but their curtain fire was genuinely troublesome.
「Barrier Engine neutralizing acidic slime compound completely.」
The Barrier system, fully calibrated before their assault on the 15th Floor, would never yield to attacks of its own element.
The power disparity was absolute from the start—humans and ants could not be more different.
The slime bombers, blind to the gap between them, emptied their entire arsenal into the void.
The Universe Spaceship paid them no mind, its massive hull bearing down with the inevitability of a debt collector’s notice.
Crunch-crunch-crunch—then a wet splatter.
The slime bombers dissolved against the Barrier’s acidic shell, unable to endure even moments of contact.
‘Not bad. Main cannons are fine, but… this works too.’
Clearing an entire floor without firing a single round?
Honestly, other pilots wouldn’t even dare dream of such a strategy.
Macross, fitted with electronic warfare capabilities.
Ha-yoon and Sureka, a formidable pair covering both offense and defense.
Gudru, quietly executing his role without fanfare.
Even against forty enemy aircraft, it didn’t take long before they were nothing but debris drifting through the black void of space.
「Tutorial Tower, 15th Floor.
S+ Rank Clear.」
The notification appeared before Yeon-woo’s eyes—they’d conquered the 15th Floor with an S+ rating.
As always, the clear footage uploaded automatically.
One hundred Scrap earned.
Yeon-woo opened the comm channel and spoke.
“Well done, everyone. Return to base.”
— Roger, returning—!
— Too loud. Muting.­
Macross, Gudru, and Sureka filed back through the landing bay in sequence.
Hades approached the Universe Spaceship slowly.
Ha-yoon’s voice crackled through the comm.
— Thanks to you, we cleared it again today.
“No, I should thank—”
Yeon-woo caught himself mid-sentence and quickly gestured at Urelka, who was already reaching to cut the channel.
Did goblins have some kind of protocol where hearing the word ‘thanks’ was permission to hang up?
Either way, today he needed to speak with Ha-yoon, so losing the connection was the last thing he wanted.
“—you all for your hard work. And I have something I’d like to ask.”
— Yes, what is it?
“I’d like to meet with the Maengho Clan Leader.”
— …!­
Ha-yoon’s eyes widened at his blunt request, her mouth falling open slightly despite herself.
Her thoughts drifted to yesterday’s conversation with Jin-yong.
“Next is the 15th Floor, right?”
“Yes.”
“Will he ask for another party clear using the spaceship?”
“Ah…”
“In five days, I think his mind might have changed.”
She’d thought it was nonsense.
If his mind had truly changed, wouldn’t the spaceship crew have contacted them first?
There had been no signal whatsoever, yet Jin-yong spoke with such certainty that she struggled to understand.
‘Is that really going to happen?’
But now, exactly as Jin-yong had predicted, Yeon-woo was saying this—and she could only be stunned.
— The Clan Leader?
“Yes. There’s something I need to ask for.”
— ……
Ha-yoon fell silent for a moment, then nodded slowly.
— Yes. They’ll probably welcome you.
If Jin-yong had heard that, he would’ve shouted back, saying what kind of nonsense is that.
Mere welcome? That would be the least of it.
* * *
A central district of Seoul.
Countless people moved in and out of a tall building fronted by an enormous tiger statue.
The Maengho Clan — one of Korea’s largest guilds.
Whoosh… click!
A luxury sedan pulled into the parking garage with unusual urgency.
A waiting executive of the Maengho Clan hurried over to greet the figure stepping out of the vehicle.
“Director, welcome.”
“Yes, sir. It’s been a while. I hope you’ve been well?”
Director Tae-geun of the Control Bureau.
While clan representatives often sought out the Control Bureau, the director himself rarely visited a clan in person.
And he’d brought only a driver and a single secretary as accompaniment.
That alone suggested the matter was urgent and grave.
Tae-geun exchanged the customary pleasantries, then got straight to the point.
“Where is the clan leader?”
“He’s waiting inside, sir.”
Following the executive upstairs, Tae-geun took the elevator directly to the top floor and the clan leader’s office.
Though the contact had been somewhat abrupt, the Maengho Clan appeared already prepared—they guided him to the reception room with practiced ease.
Knock, knock.
“Clan Leader, the Director has arrived.”
— Tell him to come in.
From inside the reception room came Jin-yong’s bright voice.
The door opened at once, and Tae-geun stepped through with hurried strides he barely tried to conceal.
“Please, sit, Director.”
Jin-yong naturally yielded the seat of honor, setting a prepared cup of tea before him.
Tae-geun chose a seat where he could face Jin-yong directly, rather than the place of honor.
His rigid expression spoke volumes about the weight of his thoughts.
“What brings you to visit?”
“Mm…”
Tae-geun seemed uncertain how to broach the subject, but dallying was not his style either.
“The Universe Spaceship—you haven’t met it yet yourself, have you?”
The reason the director had made this unusual visit was singular.
What else could it be but the Universe Spaceship, the burning issue consuming the whole world?
Jin-yong shook his head in response.
“Unfortunately not.”
“Ha-yoon and I have cleared it three times already, just today—!”
Tae-geun began to object as though the idea were absurd.
Ha-yoon was no ordinary pilot.
The Maengho Clan treasured her as carefully as a precious jewel—an S+ Rank pilot.
Beyond rank, the mere fact of contact with the Universe Spaceship should naturally make her a priority for concentrated observation.
Now, after three clearings—through the Raid Portal, then the 10th Floor, and the 15th Floor—wasn’t it strange that the clan leader still claimed ignorance of its nature?
Yet Jin-yong had his own reply prepared.
“Pilots conduct their own clearings independently… the clan can’t exactly prevent that.”
It was a principled position.
Naturally, the clan preferred its affiliated pilots to coordinate and clear dungeons together.
But even so, they couldn’t forcibly ban all contact with outside pilots.
If they pressed too hard into every such meeting, pilots would simply slip away.
Tae-geun studied Jin-yong’s face with sharp eyes.
‘He’s not lying.’
Jin-yong was skilled, yes—but Tae-geun possessed the keen insight to discern truth from deliberate falsehood.
At least, Jin-yong was speaking the truth.
‘He’s deliberately stepping back.’
That interpretation could take many forms.
He was allowing Ha-yoon and the Universe Spaceship to interact, without prying too deeply into that relationship.
‘Which means the pilot controlling the Universe Spaceship is someone who requires that careful approach.’
Beyond that, there was the ease that radiated from Jin-yong’s posture and expression.
In a situation where others hadn’t even managed a word with the ship, he, as the leader, saw no need to rush.
But this time, Tae-geun showed no inclination to retreat easily.
“Now that we’ve confirmed the Universe Spaceship is in Korea, you’ll understand that its pilot is a critical national asset.”
“Of course, Director.”
Even if the clan were to manage the pilot, someone of that caliber would inevitably draw the Control Bureau’s considerable influence.
No matter how high a rank the pilot had awakened to in combat capability, the moment they stepped outside, they were simply an ordinary civilian.
Should any foreign power attempt interference, only the state possessed the power to detect and preempt such moves.
For now, it appeared the Maengho Clan held the upper hand, but once the Universe Spaceship formally joined the clan, they would have no choice but to notify the Control Bureau.
Tae-geun spoke with a hardened expression.
“We too have made our preparations to provide full support to the Universe Spaceship. All that remains is contact.”
“Well… it depends on what the spaceship’s pilot thinks about it.”
And at Jin-yong’s follow-up remark, Tae-geun’s expression twisted slightly.
The clan was, in essence, a broker between the Control Bureau and the pilot.
Why else would such a profession exist?
To extract as many concessions as possible from the Control Bureau and pluck the most desirable ones from among them.
Jin-yong had essentially declared he would wring out as much as possible from between the Universe Spaceship and the Control Bureau.
If the spaceship were to join the Maengho?
‘We could secure our position as Korea’s undisputed first… or even aim for the world’s number one.’
The seat of the world’s greatest guild was already as good as claimed by the Maengho.
Yet both men understood this unspoken truth.
For now, the one holding the blade was Jin-yong and the Maengho Clan.
Only after extracting definitive commitments from Jin-yong multiple times did Tae-geun rise from his seat.
“In any case, it’s a fact that the Universe Spaceship is currently closest to the Maengho. The Control Bureau hopes to maintain a good relationship with you going forward.”
“There’s no question about that, Director. I’m Korean too.”
“If there are any developments, please contact us immediately. Without fail.”
“Yes, Director. Don’t worry.”
Jin-yong had nothing more to add, and Tae-geun had secured at least the minimum commitment he needed.
After Tae-geun departed, Jin-yong settled into his desk chair with satisfaction.
“Since we’ve already succeeded in clearing the 15th Floor, from now on I can quietly feed our proposals to the Clan through Pilot Ha-yoon…”
A rosy future spreading out before the Maengho Clan!
The grand dream and ambition of becoming the world’s number one guild!
Plans already unfolding in Jin-yong’s mind like a superhighway.
Then.
Brring brring!
— The pride of the Maengho Clan, Pilot Ha-yoon
Ha-yoon was calling.
It was unusual for Ha-yoon to call directly, given that she normally came to the clan in person even for urgent matters, so Jin-yong answered with curiosity.
“Yes, Pilot Ha-yoon. I confirmed the 15th Floor was cleared successfully—why didn’t you come in person?”
— The Universe Spaceship wants to meet with the clan leader.
“…?”
Jin-yong pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it, wondering if he’d heard correctly, then brought it back—repeating this motion.
“I’m sorry, what?”
— They want to meet with the clan leader.
“…Suddenly?”
Of course, this was Jin-yong’s objective.
‘And yet…’
He felt a pang of guilt toward Tae-geun, who had only just left the Maengho Clan.
Though adults had their reasons, and Jin-yong harbored no intention of deliberately making an enemy of the Control Bureau as Tae-geun had implied.

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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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