I Got a Monster Spaceship from the Tutorial Tower - Chapter 26

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

Episode 26
Chapter 26
Back when Shin Ha-yoon was in high school.
The peaceful school erupted into chaos in an instant.
Wee-ooo! Wee-ooo!
An alarm blared across the district as a Raid Portal opened without warning.
Ha-yoon remained in the school basement until the situation was contained.
When she rushed home afterward, it was already—
“…….”
—reduced to ruins, stripped of everything it had been.
By the time she arrived, her parents’ bodies were being recovered from beneath the rubble.
What collapsed that day was not merely her home.
The disaster was never properly reported.
It was a Raid Portal with an unusually high Grade restriction.
The government and the Control Authority earned praise from experts for their swift judgment in preserving pilot resources, and the Defense Ministry was commended for minimizing casualties through an effective operation.
No one paid attention to a handful of collapsed houses.
But the seed that lay forgotten in that rubble—
“You have Awakened.
Grade S+ Hades.
Congratulations.”
Amid everyone’s praise, it bloomed into a black flower that mirrored the rubble.
* * *
“Explain. What are you talking about?”
Ha-yoon’s voice came low and dangerous.
The situation teetered on a knife’s edge.
Yeon-woo decided to trust Urelka.
=If the story doesn’t unfold properly, Captain, I’ll step forward myself.
=You, Urelka?
=Yes. We have… quite a history with those enemy monsters, after all.
The conversation had arisen naturally as they worked out a strategy aboard the Space Battleship.
Tap.
Urelka stepped forward and continued.
“If I may venture an assessment, it seems you lost someone precious in a monster attack. Am I correct?”
“…….”
Yeon-woo had suspected as much from Ha-yoon’s hostile reaction.
The Tutorial Tower and Raid Portals.
Through recent research and experience, stable management had become possible, they said.
Yet casualties always found a way to exist.
Ha-yoon was undoubtedly one of those victims.
So when a monster was suddenly summoned before her, shock barely described it.
Yet that monster—the object of her enmity—held a key to bridging this chasm of deep emotion.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but we must also stand and fight the monsters in the Tower alongside all of you.”
“A lie.”
“Or perhaps… one might say our grievance runs even deeper than yours, Pilot Ha-yoon.”
“…….”
Ha-yoon, who had been showing open hostility to Urelka with her jaw clenched,
and Yeon-woo, who had been listening in silence,
both fell silent in that moment.
In Urelka’s sorrowful eyes lay a sorrow so profound that it could not possibly be false.
Urelka turned her gaze toward Yeon-woo and asked.
“Captain, did you not find it strange that we fire upon monsters without hesitation?”
“Well, I… yes.”
That much was true.
He’d never given it deep thought before,
but from the start, Urelka and the crew members summoned through Advanced Summoning had displayed an attitude markedly different from the monsters Yeon-woo knew.
Moreover, when goblin fighters from the Raid Portal were shot down, Urelka had shown little disturbance.
If, as Ha-yoon suspected, they were allied with the monsters inside the Tower, that composure would be impossible.
“…….”
Ha-yoon, too, seemed to recognize a certain logic in Urelka’s words, and her hostility eased somewhat.
Though her true nature remained unknown.
Yet they had already fought together three times.
Piloting skills that far surpassed any human’s.
Precise marksmanship without a moment’s hesitation.
The monsters before them were one thing.
But her comrades—those who had fought alongside her—could hardly be called spies of the enemy.
Urelka spoke, regret coloring her voice.
“I cannot yet explain the full circumstances to you and the Pilot, and I beg your understanding. But before long, you will learn the secrets that bind the Tower and the fighter jets together.”
“How are we supposed to believe that?”
At Shin Ha-yoon’s question, Urelka gestured gracefully toward Yeon-woo and replied.
“Because the Space Battleship has appeared.”
“Me?”
“Yes, Captain. Your true enemy is not us monsters—it is the Tutorial Tower itself.”
Though Urelka had not revealed all the details.
Still, Shin Ha-yoon seemed to have abandoned any thought of reporting them to Yeon-woo and leaving the room.
Her face remained ashen, her eyes wide.
Yet confusion flickered behind her gaze.
……
After a moment of silence and time had passed.
Perhaps sensing the tension had not lifted as much as hoped, Markos—who had been scratching the back of his head with the feathers of his long wings—stepped forward.
“Well, even if this is the last time, I’d like to introduce myself properly. I’m Markos, the one who piloted the Thunder Hound. As you can see, I’m a harpy.”
“The Thunder Hound……!”
Shin Ha-yoon instinctively took a step or two back from the harpy’s approach.
But in her mind’s eye, the Thunder Hound’s uncanny exploits flashed past.
Unlike Shin Ha-yoon’s refined movements, a true-to-form combat that relied on extreme instinct and sensation.
Markos clicked his beak up and down cheerfully as he spoke.
“I’m not sure if we’ll meet again given how things are, but you’re truly remarkable. Your… flight, hiccup! Skills, I mean.”
“?”
“What I mean is, your flight, hiccup! Skills are as impressive as any harpy’s, hiccup!”
‘Here we go again.’
Yeon-woo clenched his eyes shut as he watched Markos hiccupping, of all things, when he should have been making a reliable impression.
The hiccups muddled the word “flight” so badly it was hard to make out.
Still, the context wasn’t entirely lost, and Shin Ha-yoon could understand well enough what was meant.
Yeon-woo shook his head and explained.
“Markos claims to have flight anxiety. That’s what happens whenever the word ‘flight’ comes up.”
“Hiccup! Captain! You’re embarrassing me!”
“Flight anxiety……?”
Shin Ha-yoon tilted her head at the baffling combination.
A harpy with wings, afraid of flying?
‘If he has flight anxiety, how can he fight so well?’
Yeon-woo recognized the look on Shin Ha-yoon’s face.
If there was another raid dungeon clear ahead, she would naturally come to understand.
“Actually, it’s not really flight anxiety—more like excitement syndrome.”
“Ah…….”
Now Shin Ha-yoon nodded slightly, as if she understood.
Markos protested, as though wronged.
“Those of you with natural talents like yourself, Captain, wouldn’t understand, but this is actually quite common among pilots. The moment we think about flying, our hearts start pounding, our hands and feet tremble, hiccup! Don’t they? Pilot Shin Ha-yoon?”
“……???”
Shin Ha-yoon tilted her head at an even wider angle as Markos suddenly turned the question on her.
But she didn’t experience that at all.
It might have been thanks to her naturally calm temperament.
But pilots who suffered such symptoms would have lost their fighters long ago.
“Cluck-cluck, everyone just relies on talent and ignores me…….”
Markos turned back, wiping away tears as though his heart had been truly wounded.
Hwa-ryeon glared at him with reproach.
“A pathetic wretch not worth a single harpy feather. I had little love for harpies to begin with, but you’re the worst of the lot.”
“Ugh, even you…….”
The large harpy’s frame seemed to wilt.
For a moment, Shin Ha-yoon’s deep confusion shifted in a new direction.
Her hostility toward monsters had not entirely faded.
But she had never imagined that such human-like monsters could exist.
Not only does she have a flying phobia, but she’s being treated this badly on top of it.
Shin Ha-yoon asked, her tone subtly shifted.
“So then… is that person the Full Mail pilot? Your voice sounds different.”
The question was directed at Yeon-woo, but Hwa-ryeon stepped forward with a bright smile.
“Oh no~. I’m Hwa-ryeon, the mechanic of the Space Battleship. I’ve watched your piloting skills quite closely, you know?”
“I see…”
Shin Ha-yoon nodded.
Then, somewhat unguardedly, she reached out to shake hands with Hwa-ryeon, who extended her hand warmly.
Save for her nine tails and perked-up ears, her appearance differed little from human, which meant Shin Ha-yoon felt the least resistance toward her.
Fortunately, as the atmosphere loosened somewhat, Yeon-woo ventured to speak.
“The Full Mail’s pilot is Gudru—he’s a Troll. This space is a bit cramped, so…”
“A Troll…!”
Shin Ha-yoon was astonished once more.
A monster she could never have imagined encountering except at the highest floors had been the pilot fighting alongside her all this time.
What’s more, the Full Mail’s devotion to protecting Hades stood in complete contrast to what she’d imagined a Troll to be.
‘Did… did things actually work out well?’
Noting that at least the initial hostility had largely evaporated, Yeon-woo quietly exhaled in relief.
There was still the tower’s secret that Urelka had spoken of.
Yeon-woo didn’t know the details either, but for now, he had no choice but to trust them.
He didn’t know Shin Ha-yoon’s past, but likely her deepest wish would also find its answer aboard the Space Battleship in the end.
Yeon-woo asked carefully.
“Will you continue to clear the tower with us going forward?”
Shin Ha-yoon’s eyes wavered as she looked between Yeon-woo and the monsters.
In truth, she couldn’t quite understand her own heart either.
Her hostility toward monsters.
But the monsters right in front of her…
Shin Ha-yoon hesitated a moment, her lips parting, then shook her head.
“…Please give me time to think.”
“Of course!”
That alone was enough.
Accepting immediately would have been stranger still.
Having to borrow a monster’s strength to fight monsters.
It was nothing short of a contradiction when you thought about it.
“Well, Captain, I’m glad this is working out! If the pilot does join us, I too could…”
Not missing his chance, Markos, who had been crouched in back, stepped forward with newfound enthusiasm.
What came next was predictable enough.
“Urelka.”
“Yes, Captain.”
At Yeon-woo’s call, Urelka performed her duty as vice-captain.
Swoosh.
A Rusted Dagger flew from Urelka’s grasp.
“…Cluck-cluck! Now I’ll be able to fight even harder! Yes, that’s exactly what I was hoping for! Absolutely!”
Markos flapped both wings frantically, speaking as if gripped by grave misunderstanding.
He flapped so vigorously it seemed he might actually take flight.
Urelka returned the dagger to her pocket.
Watching this, Shin Ha-yoon turned to Yeon-woo with a question.
“…Are you absolutely certain these monsters are safe?”
Yeon-woo nodded, an awkward smile crossing his face.
“Despite how they are, they’ve never actually used their weapons.”
Yet, anyway.
The last words never quite made it past his lips.
* * *
Meanwhile, Jin Yong, unaware of what was happening outside, was handling the work he’d postponed while greeting Yeon-woo.
Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he tilted his head in thought.
“Wait, isn’t the next floor the sixteenth?”
Given the Space Battleship’s performance so far, they’d likely clear it without much trouble.
Yet at the same time, concern naturally arose.
“Actually, from the sixteenth floor onward… that’s where the real Tutorial Tower begins.”
If floors one through ten were a segment for becoming familiar with aircraft through combat against unmanned fighters,
then floors eleven through fifteen were a segment for honing real combat instincts against actual monsters.
Yet from the sixteenth floor onward, the Tutorial Tower enters an entirely new dimension.
It’s no longer enough to fight well or pilot skillfully; clearing requires something more.
Because of this, even those Pilots who struggled through solo conquest up to floor fifteen have no choice but to switch to party conquest from floor sixteen onward.
“I mean… the Space Battleship is already what you’d call a party conquest, technically speaking.”
Is it truly possible to clear solo, without clan support?
The carrier aircraft revealed so far are the F+ Grade Thunder Hound, the C Grade Full Mail, and the D Grade Gauntlet.
For a Space Battleship that had conquered every floor thus far at the unprecedented S+ Grade, it didn’t seem like a concern.
If Yeon-woo had a weakness to point out, it would be entrusting all general offensive operations to nothing but an F+ Grade mech.
Especially on floor sixteen, where preemptive offensive power takes precedence over squad defensive capability.
Without significant changes, it seemed things might grow more difficult than before.
‘Should I mention it to Pilot Ha-yoon now?’
Both Yeon-woo and Shin Ha-yoon were young—too young, really—for Pilot Jin Yong’s generation, fresh-faced newcomers to the cockpit.
Especially after meeting Yeon-woo in person, that impression had only grown stronger.
Tap-tap. Jin Yong’s index finger drummed against the desk, the sound growing gradually louder with each beat.
* * *
After wrapping up his conversation with Shin Ha-yoon, Yeon-woo arrived home and headed straight for the Hangar.
Tomorrow was the day to enter floor sixteen.
In the end, the most critical matter was climbing the Tutorial Tower one floor at a time, methodically and securely.
“Time to do an Advanced Summoning!”
The Advanced Summoning opportunity granted for clearing floor fifteen at S+ Grade.
Since Advanced Summoning had never once let him down, he should use it now without reservation, with floor sixteen looming ahead.
Zing!
And then, after seeing the results of his third Advanced Summoning—
“Cock-a-doodle-doooo!”
…for some reason, Markos let out a pitiful cry.

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