I Got a Monster Spaceship from the Tutorial Tower - Chapter 38

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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 38
Episode 38
With Jin-yong’s fighter properly repaired at last, Yeon-woo returned home and decided to spend some leisurely time with Lapis for the first time in a while.
Bubble-bubble!
‘The more I look at her, the cuter she is. Warmer than I expected, and the texture is nice too.’
Lapis was small enough to summon without strain even in a cramped room, made no noise, and could easily be passed off as a doll or toy if anyone happened to drop by.
But most importantly.
‘Teaching her language will be helpful, she said.’
It was Urelka who had first suggested it.
Hard to believe as it was, the Blue Slime was renowned across the universe as one of the Sage Race.
Yet once Yeon-woo started teaching Lapis the Korean Language, he began to understand what Urelka meant.
He’d bought a few children’s learning books and fairy tales, and the moment he started reading them aloud—
— Captain Yeon-woo is good
Somehow, Lapis had written sentences like this with ease.
Of course, Macross and Goodru had communicated smoothly from the moment they were first summoned.
‘But that’s system-assisted; reading and writing characters are a different matter, as they said.’
If those two merely understood speech, Lapis was absorbing the Korean Language system like a sponge.
When he showed her English next, she produced it fluently like a native speaker.
Though she couldn’t speak aloud, Lapis communicated by writing with a pen, floating air bubbles within her body, or manipulating her mucous form into characters.
Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, even Portuguese.
‘……She can do this too?’
Curious about her limits, he’d shown her simple conversations from video channels.
By now, even Yeon-woo was starting to feel a bit unnerved.
They all seemed like foreign languages to him.
“You’re just spouting off random stuff, aren’t you? There’s no way I’d understand any of it.”
Grrrrr……
When Yeon-woo asked with a suspicious look, Lapis drooped her entire body in disappointment.
“S-sorry, I was just joking.”
Bloop!
The moment Yeon-woo apologized, Lapis perked up again as if she’d never deflated.
They’d only spent a few hours together, yet Yeon-woo had already grown quite adept at reading Lapis’s emotions.
Perhaps it was because of the fragment of herself that Lapis had sent toward him.
“Hmm……”
It was still early for bed.
Yeon-woo wanted to test Lapis’s limits a bit further—see just how quickly she could absorb what was shown to her.
“Lapis, do you know Mathematics?”
Foreign languages: passed (?).
But if she was truly of the Sage Race, she ought to demonstrate exceptional talent in the language of numbers—mathematics itself.
At the mention of Mathematics, Lapis reverted from her child-like form back into her true slime shape.
Bounce! Bounce!
She bounced in place repeatedly, as if delighted.
“Mm, I see.”
Mathematics would naturally be essential knowledge for navigation.
‘But would she still be that confident after seeing Korea’s notoriously grueling, drill-based mathematics?’
Yeon-woo pulled out his phone and showed her the final problem from this year’s university entrance exam Mathematics section.
— If the sequence {aₙ} satisfies the following conditions……
‘Ugh, it’s been ages since I graduated.’
Yeon-woo, needless to say, was completely unable to solve it!
Fortunately, the answer key came with the problem.
The moment Lapis saw the problem Yeon-woo held out,
Splish!
She swayed gently to the side,
— 1!
and confidently produced her answer.
“Really?”
Yeon-woo tilted his head skeptically.
It seemed like it would barely take time to read through the entire problem, yet she’d answered instantly—which was rather suspicious.
……But the answer was indeed 1.
‘Looks like the rumor about guessing 0 or 1 on math problems when you don’t know the answer is famous across the universe too.’
Though it couldn’t yet be said with certainty.
Yeon-woo dove back into the internet, this time pulling up problems from a university-level mathematics competition.
— ……!
“……What, what did you say?”
It took a bit longer this time, but the answer that emerged was a bewildering string of numbers and symbols that defied immediate comprehension.
Yet it matched the answer key precisely.
So this really is what they call the Sage Race!
This tiny Blue Slime?
Yeon-woo felt a stubborn pride kindle in him, and he began searching the internet again.
‘The seven greatest unsolved problems in mathematics…….’
Then suddenly he caught sight of himself and turned to look at Lapis again.
“Phew, that was a close call.”
It occurred to him that Lapis might actually solve problems that Earth’s greatest mathematicians throughout history had failed to crack—with ease.
But what good would that do, even if Lapis did solve them?
“I can’t exactly introduce you to people by saying ‘Our slime is this intelligent.'”
As Yeon-woo spoke with a note of resignation, Lapis reverted to the appearance of a child and tilted her head quizzically.
Letters materialized above Lapis’s head.
— Do you need an explanation?
“No.”
He had no desire to return to that suffocating world again.
“Lapis, you might not understand this, but the truth is—most people get by in life without needing anything beyond Quadratic Equations.”
— ?
Lapis tilted her head in confusion.
Yeon-woo gently stroked Lapis’s small head as a thought crossed his mind.
‘The blue color is a problem, that’s for sure…… but if we can just figure out how to change that later.’
Maybe I should send her to school?
It seemed wasteful to let such extraordinary talent wither away in this cramped studio apartment.
Since she was a young entity, it might be possible—and it would probably be good for her to make friends her own age.
Thump! Thump!
Lapis, in good spirits, began bounding around the studio.
Her movements had the soft, elastic quality peculiar to slimes, so there was barely any sound.
Watching her, Yeon-woo managed a wry smile.
The problem he’d set aside while teaching Lapis had surfaced again in his mind.
‘Clearing Floor 20…….’
He’d managed to capture the Named Ship that appeared unexpectedly on Floor 19—the Green-skin’s Spear.
But the true boss stage lay ahead, on Floor 20.
The moment he logged into the Portal Site, the articles were exactly as he’d expected—all about Floor 20.
[Space Battleship and Hades—can they even defeat the first Elite Squadron?]
[Complete breakdown of Space Battleship and Hades. Experts say the next floor will be genuinely difficult.]
[Ha-yoon challenges Floor 20 solo!]
[Fierce Tiger Clan—Hades is preparing carefully…… but can’t guarantee results.]
While there were some optimistic takes, most of the articles painted Floor 20 in a grim light.
Ha-yoon had already declared she wouldn’t accept Yeon-woo’s help on Floor 20.
Given her nature, she’d probably attempt it tomorrow.
Yeon-woo lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in anxious thought.
‘For now…… I’ll just wait and see how it goes, then decide whether to go in myself.’
He’d exhausted all his summon chances, but he still had two Directional Points in reserve.
His plan was to watch whether Ha-yoon succeeded or failed—they’d synced their breathing several times by now—and decide based on that whether to invest those points or save them.
And the next morning.
[S+ Rank Hades, Ha-yoon/Republic of Korea, Floor 20]
└ It’s started!
└ ㅠㅠㅠ Please let her succeed!
└ If we just break through Floor 20, we can move forward again!
Just as everyone had anticipated, Ha-yoon had begun a live broadcast.
Floor 20—a cosmic void shrouded in foreboding.
If the previous stages had been nothing but stress and endless tasks, Floor 20 reverted to the format of an Annihilation Battle.
Purely in terms of power, she’d have to face an Elite Squadron just below the Named Ship tier.
└ The Iron-Blood Assault Squadron was really something else;; can even S+ rank really do it alone?
└ Besides, Fierce Tiger Clan said they could fail on this one. It’s basically a strength test.
└ Going into Floor 20 as a strength test really is impressive though.
The Elite Squadron known as the Iron-Blood Assault Squadron had earned a truly fearsome reputation.
It was to the point that even five Pilots who had trained for over a month on Floor 19 barely managed to scrape through by contorting their entire bodies.
Since Ha-yoon had just cleared Floor 19, the chat was dominated by worry.
Carrying all of their hopes and fears with her, Ha-yoon entered Floor 20.
[(Breaking News) Pilot Ha-yoon, Floor 20 Strategy Failed]
She faced a result that was her first strategic failure since her Pilot Awakening.
* * *
“Hmm…….”
Yeon-woo watched Ha-yoon’s strategy video with the battleship’s crew, mulling over their approach.
“She certainly fought well, but…….”
Urelka scratched her chin, her expression troubled.
“I’d say the same.”
Normally, when news breaks that a well-known Pilot has failed a strategy challenge, mockery inevitably follows.
Claims of inflated reputation, pseudo-science readings, overconfidence…….
Yet Ha-yoon’s failure was different this time.
No one questioned her effort or talent.
The enemy had simply been too strong for her to face alone.
The Iron-Blood Assault Squadron, twenty craft strong.
They attacked with the cruel, ruthless ferocity of blood-hungry raptors.
They were incomparable in both specs and skill to the Goblin fighters she’d faced before.
Some even wondered if they could hold their own against Greenskin’s spear.
Ha-yoon fought them with every ounce of her strength.
She pushed Hades to a state where it could barely move, and from that desperate struggle came a result: seven kills.
In truth, toppling seven of the Iron-Blood Assault Squadron single-handedly was a feat that shone with brilliance.
‘Didn’t they say the solo strategy record was ten kills?’
True to its reputation, Floor 20 sees world-class prospects attempting solo challenges all the time.
Three short of the record, perhaps—but considering that most existing records were set by Pilots who had already advanced to the 30+ Floors, it was hardly a mark against her.
Yet Ha-yoon’s achievements aside, a Space Battleship was a Space Battleship.
“With our current strength, this will still be pretty rough, won’t it?”
Yeon-woo looked around at his crew and asked.
“Goliath did get summoned last time, but…….”
“Iron-Blood Assault Squadron. Powerful. Dangerous.”
“Squawk! We could really die!”
The crew’s response was far from optimistic.
At least they couldn’t brute-force this the way they had before.
Even if the main cannon could take out two, the remaining eighteen would leave the Space Battleship completely exposed.
Besides, those fighters were so fast that hitting them with the cannon was far from certain.
“Even with the Barrier Engine, fighters like those will just punch straight through. They’re specialized for exactly that kind of work.”
Hwa-ryeon’s worried analysis.
These were nothing like the Slimes or ordinary Goblin fighters they’d faced so far.
The Elite Squadron’s specs alone put them in a category far beyond ordinary monster fighters.
“Then…….”
Yeon-woo absorbed the crew’s concerns and fell into thought.
For one thing, he couldn’t hesitate about spending the Directional Points he’d been holding in reserve.
Yeon-woo pulled up the Technical Development Chart, which branched out like twigs, and reviewed his options.
There were several candidates, but most of them had little to do with combat.
Toward the end…….
“So it really is just this?”
Yeon-woo stopped at one entry’s description.
If it was this…….
There wasn’t any clearer option anyway, looking further wouldn’t help.
Yeon-woo immediately spent the Directional Points and alerted the crew.
“All right, let’s do this properly now.”
He had secured a decisive variable for Floor 20.
Twenty Iron-Blood Assault fighters?
‘It’s a bit disappointing, but I’ll show them exactly what “quantity over quality” means.’
This was a Super Carrier drifting through space.
Ideally they’d rain down proper Carrier Aircraft, but one works with what one has.
What remained now was figuring out how to use that variable to its optimal effect.
“The moment we enter Floor 20…….”
Yeon-woo brought up a virtual tactical map through Urelka and began explaining his plan, pointing out each detail with his own hands.
“Thinking about their movements certainly gives one pause…….”
“Just the thought of it frightens me, Captain…….”
“If Macross says he’s frightened, then we’re on the right track.”
“Captain, you’re sharp.”
“Coo-coo-doodle…….”
Of course, absent actual combat, it remained mere theory.
Blub-blub-blub!
“Eh? Lapis, what did you say?”
Blub-blub-blubble!
“Ah, I see…….”
“Cock-a-doodle! That’s even more frightening!”
“Ha-yoon fears it. All the better.”
With Lapis’s contribution added to Yeon-woo’s framework, something crystalline took shape.
Confidence layered over the plan as surely as a course became clearer on the map.
“All right, everyone dismissed! Report to the bridge once preparations are complete.”
The crew scattered to their stations as the operational briefing ended, each departing to their assigned post.
Yet Urelka, who remained on the bridge, wore an expression even darker than when she’d beheld the Greenskin’s Spear.
“What’s wrong? Doubts about the operation?”
“Quite the opposite, actually. It’s only that…….”
Urelka hesitated at Yeon-woo’s question before answering, shaking her head slowly.
“The Iron-Blood Assault Squadron were warriors who understood honor. To face them, even within the Tower, troubles my heart.”
“Hmm…….”
Yeon-woo considered this for a moment.
He’d fought goblins from Floor 16 onward, yet Urelka had remained composed throughout. Named entities like the Greenskin’s Spear and the Iron-Blood Assault Squadron carried a different weight, it seemed.
Perhaps an old connection stirred something within her that mere monsters could not touch.
Pat.
Yeon-woo placed a light hand on Urelka’s shoulder and spoke.
“If they’re enemies we must fight regardless, then we owe it to ourselves to commit fully.”
As Urelka looked up at him, his expression softened into a gentle smile.
“I don’t understand everything yet, but you have your own reasons for climbing the Tower, don’t you?”
“Captain.”
“So for now, let’s simply focus on ascending together.”
With that, Yeon-woo called the Master Ball to the bridge.
Whoosh!
Lapis enveloped it eagerly, wrapping herself around its surface as though swallowing it whole.
Urelka stood in place for a moment, watching.
‘Perhaps, once we pass Floor 20, I’ll be able to tell the Captain more. Whether by choice or necessity…… he’ll come to know soon enough.’

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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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