I Got a Monster Spaceship from the Tutorial Tower - Chapter 41

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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 41
41
An unexpected Artifact Grade Pilot—Wibrelko Torka—appears.
That alone was reward enough for standing against the Iron Blood Assault Squadron.
‘But there’s still one more thing.’
Yeon-u had one reward left to claim.
The High-tier Summoning Chance from clearing the 20th Floor.
Most would save a normal summoning for when they really needed it, but a high-tier summoning was impossible to resist.
“Hmm… a summoning, you say. I’ve heard that some Ancient Warships do possess such capabilities.”
Torka nodded slowly as he spoke, having just heard Welka’s explanation of summoning.
‘If a Goblin from a thousand years ago qualifies as an Ancient Warship, just how old are these Space Warships?’
They looked so clean and equipped with such modern fittings that you could swear they’d just rolled off the factory floor.
Still, Yeon-u focused on the high-tier summoning at hand.
「Initiating random high-tier summoning.」
Zing!
A portal burst open with a brilliant flash as the summoning began.
Its color was…
“Gold! It’s gold!”
So this was what a high-tier summoning was truly like.
Just as it had never disappointed before, the portal blazed with radiant golden light.
And the size was impressive too.
Large enough to easily accommodate crew members, if not a fighter itself.
Gaining two crew members from two summonings would be nothing short of a windfall.
If a Pilot came through, he could deploy them straight into combat.
Even crew of a different specialty would be worthwhile to recruit right now.
But then—
Thud!
“?”
The portal dropped a large mechanical object with a dull metallic clang, then vanished.
It was definitely large enough to fit most anyone inside.
Even Gudru could probably squeeze in, as he did when manning the cockpit, though it would be a tight fit.
“Cluck-cluck! This is…!”
Markross flapped his wings frantically and leaped into the air upon seeing the machine.
His reaction suggested he recognized it, but Yeon-u wasn’t holding his breath.
Ever since Markross’s gem of wisdom—”A training ground is a place for training”—his credibility had plummeted.
Though, in fairness, he hadn’t been technically wrong.
Still, the commotion made Yeon-u look anyway.
“Th-this! Isn’t this a Crew Grade Advancement Capsule?!”
“…What?!”
The name that came out was far more impressive than he’d anticipated.
Crew Grade Advancement.
Not a single word in that phrase failed to grab his attention.
‘Can you really do that? Raise someone’s Grade?’
It was accepted wisdom—the most universally accepted wisdom—that once a Grade was determined, no amount of effort could transcend it.
It was thought to be an absolute law.
Yet here was something this extraordinary appearing from just a single high-tier summoning?
「Crew Grade Advancement Capsule
Grade: A, Consumable
Description: A capsule that raises the Grade of any crew member ranked A or below. Upon use, Normal Grade becomes +, and + Grade advances to the next tier.
Duration: 3 days.」
So the system declared.
Of course, it wasn’t as if it automatically changed every letter—D to C, C to B, and so on.
D Grade would become D+, and D+ would rise to C Grade; it granted only a half-Grade boost, so to speak.
‘But even that—’
Before Silver Edge arrived, even the Thunder Hound—ordinary though it was—had performed feats an average Hound could never achieve.
Even a half-Grade elevation transcended what was supposed to be an immutable fate.
This was jackpot upon jackpot.
“I never thought I’d actually get something like this…”
“Hmm, raising a Grade, you say? This is my first time hearing of such a thing, Captain.”
Even Welka, the most reliable source of information among the crew, sounded uncertain.
When even Torka, who carried the weight of a thousand years, spoke like that, Yeon-u felt a deeper sense of truly having gained something precious.
But at the same time, it was the beginning of a dilemma.
Yeon-u fell into thought as he looked at the crew members lined up behind him.
“Who would be the best choice to receive it…….”
The current status of the crew was:
Markross, Grade A.
Gudru, Grade C.
Hwaryeon, Grade B.
Sureka and Surika, Grade D.
Lapis, Grade A+.
Torka, Artifact Grade.
“Hmm? But Welka.”
“Yes, Captain?”
“What Grade are you?”
It was something he hadn’t thought much about, since Welka had been aboard the warship from the beginning.
“I am the Vice-Captain who assists the Captain. I have no separate Grade.”
“I see…….”
True enough—it would be strange now if he suddenly had a Grade like A or B.
‘All right then, Welka is disqualified.’
Torka, being Artifact Grade, was also out of the question.
Yeon-u pondered whom among the remaining crew members should receive the capsule for the best result.
Opinions were divided among the crew themselves.
“How about Mechanic Hwaryeon? She has performed well so far and commands respect among the crew.”
“Oh my, Vice-Captain, you’re too kind.”
Welka’s first recommendation was Hwaryeon.
Hwaryeon, Grade B+, certainly had promise.
Even now she handled repairs with practiced ease, and recently she had even brilliantly restored Jinyong’s Hexagon, which had been deemed beyond recovery.
“Goblins work hard. Raise goblin Grade.”
Even Gudru, usually taciturn, offered an opinion this time.
It seemed he meant the capsule should be used on either Sureka or Surika.
‘That does have its merits.’
The goblin brothers currently had the lowest Grade among the crew.
From the perspective of raising the baseline, bumping up Sureka’s Grade by half a tier was a reasonable approach.
As Yeon-u’s gaze gradually turned toward Markross, he too considered the matter before pointing at Lapis.
“Wouldn’t it be best to use it on Lapis?”
“Why?”
“Because he has the highest Grade, sir.”
Bobble! Bobble!
Then Lapis began floating up and down in place, displaying text.
— I’m A+, so that capsule won’t work for me!
“So he says.”
“Then I vote for using it on Pilot Sureka!”
‘So that’s two votes for Sureka?’
Yeon-u tilted his head and looked at Sureka.
Sureka, suddenly the center of attention, didn’t know what to do with himself.
“My goodness, I’m grateful, truly, but I’m not sure someone as lowly as a goblin like me deserves such a windfall!”
“Mm.”
Seeing this, Yeon-u nodded as if he had made his decision.
The crew members, too, seemed quite curious about whom the Grade Advancement Capsule would go to, fixing their attention on Yeon-u’s mouth.
“I’ve decided. It’s you, Markross.”
“Cluck-cluck-cluck! Me? Me?! M-me?!”
Markross, whom no one had recommended until now.
He leaped up with a start, fluttering his wings frantically.
‘He probably thinks his higher Grade will only make things more difficult for him.’
Yet after nearly a month together, Yeon-u could see right through him.
“I-I-I’m already Grade A…… Wouldn’t it be better to give it to Mechanic Hwaryeon instead…….”
Markross rolled his yellow eyes every which way, straining with all his might to escape this situation.
Of course, that was where it ended.
“No, you’re not getting out of this. You were the one saying just a moment ago that Lapis should get it since he has the highest Grade. Well, with Lapis out, you’re the next highest. Right?”
Moreover, the capsule’s Grade was A.
It seemed almost wasteful to use a Grade Advancement Capsule on a D-Grade pilot.
There was no hurry in deciding — he could wait until he’d confirmed there were no lower-grade capsules available.
“Bawk-bawk…….”
Meanwhile, Markross, caught in his own trap, let out a sound like he was gasping his last breath.
“Really……?”
“Really.”
“But I’m just a useless pilot with Flight Phobia?”
“I know, I know…… but what if your phobia could get better? Who’s to say it won’t?”
Seeing Yeon-u press the point so earnestly, Markross accepted the inevitability and let out a heavy sigh.
“Sigh. Understood. Then I’ll give it a try.”
Shuffle-shuffle.
Markross trudged toward the capsule much as he had when he’d heard he’d have to sortie on the 3rd Floor for the first time.
“Hold on there.”
Torka reached out and stopped him.
“Yes, Grandfather Goblin?”
“Grandfather? I haven’t quite reached the age to be called that yet.”
“But you’re a thousand years old…….”
“Ahem. Regardless, don’t be so disheartened.”
“Grandfather……!”
Markross looked down at Torka with glistening eyes, as if he were his only ally in the world.
‘Wait, shouldn’t I be grateful that he’s raising my grade?’
How could someone so fearful manage combat at all?
……Though, to be fair, he’d already disclosed his Flight Phobia early on.
In any case, Torka patted Markross on the back and spoke.
“When I was a recruit, you see, if the Clan Leader of the Iron Blood Assault Squadron gave an order, you’d jump into a blazing pit without question. I’ve actually gone halfway into one myself.”
“?”
At that, not only Markross but Yeon-u as well tilted his head in confusion.
His tone was remarkably gentle, yet somehow it sounded like a repertoire he’d heard before somewhere.
“Compared to that, surely an incomprehensible capsule like this is child’s play, wouldn’t you say? And to encourage you a bit more, even when I was Clan Leader, I often worried that the new pilots lacked sufficient resolve…….”
“B-bawk-bawk-bawk! I’m going in! Right now, sir!”
Markross cut off Torka’s seemingly endless words and bounded toward the capsule with newfound vigor.
Watching him go, Torka smiled and nodded his head.
“Your encouragement clearly gave him strength, sir. He’s in fine spirits.”
“I…… suppose so?”
Though it seemed Yeon-u was somewhat misreading the situation, he went along with it for now.
Markross had dashed toward the capsule to escape Torka, but hesitated at the very last moment.
Gulp!
The sound of him swallowing was audible even from where Yeon-u and the crew stood some distance away.
Hissshhh!
With the release of compressed air, the capsule hatch opened, revealing a comfortable sleeping berth within.
“S-sir, am I really going in now……?”
“Yes. I’ll see you in three days.”
Yeon-u nodded solemnly as he replied.
“Huff, huff, bawk-bawk.”
Markross muttered something indecipherably in front of the capsule.
“For Markross, this is but a small step, yet for all Harpies, it shall be a great leap.”
Was that all?
Yeon-u tilted his head as he listened to Markross’s murmuring.
Honestly, it would be one thing if there were any risk involved.
But all he had to do was go in, sleep for three days, and come out with a higher grade. That was it.
Still, once Markross had composed himself, he carefully climbed into the capsule and lay down on the sleeping berth.
The moment he did, the hatch sealed shut with another hissshhh.
“N-no! Wait, I’m actually scared! Let me out!”
Markross lurched upright at the last second, crying out, but it was too late.
The capsule was fully sealed, and white gas began spraying from within.
Whoooosh!
‘……Surely it’s not actually dangerous, right?’
Yeon-u found himself uneasy too—the gas looked a bit suspicious.
Feathers fluttered across the capsule window, and soon the interior came into view again.
— Snooore! Grrrraahhh!
Markross had already fallen asleep in the most comfortable position imaginable.
He really did sleep well.
Hwaryeon clicked her tongue.
“Tsk, no wonder—you’d think a Harpy would know better than to make such a fuss.”
Yeon-u didn’t entirely disagree, though he wouldn’t have put it quite that way.
It seemed the gas wasn’t anything dangerous after all—just a simple sedative.
Then again, having to stay cooped up in a capsule for four days, it might actually suit Markross just fine to get some proper sleep.
Meanwhile, Torka, newly awakened from a thousand years of slumber and finding his voice at last, had begun regaling Yeon-u with stories.
“Looking upon the captain, I find myself recalling those days when I served as squadron commander of the Iron Blood Assault Squadron. Tell me, do you happen to know the clan hymn? It captured the very spirit and martial resolve of our elite Goblins…”
I don’t particularly want to know.
Yeon-u found himself subtly stepping backward as Torka transformed before his eyes into something like a grandfather with an endless store of tales to share.
Should he just leave the Space Warship and be done with it?
The remaining crew might struggle a bit, but there was no reason for him to get dragged down with them.
He was standing on the precipice of just such a decision when—
“Captain, there is something urgent I must tell you.”
“Oh, yes? Vice-Captain Welka, what is it?”
Fortunately, Welka stepped in like a savior, pushing his glasses up with a decisive gesture.
Yeon-u turned toward him with obvious relief, pointedly ignoring Torka.
Welka looked up at Yeon-u, his eyes gleaming with purpose.
“Captain, have you never wondered about the situation—climbing the Tutorial Tower alongside monsters?”
The 20th Floor was a kind of branching point.
Until now, they had always told Yeon-u it was something he would understand in time, letting the question pass.
But they had reached a moment where the truth could no longer be avoided.
Yeon-u met Welka’s gaze with equal gravity.
“Are you allowed to be honest about this?”
“…Yes, of course you must have wondered.”
Sensing that this answer would lead to a long conversation, Welka resolved to get straight to the point.

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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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