I Got a Monster Spaceship from the Tutorial Tower - Chapter 48

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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 48
48
Yeon-u and the Space Battleship’s next objective was Floor 25 of the Tutorial Tower.
But before that, there was something he needed to do.
Yeon-u summoned the crew to the Bridge and spoke.
“Ahem, well, the reason I’ve called you all here is…”
Normally he would have spoken more casually, but trying to maintain some formality, he felt awkward—like wearing a suit that didn’t quite fit.
Meanwhile, the crew members sent him looks brimming with curiosity about what he was going to say.
Yeon-u called one of them forward.
“Torca, come up here.”
Twenty might be considered fairly old for a goblin, but in any case, Yeon-u had grown comfortable using informal speech with him by now.
“Yes, Captain!”
Torca answered with crisp precision, then stepped forward to stand before Yeon-u.
Yeon-u turned him around so everyone could see him clearly, then made the announcement.
“I’m going to make Torca the Squadron Leader—permanently this time, not provisionally. None of the pilots who’ve been following his command have any objections, right?”
“If it’s an order from you, Captain, of course we have none!”
Sureka was the first to respond, breaking into a broad grin and clapping his hands.
Gudru, easygoing by nature, didn’t seem to care who became Squadron Leader.
“Whoever gives orders, it’s easier. Gudru doesn’t want to think.”
He seemed to actually prefer receiving orders rather than having to make decisions.
“Uu, Captain, you’re not showing favoritism just because there are so many goblins in the crew, are you?”
“Would you like to do it instead?”
“…But I also think Pilot Torca is the right person for the job, yes.”
Even Markos, who had been grumbling, accepted it without further protest.
When Torca gave commands, he didn’t exercise excessive control over Markos anyway.
He allowed him the freedom to unleash his full potential, only providing general direction for combat.
As a result, during actual combat, Markos found himself obediently following Torca’s orders.
‘And keeping Markos quiet is something I really like.’
When Torca barked an order, even Markos’s usual shouts would settle down somewhat.
That alone was reason enough to entrust the Squadron Leader role to Torca.
Torca performed a neat military about-face, turning back toward Yeon-u, and saluted with crisp discipline.
“I shall accept your command, Captain, and do my utmost in the role of Squadron Leader!”
“Good, I’m counting on you from here on.”
Though Yeon-u was the Ship Captain, he lacked the expertise to micromanage the carrier fighters’ combat operations.
The Iron Blood Assault Squad had a tradition where the clan leader stood at the forefront and commanded the clan members—so this was the natural fit for Torca from the start.
Torca grinned widely and spoke.
“Then would it be alright if I taught everyone Manual Control?”
“B-b-bawk! I don’t want that!!”
“Gudru can’t do Manual Control. Hates complicated things.”
“That seems rather harsh, Clan Leader…”
Not only Markos and Gudru, but even Sureka, who revered Torca, showed reluctance.
Yeon-u had witnessed Manual Control across four floors already, and it was genuinely not something any living being—or monster—should have to do.
You had to move your body several times more than when the Flight Assist System was active.
Torca was truly remarkable for commanding combat while simultaneously piloting a fighter with manual controls.
Scatter-scatter—the pilots fled the Bridge, running from Torca.
Torca laughed heartily and followed them down to the Hangar.
Since they had only gathered before the assault on Floor 25, they all made their way to their respective stations.
Urelka, watching the scene with satisfaction, turned to Yeon-u and asked.
“Should we depart for the Platform now, Captain?”
“Well, I suppose…”
Yeon-u nodded but gave an ambiguous response.
“Is something the matter?”
“It’s just that Pilot Ha-yun mentioned something to me.”
A warning, really.
Yesterday, when they’d cleared Floor 24.
Ha-yun had called Yeon-u.
They’d exchanged numbers earlier, but this was the first time she’d actually called, so Yeon-u answered with considerable tension.
It was the curse of a life where the only calls he’d ever received were from his parents, aside from spam and advertisements.
=H-hello? Can you hear me?
=Yes?
Ah, I’m sorry… W-what is it?
You’ll be entering Platform 25, so I wanted to give you a heads-up.
A heads-up?
What could possibly warrant caution on a Platform, which was a non-combat zone anyway?
Ha-yun spoke in that manner.
There might be three strange people waiting for you there, pilot.
??
Urelka, who had heard Yeon-u’s account, tilted her head in confusion.
“Three strange people? Couldn’t we simply avoid them by heading straight into Floor 25?”
“Yeah, I thought the same thing. But I figure Ha-yun wouldn’t have called unless there was something more to it.”
Ordinarily, it would be a simple matter of evading them on the Platform, as Urelka suggested.
But the fact that Ha-yun had gone out of her way to warn him meant these were people who would make Yeon-u’s life difficult again and again.
“Let’s head to the Platform first.”
“Understood, Captain.”
Vroooom!
With a mighty roar, the Space Battleship moved toward the Platform.
A place where countless carrier fighters always gathered, communicating with one another and heading toward each floor.
The massive frame of the Space Battleship had been a talking point at first, but by now everyone seemed accustomed to it, taking it in stride.
Word had spread that all communications were being blocked anyway, so there were hardly any attempts to reach out these days.
“I don’t see anything unusual…”
Yeon-u surveyed the surroundings through the Bridge’s observation window.
The carrier fighters, which appeared like grains of sand in the distance, were still numerous, but none showed any particular reaction to the Space Battleship’s arrival.
Could Ha-yun have been worried for nothing?
Just as he was thinking this and about to say they should enter Floor 25—
Sssshhhhh!
“…?”
A single aircraft descended in front of the Bridge, venting steam from above.
A B-Rank Phalanx.
Next, from the right.
Sssshhhhh!
A B-Rank Phantom.
And finally.
Whoooosh!
An A-Rank Dreadnought cut in aggressively through the center.
‘What nonsense is this…’
This was a maneuver that even the most skilled pilots couldn’t execute without thorough coordination.
In other words, the three aircraft had coordinated in advance and positioned themselves before the Space Battleship’s Bridge.
Whether they actually needed to make such a dramatic entrance like some anime protagonist was a separate matter.
“Communications are still blocked, right?”
“Yes, Captain. You can simply ignore them.”
Besides, they had no way to reach Yeon-u anyway.
Unless they were insane enough to ram the Space Battleship.
Whoooosh!
“Are they… actually insane?”
Yet against Yeon-u and Urelka’s expectations, the three fighters separated once more, each flying off in a different direction.
Fortunately, they didn’t collide with the Space Battleship.
The three aircraft began darting deliberately where Yeon-u could see them best.
“…They seem to be sending some kind of signal, but the trajectory isn’t fixed, is it?”
“?”
At Urelka’s analysis, Yeon-u narrowed his eyes and finally focused on their flight paths, watching carefully.
Remarkably, they were literally writing letters with their aircraft.
Whoooosh!
Soon, as steam began pouring from the trail of the fighters, it became unmistakably clear.
[We welcome you, Zhuge Kongming!]
“…What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
The absurdity of it was staggering.
Korean speakers.
Keywords related to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Above all, the combination of high-tier combat aircraft: Dreadnought, Phantom, Phalanx.
Synthesizing all these clues, Yeon-u immediately understood who they were.
“Don’t tell me it’s the Yuguan Zhang Trio?”
“The Yuguan Zhang Trio?”
Urelka, naturally unfamiliar with the concept of Yuguan Zhang, looked thoroughly confused.
Not that there was any reason to explain the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms here and now.
Yeon-u shook his head firmly.
“They’re fairly famous people back on Earth. I’ve no idea why they’re looking for me, though.”
“I see. We are receiving a communication request, sir. Shall I accept it?”
Urelka asked this because Yeon-u had mentioned they were people of some standing on Earth.
Yeon-u shook his head.
“No. Why should we?”
«Entering Tutorial Tower Floor 25.»
Whoooosh!
Yeon-u’s choice was a clean dismissal.
He’d heard they were eccentrics who didn’t cause trouble for others, but this was too much.
Even though Yeon-u wasn’t the one writing the words himself—he was merely reading them—his face burned with embarrassment.
‘A public confession in a Classroom would be better than this.’
If they’d asked for a meeting with proper courtesy, there might have been some possibility of acceptance.
……Not that there was any proper method to request such a meeting in the first place.
In any case, after the Space Battleship vanished, the Yuguan Zhang Trio stood abandoned on the Platform.
Jang Chae-bin struck the fighter console in frustration and cried out.
“Curse it! For our leader to be disrespected like this! He accepted Yu Hyun-su’s request right away!”
He didn’t mind being ignored himself.
But Yeon-u—Yu Hyun-su—was not someone who should be disrespected.
Meanwhile, Yu Hyun-su offered Jang Chae-bin a good-natured smile and tried to console him.
“Brother, as they say, to gain a true talent, one must visit three times.”
“The wisdom of Thrice Visiting Liu Bei, indeed, brother!”
It was no wisdom at all, merely an old proverb, yet Yu Hyun-su nodded along.
“So next time, surely Zhuge Liang will meet with us. Don’t be so discouraged.”
“Yes, brother!”
Jang Chae-bin nodded with solemn resolve, comforted by Yu Hyun-su’s words.
Guan Yu, who had been listening, interjected.
“But isn’t this only the first visit, brother? If it’s three visits, then the second should be……”
“Second brother, you went to the Fierce Tiger Clan before, didn’t you?”
“No, that was less about meeting the Space Battleship and more……”
“Ha ha, Chae-bin. Leave off, or you’ll damage our brotherhood. Better yet—let’s all meet at that Tea Shop again.”
With that, Yu Hyun-su and Jang Chae-bin left the Platform without hesitation.
Guan Yu, left alone, muttered to himself.
“No matter how I think about it, this was really the first time…”
Of course, there was nothing more Guan Yu could do by himself.
He too departed the Platform not long after.
* * *
Meanwhile, on Floor 25.
“There certainly are strange people in this world, aren’t there?”
“How many more must exist in the universe, Captain?”
Before Yeon-u and Urelka, who had just shared brief thoughts on the Yuguan Zhang Trio, loomed an asteroid so vast it seemed almost a planet in its own right.
“That won’t fit in the Hangar, will it?”
“That would be quite impossible, Captain.”
An asteroid several times larger even than the Space Battleship itself.
And upon its surface stood a Mining Base, with countless Orcs and machines laboring away.
Yeon-u asked a question.
“So the missions we perform in the Tutorial Tower—are they training for actual warfare?”
“Yes, Captain. In fact, such missions and enemy compositions are simulated based on actual combat scenarios.”
Escort duties, mining operations, base assaults and the like.
The Tutorial Tower contained various missions against various monsters.
One might mistake them for simple game objectives, but if they were preparatory stages for real warfare, that changed everything.
‘Why hasn’t anyone realized this until now?’
Now that he knew the secret, the structure felt profoundly unsettling.
Training that mimicked actual combat, building enmity toward monsters in the process—a dual advantage.
Ha-yun herself had lost family to monsters, and she’d shown no small amount of hostility toward his crew before.
Though fortunately that hostility had subsided considerably since then.
‘I’ve gotten closer to Torca, objectively speaking.’
In any case, the mission on Floor 25 was to destroy the Mining Base that the Orcs had established on this asteroid and eliminate any enemies who stood in the way.
Orc Scout Fighters, combat aircraft, and firepower vessels, of course.
It was a formidable base, with roughly four Orc Destroyers stationed there.
Though not quite at the level of the Orc Cruiser Yeon-u had captured during the Raid Portal, it was still a force that would be reckless for pilots to engage using straightforward tactics.
Ordinarily, even Yeon-u would have spent all his accumulated Directional Points and Summon Opportunities before tackling a boss stage like this, approaching with maximum breathing room.
“It’s peculiar, really—you’d think you’d need an opponent of this caliber to match the Space Battleship’s weight class.”
Ironically enough, the Space Battleship had been designed from the outset for exactly these kinds of massive targets.
In other words, everything Yeon-u had faced up to now—drones, small combat craft and the like—was never supposed to be the Space Battleship’s responsibility in the first place. Or so Urelka explained it.
“Moving forward, firing cannon from the water like we did during the last Raid Portal will be dangerous. The power has increased significantly, and there’s a real possibility it won’t end with just a brief tsunami this time, Captain.”
“Ah, understood.”
Yeon-u nodded in response to Urelka’s genuinely ominous warning.
It was certainly vertiginous to think back on it now.
Even if it had been the best choice at the time.
Meanwhile, the operation plan for Floor 25 had already been shared among Yeon-u and all crew members.
Yeon-u issued orders through the communication network.
“Launch Carrier Fighters and Drones.”
— Squadron, launching now.
“Drones launching. I’ll handle the controls.”
Screeeee!
Along with Torca and Urelka’s confirmations, the Space Battleship’s full complement surged powerfully from the runway and drone launch tubes.
At the same time, Yeon-u had work to do as captain.
“In a way, this would be the first time.”
Urelka had said the battleship’s Main Cannon was a weapon originally designed on the assumption of planetary-scale operations.
Still somewhat short of that, but it was now a target worthy of the cannon’s stature.
Whiiiiiine…!
The Main Cannon, targeting the largest structure in the Mining Base headquarters on the asteroid, began charging up.
Screeeee!
As the Carrier Fighters launched from the battleship drew near, the Orc craft positioned around the asteroid’s perimeter and on the surface activated in alarm, their sirens wailing.
But Yeon-u did not afford them enough time for the bees to emerge sufficiently from their hive.
BOOOOOM!!!
An intense beam of light erupted from the cannon barrel.
Its momentum never faltered, even set against the colossal asteroid.
It was like an arrow plunging relentlessly toward its mark.
Crack-boom-crash!
Burst-burst!
It didn’t merely obliterate the Mining Base—it pierced clean through the asteroid.
Explosion after explosion.
A scene from a disaster film seemed to unfold before Yeon-u’s eyes.
No matter that it was a simulation.
No—because it was a simulation, all the more so.
Knowing that the Orcs inside were actually data—prisoners belonging to the Allied Forces, just like his own crew members—sat poorly in his heart.
The crew likely felt the same way, though they kept it unspoken.
Yeon-u spoke again.
“Target destroyed. Request support fire anytime you need it.”

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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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