I Got a Monster Spaceship from the Tutorial Tower - Chapter 51
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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 51
Episode 51
The day after clearing the 25th Floor.
Yeon-u was leisurely scrolling through news on his phone, enjoying the rare moment of respite.
One topic had been dominating the news cycle for the past few days.
[President Yun Seong-a arrives in Jeju today to begin a 20-nation summit conference. Though the official schedule begins in two days, she’s arriving early to inspect facilities and encourage the clans throughout Jeju…….]
President Yun Seong-a.
Despite being in her mid-forties, she’d swept to victory in an unprecedented political upheaval.
While serving her second term in the National Assembly, the Tutorial Tower opened and she awakened as a D-Grade Pilot—a development that proved decisive.
A character with few genuine detractors.
Unwavering drive.
Most decisively, there was the incident where her fighter jet was completely destroyed when she recklessly descended near ground level to protect citizens from a Raid Portal—a moment that sealed her rise.
It was the most compelling narrative that elevated the rising politician Yun Seong-a to presidential contender status.
In a nation thrown into chaos by the Tutorial Tower, people craved Pilot leadership.
Seong-a had not only elevated the Control Bureau from a provisional organization within the Ministry of Defense to its current independent status.
Beyond that, through clan-related institutional reforms, various pro-Pilot policies, and stable governance that steadied Korea’s course, she maintained consistent public approval ratings.
This 20-nation summit itself had been virtually brought to Korea through her personal initiative, so it was hardly surprising that her every move generated headlines.
On screen, Seong-a appeared at Jeju Airport, exchanging greetings with assembled officials and media.
The journalists posed their questions.
Given the clear purpose of this visit, he’d expected questions along those lines.
[Is your determination to locate the Space Battleship still firm?]
The question about the Space Battleship came up first, unexpectedly blunt.
Seong-a smiled as if she’d anticipated it, responding with measured composure.
[Of course. After all, isn’t it the most crucial priority for Korea right now? I’ve given explicit orders to the Control Bureau director, so I expect positive results soon.]
[There’s speculation that, given how quickly the Space Battleship deployed during the recent Incheon Raid Portal incident, there was already some level of coordination between the government and the vessel. What are your thoughts?]
[That would certainly be nice if true, but we’re not at a stage where I can comment on that yet. More importantly, I’d appreciate it if you could focus some attention on me. I believe the public would prefer that as well.]
Seong-a smoothly pivoted the conversation.
Yeon-u let out a wry chuckle.
“Poor Space Battleship Captain—embarrassed just listening to that.”
The “Did You Know Club” had once swept Korean internet.
Though it celebrated Korea’s admirable figures and achievements, it had backfired into national embarrassment when Koreans abroad would seize every opportunity to ask foreigners if they knew about it.
Lately, people were beginning to compare the Space Battleship to the Did You Know Club phenomenon.
Either way, the President remained a world apart from Yeon-u.
“Guess I should head out and tackle the next level.”
Yeon-u stretched with full intensity and moved to stand.
The 26th Floor was no trivial challenge, but according to Urelka’s analysis, its objective difficulty rating was below that of the 25th, making it navigable.
Now that Torca had received a B-Grade Cruiser, there was little for Yeon-u to fear.
‘Besides, I’m staying back anyway.’
Just as Yeon-u was about to summon his Space Battleship to the Platform.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
“Wh-what the—what’s happening?!”
Yeon-u barely kept his footing against the tremendous tremor, glancing around in alarm.
If he hadn’t consistently trained his stats in the Training Room, he would’ve been knocked flat.
Blare! Blare! Blare!
Outside, cars jolted by the impact triggered their theft-prevention alarms in a cacophony.
“An earthquake? Or…….”
A tremor affecting reality itself meant this wasn’t an ordinary Raid Portal.
Yet it didn’t quite feel like an earthquake—something about it felt ominous.
“Don’t tell me……?”
A troubling possibility crossed Yeon-u’s mind.
It had never occurred in Korea before.
Even expanding the scope globally, it was a rare breed of Raid Portal.
His gaze shifted to the news broadcast still playing on the desk.
[Wh-what? M-madam President!]
[What’s going on?]
The footage grew violently distorted from a tremor far more intense than what Yeon-u had felt, followed by screams.
Click!
The live broadcast cut out entirely.
A creeping sense of dread began to coil in Yeon-u’s chest.
Before his eyes, an alert window suddenly materialized.
“Named Portal generated.
Portal name: Orc’s Blade
Location: Republic of Korea, Jeju.
Level Limit: 30.”
“This is insane…….”
Yeon-u’s dread had materialized into reality.
A Named Portal.
Just as the Named Ship stood in an entirely different category from ordinary monster fighters,
a Named Portal was a catastrophe beyond any comparison with standard Raid Portals.
The most distinctive feature—visible even in the notification window—was that the portal possessed a name.
No separate grade classification was assigned.
Yet from the sheer vibrations alone, which affected even ordinary civilians unrelated to piloting, any Named Portal was invariably classified as S-Grade.
And the composition of monsters pouring forth was nothing short of a nightmare.
Elite squadrons appeared alongside ordinary fighters,
and the boss was invariably a Named Ship—a merciless stipulation.
But the true reason a Named Portal had become Earth’s very nightmare lay elsewhere.
‘Monster landing timing: randomized.’
Normally, Raid Portals release monsters only when no human pilot is available to engage them.
But with a Named Portal, there is no calculating when the monsters will descend.
Fortune favors the late arrival; misfortune brings them early.
The mere emergence of a Named Portal guarantees catastrophe.
Every nation that had faced a Named Portal before had adopted the strategy of enduring massive civilian casualties while waiting for the Level Limit to lift, only then moving to suppress it.
The alternative—attempting to respect the limit—risked far greater devastation.
But today, would the Republic of Korea have that choice?
Yeon-u switched off the stream and returned to the portal homepage.
[(Urgent) Jeju Named Portal outbreak. President Yun Seong-a reported isolated at airport]
“Of all the times…….”
Raid Portals had never issued warning before opening.
But even so, the timing was far too cruel.
Ring-ring-ring!
Yeon-u’s phone suddenly rang.
The caller: Clan Leader Choi Jin-yong.
Yeon-u answered at once.
“Hello?”
— Pilot! Have you seen the news?
“Yes, the situation is… quite bad, correct?”
— It’s catastrophic. The absolute worst-case scenario has unfolded!
Jin-yong’s voice carried an urgency unlike any before.
There was no helping it.
The Fierce Tiger Clan and other major clans were, in effect, quasi-governmental bodies.
Aside from that, if the Head of State found herself trapped in a Named Portal and something went wrong, even clearing the portal would leave the nation in upheaval.
And Yeon-u could readily guess why Jin-yong had called him immediately.
“I’ll go.”
Yeon-u spoke in a measured tone.
Nerves were inevitable.
But holding back had never been an option for him.
Weighing reasons and excuses felt pointless.
Yet what Jin-yong said next caught him off guard.
— Thank you! But there’s one more thing you need to know!
“Something I need to know?”
— The Control Bureau Director contacted me urgently! He demanded that the Space Battleship participate without fail. If it doesn’t… the clan will… no, that’s not what matters! He said if you join this operation, he will personally ensure, without question or objection, that every demand you make will be met!
“What do you mean by that?”
Yeon-u blinked, trying to make sense of it.
The Control Bureau’s reaching out to Jin-yong was likely born of desperation—grasping at straws.
Floors one through twenty-five.
Not a single floor missed—all cleared at S+ rating. The pilot of the Space Battleship was undoubtedly South Korea’s greatest asset in any Level Limit 30 portal engagement.
The Bureau must have pressed Jin-yong with both threats and pleas, gambling everything on this one chance.
But no objection to demands?
‘Could the government actually believe there’s another reason I never leave?’
Such as a classified identity, or a past too scandalous to be seen in public.
It wasn’t for that reason, but it was a necessary measure for Yeon-u nonetheless.
As it happened, Jin-yong spoke the thought that filled Yeon-u’s silence, voicing it with perfect precision.
— So, if you’d like, I’ll keep all the secrets about the battleship too! From where I’m sitting, now is the optimal moment. I know it’s not really the time to haggle over details anyway!
“……Yes. I understand completely, Clan Leader.”
Even without such an offer, Yeon-u had already intended to deploy the Space Battleship to Jeju.
The moment Yeon-u expressed his willingness to participate, Jin-yong exhaled what seemed like a sigh of relief and added more.
But it wasn’t merely a sigh of relief.
Relief was there, yes, but something deeper lay beneath it—an anguish and determination that ran far deeper still.
Yeon-u, listening through the speaker, couldn’t quite perceive it.
— Thank you, truly. And… I’m coming too this time.
“What? Coming where?”
— I’ve been trying to hold down the fort, but if I don’t go now, I’d feel like I’m wasting all the effort you put into fixing my fighter. That’s what I’m thinking.
“Wait, hold on, Clan Leader.”
— Then I’ll see you in Jeju.
Click.
That was it.
Yeon-u stared down at the disconnected phone, unable to hide his bewilderment.
Even if Jin-yong’s fighter had been repaired, it had been five years since he’d actually piloted anything.
“……Can he even do it properly?”
Of course, Yeon-u hadn’t simply left it gathering dust in storage—he’d taken pains to maintain it.
Jin-yong must have been getting in some solo practice runs too, which is why he’d stepped up so readily. But one more source of unease had just been added to the list, if he was being honest.
But now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
「Now entering the Personal Hangar.」
If Jin-yong was unreliable, Yeon-u would simply move faster and keep him safe.
* * *
Once aboard the battleship, Yeon-u immediately summoned the crew.
When he’d participated in the Raid Portal before, it had been only Urelka, Markos, and Gudru.
Now that the crew had grown considerably, the sense of reassurance was proportionally deeper.
“A Named Portal has opened in our country.”
“Kwaaahhh! A, a Named Portal?!”
With Markos’s piercing cry as the opening note, agitation rippled through the crew.
They clearly understood well enough what a Named Portal meant.
Urelka spoke up hesitantly.
“Captain, a Named Portal is far too dangerous to approach carelessly. There are too many variables. I’d recommend we observe from a distance for now……”
From a purely logical standpoint, Urelka’s warning held merit.
Yeon-u’s current situation, where his true identity remained hidden.
Moreover, Jeju’s location meant it couldn’t inflict direct damage on Yeon-u himself.
Given the horrific difficulty of a Named Portal, there was no real need to assume such risk.
If they participated recklessly and lost a pilot or fighter in the bargain, the losses would be severe.
Faced with Urelka’s concerns, the crew seemed reluctant to step forward.
But Yeon-u clenched his fists and shook his head firmly.
“No. This time, there’s a reason we absolutely must go.”
“A reason, sir?”
Patriotism for the nation.
A sense of duty to save the president.
That wasn’t it.
“To put it plainly, this Named Portal is—”
Yeon-u made eye contact with each crew member gathered on the bridge in turn as he continued.
“—an important opportunity that might just make you all free to move about on Earth.”
The crew had already gained some operational latitude through their arrangement with Jin-yong.
But it still fell far short of what they needed.
Monsters would continue to multiply in the future, and inevitably, the day would come when the crew itself could no longer stay hidden.
With the Control Bureau director and the president’s involvement, they could secure freedom on an entirely different scale.
To gain the voice needed to have Yeon-u’s intentions fully respected, they had to seize this crisis as an opportunity.
Hearing the situation laid out this way, not just Urelka but all the crew members voiced their agreement.
And Torca, who had been standing quietly in the back, nodded and spoke.
“You might call it a war of liberation for freedom on Earth, Captain.”
“I, I suppose you could see it that way?”
Yeon-u affirmed somewhat awkwardly.
Somehow, giving it that name made the whole thing sound far grander than it was.
Not that participating in a Named Portal itself wasn’t already an extraordinary thing, but still.
“Alright then, everyone to your stations!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Positions!”
Fighter craft, Hangar, Bridge.
The crew scattered to their assigned stations, each moving with purpose.
Yeon-u took his place at the Ship Captain’s seat on the Bridge, then rested his hand atop the Master Ball.
Since Lapis had been summoned, direct contact with the Master Ball was no longer strictly necessary, but the sense of stability it provided was somehow different.
There was a slight difference in the speed at which information flowed to him.
“Will you proceed with entry into the Named Portal in Jeju, South Korea?”
“Let’s go.”
Whether this truly deserved the name Urelka had given it—a war for freedom itself—he couldn’t say for certain.
But as Ship Captain, Yeon-u would fulfill his role.
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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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