I Got a Monster Spaceship from the Tutorial Tower - Chapter 56
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Episode 56
56
Cold sweat poured down Seong-a’s temples and spine like a waterfall.
She was known for handling any crisis with composure, but no one could fault her now.
A troll had suddenly appeared, searching for her by the name “Tong-tong”—the fact that she hadn’t fainted was cause for praise alone.
“Ugh… aaah!”
Bang!
In that moment, one of the security guards—whose face had gone deathly pale and whose entire body had been trembling ever since Gudru forced his way in—panicked and pulled the trigger of his pistol.
“Cease fire! Cease fire!”
Both Seong-a and the Security Team Leader cried out in alarm at the sudden gunshot, but there was no retrieving a bullet already fired.
Thud!
The dull crack of impact, and the bullet embedded itself in Gudru’s column-like forearm.
‘That’s it. We’re all dead.’
Seong-a squeezed her eyes shut.
A troll—the very embodiment of terror—yet he showed no sign of hostility in this moment.
Moreover, though she couldn’t make out every word, he’d said he needed to save her.
But would such an intention truly persist after taking a bullet to the body?
Seong-a braced herself for her own body to be torn apart—or at minimum, to hear someone else’s screams as theirs was.
But.
“Sting. Weapon, no good. No good.”
“…?”
After hearing Gudru’s rough voice, Seong-a cautiously opened her eyes again.
Gudru, his expression unburdened by even a frown, was smiling as he patted the bullet-struck arm.
Clink!
From the hole where green blood had begun to seep, the bullet now popped free and clattered to the floor.
The gunshot wound sealed itself in an instant.
‘What in the…’
Trolls were certainly renowned for their transcendent regenerative power.
Their combat craft even bore the name Restoration Armor, capable of self-repairing most damage on their own.
But that was when encountered as enemies.
She’d seen many trolls take anti-tank rounds and thrash about with howls of agony.
Yet she had never, even in dreams, seen a troll take a gunshot and smile while speaking as if to soothe a child.
Crunch, snap!
He did, admittedly, seize the guard’s pistol and crush it between two fingers.
Gudru turned his head back to Seong-a and spoke.
“Tong-tong, we go quick. Ship Captain say.”
“Ship Captain?”
Only then did the mysterious “Ship Captain” Gudru spoke of register in Seong-a’s ears.
‘Ship Captain, Ship Captain, Ship Captain… Could it be…?’
As the word echoed in her mind, something suddenly clicked into place.
Step by step.
Even so, drawing near a troll terrified her, so her pace remained cautious.
“Madam President, what are you doing?”
The Security Team Leader at her side stepped forward to block her path.
But seeing the light in her eyes, he found his strength drain away.
Seong-a spoke.
“You said you would stake your life to protect me, didn’t you?”
“Well… of course.”
“Staying here won’t improve our situation, I’m afraid.”
At her words, the Security Team Leader’s gaze drifted briefly toward the window.
Outside remained a chaotic battlefield.
The orcs who had just landed had been dealt with, but if they returned, there would be no way out.
Seong-a turned to Gudru and asked.
“Would it be possible to take all these people with us?”
Gudru scratched his cheek, his expression troubled.
“Fullmail tight. Tight for Gudru too. Tight for Tong-tong.”
Simple words, strung together—yet their meaning was clear to all.
Fitting even one more person would be a squeeze.
…Most of them, no matter how dire this place became, would not want to be crammed into that narrow cockpit alongside a troll.
Seong-a nodded slowly.
“I’m not sure who this Ship Captain is, but it seems our best option is to follow what the troll says.”
“Mr. President…….”
The Security Team Leader’s expression darkened.
If they’d only had a bit more strength, they could have found some way out of this.
In all his years as a security officer, he’d never known such humiliation.
If he knew Seong-a as he thought he did, she would have accepted the troll’s demands anyway, just to save them.
The Security Team Leader stepped back from Seong-a.
Seong-a exhaled softly, straightened her expression, and stood before Gudru with proper posture.
“Let’s go.”
At that, Gudru grinned widely, delighted that he’d achieved his goal, and extended a finger toward her.
“Tong-tong, listens well. First time meeting, we shake hands.”
‘……Shake hands?’
Seong-a wondered if the troll had misunderstood the concept of a handshake.
But since it seemed safer not to contradict him, she extended her hand and lightly grasped his finger.
* * *
The unexpected arrival of the orc had prompted Yeon-u to dispatch Gudru in haste.
‘At least Gudru is the only crew member who can reliably subdue the orcs, so I sent him…….’
The problem was that to everyone else, Gudru looked capable of tearing apart not only the orcs but them as well with equal ease.
He’d come down to the Hangar ahead of time, before Gudru and Seong-a reached the Space Battleship.
If he could at least demonstrate that there was one human being present, it might provide some reassurance.
Beside him stood Hwa-ryeon, the crew member whose appearance most closely resembled that of a human.
“They’re arriving, sir! The Fullmail is landing!”
Soon enough, the Fullmail carrying Gudru and Seong-a glided smoothly down the Runway and entered the Space Battleship.
Yeon-u prepared himself to welcome Seong-a, forcing a bright smile as if he’d become a tour guide for an overseas trip.
‘Never thought I’d end up bringing the president here, of all people.’
Even for Yeon-u, this kind of direct involvement was unwelcome.
The original plan had been to wrap up the Named Portal quickly and leave.
“Ship Captain, don’t be so nervous. What’s so impressive about a nation’s ruler anyway?”
“That…… Hwa-ryeon, it looks like you’re more nervous than I am.”
“Oh my.”
Hwa-ryeon, who had just told Yeon-u not to worry, had only one of her nine tails visible.
Her face flushed, and she quickly tucked her tail away again.
Nine-tailed foxes were sparse in number, but their kind still maintained a hierarchical society where kings and nobles survived, so ever since learning that a president held a rank similar to a monarch, she’d been uncharacteristically nervous.
Hisss!
Just then, the Fullmail’s hatch opened and Gudru emerged first.
“Captain, brought Tong-tong here.”
“Good work. But it’s not Tong-tong—it’s Mr. President.”
“Tong-tong good. Tong-tong quiet.”
Well, everyone becomes good and quiet when standing before a troll.
Yeon-u, deciding not to press the point with the cheerful Gudru, simply nodded.
Moments later, Seong-a stepped out of the Fullmail, clearly exhausted and disoriented.
‘She must have been through quite an ordeal.’
Anyone who spent even a brief time with a troll in a cramped fighter would be the same.
Seong-a glanced up slightly, caught sight of Yeon-u and Hwa-ryeon, and gasped in surprise.
“P-People?!”
Yeon-u tried to greet her and introduce himself.
“Hello, Mr. President. I am the captain of this Space Battleship…….”
“Were you abducted here as well? Good heavens! These monsters are kidnapping people so indiscriminately! Are you hurt anywhere?! Don’t worry now. I’m here…….”
Seong-a rushed forward on trembling legs and examined Yeon-u and Hwa-ryeon’s bodies carefully.
Her words trailed off.
She’d just realized that being brought here by force at the troll’s hand herself meant that one additional hostage wouldn’t change the situation.
Yeon-u let out a wry laugh and gently withdrew his arm from Seong-a’s grasp.
At first, he’d been nervous at the thought of her being the president.
But seeing her react with such alarm, he found himself thinking that a president was just another person like himself.
“That’s not quite it, Mr. President.”
“Not quite? What do you……?”
Seong-a looked at Yeon-u with trembling eyes.
“I am the captain of this Space Battleship—Yeon-u. I apologize for not coming myself due to the urgency of the situation.”
“The captain…… you?”
Seong-a took a step back and regarded Yeon-u.
Then he turned to look at Gudru, the one who had brought him this far, and spoke.
“So you’re the one who told that troll to bring me here?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“How on earth did this happen…….”
Seong-a swayed on her feet, pressing a hand to her forehead.
She’d imagined a higher-class monster than the one the troll served as captain, but this naïve-looking youth commanding a massive battleship was beyond her wildest guess.
This naïve-looking youth commanding a massive battleship was beyond her wildest guess.
“P-please be careful, Your Highness.”
Hwa-ryeon rushed to support Seong-a as she staggered.
Seong-a stared at Hwa-ryeon with a look that said, ‘What is this now?’
“Your Highness? What does that even—”
Perk!
At that very moment, a pair of fox ears sprouted above Hwa-ryeon’s head.
…….
Seong-a found herself at a loss for words.
Yeon-u let out a small sigh and spoke to Hwa-ryeon.
“Looks like we’ve been discovered.”
“W-well, it does seem that way, doesn’t it?”
Whoosh!
At this point, there seemed no choice but to abandon subterfuge.
Hwa-ryeon awkwardly smiled and revealed all nine tails she’d been hiding.
Yeon-u introduced her to Seong-a.
“Like the troll, she’s one of my subordinates. As you can see…… she’s a nine-tailed fox.”
“I see…… haha. I arrived on a space battleship with a troll, and now there’s a nine-tailed fox too. And the ship captain is human? Haha!”
Seong-a looked between Yeon-u, Hwa-ryeon, and Gudru in turn, then burst out laughing.
“Is that why you’re so quick to grasp the situation? Because you’re the president?”
“Captain, I don’t think that’s quite it.”
Hwa-ryeon answered with a pitying look as she watched Yeon-u smile as though things had gone well.
How could he wear that expression when nothing was going well?
That was the face of someone deep in denial about reality.
“Is that so?”
Yeon-u quickly accepted the truth of it.
The battle wasn’t over yet.
Unless they meant to keep the president confined to the runway, an explanation sooner was better than later.
“Madam President, Madam President!”
“……Yes, Captain?”
As Yeon-u gently grasped her shoulders and gave them a shake, Seong-a’s expression cleared slightly.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but I’m climbing the tower with the power of monsters. Gudru and Hwa-ryeon here are proof of that.”
“Sigh…….”
Seong-a squeezed her eyes shut as if lost in thought, then opened them again with a nod.
“Yes. The situation has already occurred, so refusing to believe it would be foolish. I’ll hear the details later.”
“An excellent choice, Madam President.”
“Do you have more monsters with you?”
Well, quite a few, actually.
There were four pilots out there right now, and inside here were Urelka and Surika—two goblins.
“Hehe, I heard you were the captain’s leader. I’m the auxiliary mechanic—Surika.”
At Yeon-u’s signal, Surika crept out cautiously from where he’d been hiding and introduced himself.
With a troll and nine-tailed fox on hand, a goblin was hardly cause for alarm.
Drawing on the boldness and experience that had carried her to the presidency, Seong-a rapidly processed the situation.
‘At least I can tell these creatures aren’t hostile toward humans.’
Politics meant that even destiny’s greatest enemies must join hands when interests aligned.
Conversely, sworn brothers must be cast aside coldly if they became liabilities.
She’d once thought herself fortunate to awaken as a pilot and be elected president by chance.
But Seong-a was a veteran politician who’d spent her entire life navigating the political arena.
So if these weren’t enemies, what reason could there possibly be to refuse alliance with monsters?
“Yes, pleased to meet you, Surika.”
“Yessir! It’s an honor!”
At the suddenly resolute greeting of the president, Surika bent at the waist in a deep bow.
Yeon-u asked carefully.
“Are you perhaps…… not frightened of the monsters?”
“I’m all right now. It’s true that the Troll saved my life and my staff’s. And neither you nor Hwa-ryeon seem intent on harming me.”
‘Still gives me the creeps, though……’
Yeon-u clicked his tongue at how alarmingly fast Seong-a had adapted.
Was this what they meant—that presidents were just built different?
But he had no time to dwell on admiration.
Yeon-u nodded and issued orders to the crew around him.
“Gudru, get ready for immediate deployment. Hwa-ryeon and Surika, check the Fullmail for any maintenance that needs doing.”
“Understood, Captain.”
“Yes, Captain!”
The crew members sprang into motion.
Yeon-u took the lead, guiding Seong-a forward.
“Follow me, Madam President.”
“The monster aside…… I’ve always wondered what the inside of a space battleship actually looks like whenever I saw footage. It’s truly remarkable.”
Seong-a gazed around in wonder and fell into step behind Yeon-u.
The ship still looked sparse compared to its scale, but the Space Battleship had only manifested just over a month ago.
Given that timeframe, the fact that it was already this organized seemed all the more impressive.
Seong-a studied the thick pipelines running along the walls and the unusual materials with keen attention.
Considering the Space Battleship’s growth rate so far, she could hardly imagine what it would look like once they reached the thirtieth, fortieth, or fiftieth floor.
Whirrrr.
In the corridor leading to the Bridge, Seong-a turned to Yeon-u with a question.
“Where are we headed now?”
Yeon-u paused to consider before answering.
“We need to clear the Named Portal.”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————