Star Ship Girl Era: My Shipgirls Are Too Overpowered-Chapter 7: Astra Valerith

"Holy crap???" the instructor couldn’t help but blurt out.

Even the scattered students outside noticed the golden light blasting out from Building 107, and within seconds, people started drifting over, first out of curiosity and then at that panicked speed that only shows up when someone realizes they might be watching history unfold in real time.

"Did someone just pull a gold on day one?"

"No way, gold doesn’t show up this early."

"I swear I saw it, it was gold, not purple."

The hallway that had been half-empty a minute ago suddenly got crowded, with students pressing closer while staff tried to keep them from blocking the path.

A few people who had already finished their tests, still holding their results with stiff faces, stood frozen as they watched the light spill out, looking like they wanted to be happy for someone and angry at the universe at the same time.

Room 108’s door slid open right then, and a student walked out with a shipgirl at his side, his face still stuck somewhere between pride and shock from his own success.

His shipgirl looked calm, like she had already accepted her commander’s personality as a lifelong problem.

The moment he saw the light from 107, his expression cracked.

He had gotten a white rarity, which for most people was already decent, but compared to gold, it felt like showing up to a knife fight with a spoon.

"Oh come on," he muttered, and then louder, "Are you serious?"

He turned and slapped the wall with his palm as if it could somehow fix reality, and his shipgirl just sighed softly, already tired.

More doors opened down the hall as teachers and assistants who had been resting between shifts caught wind of what was happening and started moving toward Room 107.

Even the staff who normally kept the construction wing quiet had to step in, waving people back and trying to keep the walkway clear.

Inside Construction Room 107, it was quiet in the way it only got when something big was about to finish. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The construction pod’s surface was glowing so brightly it looked like a small sun trapped inside a metal shell, the gold light flooding the room and reflecting off the floor.

The hum of the machine deepened, steady and heavy, as it tried its best not to explode.

The instructor, meanwhile, had lost his expression as he looked out at the light, his eyes wide with astonishment, for this was the first time in his career he had seen the birth of a gold-tier ship girl.

And Aurelian, who was the cause of this spectacle, didn’t move.

He stood there with his hand lowered, calm on the outside, but the feeling in his chest was sharp and clear, like a door had just opened somewhere deep inside him.

It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t a surprise either.

It felt like some kind of acceptance.

The last few seconds dragged in a way that made time feel annoying, and then the pod released a clear chime as the glow peaked.

The front of the construction pod split open.

Warm air rolled out, carrying a faint metallic scent, clean and unfamiliar, like the inside of a brand new shipyard.

The light inside dimmed just enough to reveal a silhouette, tall and still, stepping forward as if she had been waiting for the world to stop making noise.

She emerged slowly, one foot then the other, and the moment she was fully out, the room felt smaller.

She was tall, almost as tall as Aurelian’s shoulder line, with a body that looked like it had been designed with one idea in mind: strength that didn’t need to be loud to be obvious.

Broad hips, thick thighs, a heavy chest, and a steady core that made her posture look effortless, like she could stand through a storm without being pushed an inch.

Her skin was pale ivory, but under the gold light it carried a faint metallic sheen, subtle but unmistakable, like there was something not quite human about her, no matter how human her shape was.

Her hair was midnight-black and long, thick and loose, falling down her back in a smooth curtain, the kind of hair that looked expensive even when it was just hanging naturally.

Her eyes were crimson-violet, calm and predatory at the same time, like she could look at you and decide your fate without needing to raise her voice.

Her outfit was formal naval dutywear, fitted to her body without looking cheap or flashy, with clean lines, a high collar, structured sleeves, and a look that screamed authority.

It wasn’t armor, but it didn’t need to be. She looked like the type who would walk through a battlefield in heels if she felt like it.

And as soon as she steadied herself, she looked straight at Aurelian.

Aurelian felt it then, the moment his commander network woke up, as if it had been waiting for a key to turn.

It wasn’t visible, but he could sense it clearly, like invisible threads snapping into place between them, locking in and tightening until the connection felt permanent.

At the same time, a wave of mental feedback hit him, sharp but controlled, not painful, just intense, like suddenly gaining a new sense you didn’t know your body could handle.

In that blank space inside his mind where there had been nothing but potential, something formed.

A star.

Not a real star, but a clear symbol in his new commander network, deep and bright and heavy with meaning.

Gold.

Only gold-rarity shipgirls gave this kind of feedback right away, and even among commanders, the ones who got it on their first day were rare enough to become stories.

Aurelian kept his face calm anyway. He didn’t let it show too much.

The shipgirl stepped closer and stopped a short distance in front of him, her expression steady, her eyes unblinking.

Then she knelt.

One knee to the floor, back straight, head slightly lowered, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Her voice was low, mature, and clear, as if she had been speaking to command crews for decades.

"Astra Valerith," she said. "Reporting for duty."