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CHAPTER 245: IF YOU LOVE YOUR DISCIPLE…

 

TN: Hi, sorry for the long wait! I’m the new translator of ‘I Became a Zombie After Being Deceived and Killed’. From now on, updates will resume on schedule until we catch up with the author. I’m also sorry if it’s confusing at first, but I’ll use the names and terms that the first translator used instead of the ones that the second translator used. The original names are much more accurate. For example, Cinque will return to Shinku. Her name is based on how ‘crimson’ is pronounced in Japanese, not ‘five’ in French. The only name I’ll keep is ‘Seiha’ because it sounds much cooler than ‘Star Supremacy’. I hope you like my translation!

 

—From Aun’s perspective—

The night plains stretched far outside the walls of Wislo.

Step a little off the road used by traveling merchants, and you’d find yourself in a dim, moonlit field of grass—vast, quiet, and broken only by the occasional cry of a monster in the distance.

Standing in the center of that wide plain with my eyes closed, I could hear the wind rustling through the dew-damp grass. Mixed with the soft whoosh was the faint sound of breathing, and a slight crunch—someone stepping on the grass.

Then, my 【Detection】 skill picked up a faint presence sneaking up from behind.

——Kiiiin!

I drew my blade, Shiranuemaru, and metal rang sharply in the night air.

「Hmm… still not quite a passing grade.」

I hurled a lightning spear at the vague spot where something felt off. In a startled gasp, Curulario revealed himself, his form blinking into view.

「Awaaah! Y-You even caught that one!? I thought this time for sure I had you… Looks like I’m still nowhere near landing a hit on you, Master!」

「You were getting close, but your suppression of both presence and sound is still too rough.」

The day we cleared the high-level dungeon, I gave Curulario a new challenge: Land a single hit on me, by any means, at any time.

It’s only been about ten days since then, but his ability to hide himself has improved a lot.

This wasn’t exactly a place with cover, yet the only time I visually registered Curulario was after the attack began. Even accounting for the advantage of night, I could perceive nothing more than a vague sense of something being ‘off’ in my field of view. That’s thanks, no doubt, to the stealth cloak and the black fox mask of concealment I lent him—but still, he’s getting good at using them.

「At this point, your best option might be asking Nelfie for pointers. Her combat style is similar to yours.」

「That’s true… Nelfie-san can sneak right up to someone without a stealth cloak, and you only notice her after she’s already got a blade to your throat… I wonder how long it’ll take me to reach that level.」

「Yeah, don’t go comparing yourself to Nelfie… Even now, you’re already good enough to fool someone with a Detection skill like mine—at least the first time.」

「And yet you still won’t give me a passing grade?」

「Sorry, I can’t compromise there.」

「Haaah… Of course. But that’s what makes you my master, after all.」

「That said, maybe it’s time you move on to the next stage.」

「Next… stage?」

「You haven’t forgotten your ultimate goal, have you?」

「Of course not! No matter how many years it takes, I will stand beside you and the rest of the Black Thunderbolt! That’s the only thing I think about when I push through our brutal training sessions every day!」

「No, I’m talkin’ shorter-term. Much closer than that… You’re planning to join the Liberation Battle against Calvados, right?」

「Yes! Just like you said, Master Aun—I’ll become the trump card that turns the tide against Calvados!」

「Then tell me this—where do you think the battlefield of that liberation battle will be?」

「That’s easy! The supreme-class dungeon, the Tower of the Dragon, obviously—wait… ah…」

「You don’t even have the qualifications to enter a supreme-class dungeon, do you.」

Due to Wislo Dungeon’s structure, no matter how strong you are, you can’t enter the supreme-class dungeon unless you’ve cleared the advanced-class one.

But the primary goal of this upcoming Liberation Battle was exactly that—to liberate the supreme-class dungeon. It was also the only viable way to break through Calvados’ current grip on the region.

If we let them defend it successfully this time, it’ll be next to impossible to build the foundation for another battle of this scale. Calvados knows that too—just as well as Tekirana does. Which is exactly why their defenses will be airtight.

And Curulario’s going to challenge a place like that… alone.

A one-shot gamble, for better or worse. Which means we—his masters—have no choice but to give our beloved disciple the path to make the most of what little time he has.

Even if that path is hellishly brutal.

「Um… Master… I’m getting a really bad feeling about this…」

「You know what they say: if you love your disciple, shove him off a cliff and lob magic at him from above.」

「That’s a what now!? Who even says that!?」

「Hmm? Grandpa did.」

「Master’s grandfather!? That’s… a pretty violent teaching philosophy… So, uh, this next challenge you mentioned… it couldn’t be…」

「Bingo! Starting tomorrow, you’ve got fifteen days to solo-clear the advanced-class dungeon!」

「Ha…ha… As expected of Master Aun…」

「Oh—and by the way, Drake managed to solo the boss in under five minutes. So you’ve got to beat the boss within an hour. Non-negotiable. Also, make sure you’ve got a magic barrier up before entering the boss chamber. That’s a must. No restrictions on escape stones this time, so go full-throttle even if you screw up!」

「Eh!? I-I’ll… I’ll do my best……!」

No matter how reckless it sounds, Curu never says ‘I can’t’ in front of us.

And more than that—he’s exactly the kind of kid who shines the brightest when pushed into seemingly insane training.

Right now, he’s nowhere near ready to solo the advanced-class dungeon cleanly. But it’s precisely through trial and error—thinking on your feet, improvising solutions—that true, practical strength is forged. Not just lessons handed down, but skills earned.

And besides, if he pushes through the advanced dungeon, he’ll naturally level up and raise his overall stats too.

Now let’s see if he can break through this wall—and prove he’s worthy of becoming our trump card.

…Well, the only reason I set this challenge is because I believe he can.