Villain wants to live as a commoner chapter 46

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Baek Gunho scanned the surroundings. There were quite a few monsters that had started to watch us warily, even if they hadn’t attacked yet.

“I’ll just stand here, so you take care of them all.”

“By myself?”

“You should at least be able to handle this much.”

He says he won’t make me do anything too difficult, but his demands seem pretty high. Not that I can’t do it, though.

The first monster to charge at me was the bird-like one I had just dropped to the ground.

Before it could take flight again, I used my skill to snap its neck.

• Screeeech!

However, the monster resisted fiercely, even with its neck broken.

When I snapped its wings before it could take off, it fell to the ground again, showing no signs of dying.

“Don’t bother targeting the weak spots. Just separate the head from the body.”

Baek Gunho said something brutal from the side. But it seemed like the correct approach. I reluctantly applied more force.

• Squeak…

The monster’s head and body separated just as it was about to let out another cry.

The dungeon, which had felt like a peaceful vacation spot, suddenly turned into a scene straight out of a horror film. I let out a deep sigh.

“It was so pretty…”

“Stop making idle comments.”

At Baek Gunho’s nagging, I started moving again. I caught another flying monster and tore its head from its body.

The repeated scent of blood must have attracted the attention of the other monsters.

They started flying towards us. I pushed them back so they couldn’t get close.

Unable to withstand the force, the monsters crashed to the ground.

I slammed them into the ground, where they exploded under the pressure.

I stared at the scene with a distant look in my eyes.

“What? Do you feel sorry for them?”

Baek Gunho, standing beside me, asked. I shook my head.

Most monsters are hostile to living creatures.

The ones that crossed over to Earth, in particular, were living disasters that hunted humans.

So, there was no need to feel sympathy.

“No. It’s just… even though it’s my skill, it feels a bit cruel.”

“They’re just monsters.”

“I know.”

Even knowing that, am I feeling something because I have a monster living in the shadows?

But I couldn’t just let an untamed monster live.

If left unchecked, it might escape the dungeon and harm people someday.

I pushed aside my unnecessary emotions and finished off the monsters.

“I think we’ve cleared this area.”

The monsters that had been flying around were all gone.

But that didn’t mean all the monsters in the dungeon were gone.

For now…

“Do you think there are more over there?”

There was the ocean right in front of us.

That’s probably where the main action is.

Baek Gunho nodded in response to my question.

“How do we deal with the ones underwater?”

“There’s no need to. I didn’t bring you here to fight them.”

“Then why did we come here?”

“Because of the ocean.”

Baek Gunho gave a short reply and nodded his head slightly.

“Part the sea.”

“What?”

“That.”

Baek Gunho pointed at the ocean. I looked back at him.

“…You mean the ocean?”

“Doesn’t it make sense?”

I stared at the vast ocean in disbelief. I’m not Moses.

No matter how strong I am, there’s no way I can do that.

Could it really just split apart?

“You can do it.”

“Where does that confidence come from?”

He spoke as if he had already seen it happen. Is this your skill or something?

“Give it a try.”

“…”

“Hurry.”

Baek Gunho urged me.

No matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t seem possible…

Well, it wouldn’t hurt to try. It would just be a bit tiring.

I used my skill on the edge of the ocean. T

he waves started to part along the path of my skill. I added more strength.

The waves clashed fiercely with my power.

Maybe… it might work.

Come to think of it, I’ve never used my full strength before.

Here, I didn’t need to worry about anything else and could go all out.

I poured all my strength into it.

Without worrying about breaking anything or being discovered by someone, I unleashed everything.

My power extended without any hesitation.

And the ocean parted cleanly.

The cross-section of the sea was revealed. I could see monsters swimming, displaced by the parted water. It was like an aquarium.

It was a surreal sight, even though I had caused it.

“Wow…”

“Well done.”

Baek Gunho dryly praised me from the side. You’d think he’d be more impressed, but his attitude was completely indifferent.

“Can you maintain this?”

“It’s difficult.”

It felt like I was holding up something heavy without moving.

“But you can do it?”

“I don’t want to.”

“Keep going. This is a test, after all.”

Even though I complained, Baek Gunho was relentless.

Why ask if you’re going to make me keep doing it anyway, you jerk.

Baek Gunho stared at the parted sea. I glanced at his profile before turning my gaze back to the ocean.

It reminded me of the time we went to the sea together. Well, technically, I went to the sea alone, and Baek Gunho followed.

I was twenty at the time. Baek Gunho had just founded the So-mang Guild and was doing well despite the criticism from those who underestimated him as a novice.

That was when Baek Gunho’s first scandal broke out.

I first learned about it through the news, so I couldn’t even bring myself to ask Baek Gunho about it.

I just sank into a depression and impulsively went to the sea.

I knew this day would come. Baek Gunho would start caring about other people more than me.

While I was wallowing in self-pity, Baek Gunho found me.

As an S-rank, it would take a lot to make him out of breath, yet he was gasping for air.

Looking at him, scolding me for disappearing without a word, I thought that I would never be able to let him go.

I had resolved to let go of my feelings, but in the end, even now…

“Ah!”

I let out a startled scream and recoiled. I had been startled by the finger that jabbed me in the side.

When my concentration broke, the sea I had been holding open with my power also surged violently.

“Why did you poke me?”

“That was part of the test too.”

“This!?”

“I was checking how well you could maintain your power in a surprising situation.”

Even though his explanation made sense, I couldn’t help but glare at him as I clutched my side and backed away from Baek Gunho.

“Just tell me with words.”

“That worked better, didn’t it?”

“…Are we going to keep doing this?”

“Yeah.”

Baek Gunho took out a piece of paper from his inventory and handed it to me.

“Try folding a paper crane using your skill.”

“You’ve got me doing all sorts of weird things…”

Grumbling, I started folding the paper crane, but it was far from easy using a skill to fold it.

The paper ended up all crooked, and in the end, it was impossible to fix, so I couldn’t make a proper paper crane.

After that, we kept doing all sorts of strange tests under the guise of experimentation.

They were supposed to measure things like precision control and concentration, but since I’d never tried using my power with that much focus, it was a mess.

From my perspective, the results seemed disappointing, but Baek Gunho didn’t seem to care.

After quite a long time, I was completely exhausted.

“Do I have to keep going?”

“No, that’s enough.”

“Should I keep maintaining this?”

I asked in a voice that was barely holding on, and Baek Gunho, who looked like he was about to tell me to keep it up without mercy, furrowed his brow and looked at me.

Then he sighed as he stared at my face.

“You can stop.”

Seizing the opportunity, I merged the parted sea.

I intended to do it slowly, but once I let go, it all came crashing down uncontrollably.

As a result, the monsters that had been swimming were shocked, some even floating belly up. I took the chance to hunt them.

“Telekinesis is good enough. What about your other skills?”

“Well, I can gauge an opponent’s level and tame monsters, but… I’ve never actually tried taming one, so I don’t know how it works.”

They usually came to me on their own; I’ve never initiated it. I don’t even know what makes them approach.

“Let’s give it a try.”

Baek Gunho nodded toward the sea. Just catching a monster was already a chore.

After a long struggle, I finally managed to reel in one.

And then…

“….”

“What are you doing?”

Baek Gunho gave me a strange look as I just stared at the monster, locked in a staring contest.

I mean, even if he asks…

“I have no idea what to do.”

“It’s your skill, isn’t it?”

“It’s not a skill; it’s an ability. It works on its own sometimes, but I’ve rarely succeeded.”

“Really? That’s convenient.”

“Convenient?”

“Yeah. Don’t bother learning taming.”

“Why?”

“It’s dangerous. It’s better to kill monsters than to try to charm them.”

The looming shadow of two monsters hiding nearby felt heavy.

The thought of talking about dust evaporated. I nodded in agreement.

“Can you still gauge levels?”

“Yeah. I can roughly tell. I’m usually right about those below my level.”

“You’re an S-rank, so you’re probably almost always right.”

“That’s right.”

“That’s handy…”

Baek Gunho muttered as he pulled a wooden practice sword from his inventory, different from the one he usually used.

“Let’s spar, just once.”

I couldn’t believe my ears when Baek Gunho said that.

“With you?”

“Yeah.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t like this. I frowned instantly.

“What if I hurt you?”

“I won’t let that happen.”

“I mean, I’m worried more about you…”

“You think I’d get hurt by you?”

“You might.”

You never know with these things. Just a moment ago, I parted the sea—no matter how strong Baek Gunho is, he wouldn’t come out unscathed if that kind of power hit him.

“We have potions. It’ll be fine.”

“Or we could avoid getting hurt in the first place.”

“You said you wanted to test this.”

This was getting ridiculous.

I had no intention of fighting him. But as if realizing that words wouldn’t work, Baek Gunho suddenly swung his sword at me. Completely off guard, the sword struck my shoulder.

“Next time, it’ll be your head.”

Baek Gunho’s voice was cold. A chill ran down my spine as his ominous aura washed over me.

This madman never says anything he doesn’t mean.

The sword immediately came at me again, and I barely managed to deflect it with my power.

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