I am Smart

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I opened my eyes. The room was bright.

Brighter than usual.

Golden sunlight streamed in through the half-open curtains, reflecting off the bed and the table.

My body felt infinitely more refreshed than normal. Stretching in bed, I found that every joint moved smoothly.

So, I could tell.

Ah. I overslept.

After Lee Da-ram had left yesterday, I indulged in games at the arcade until it closed at midnight. I even intended to go back right away to sleep, but thoughts of that Fiore game kept me tossing and turning.

Surprisingly, my expenses weren’t that high. In fact, almost half was spent on claw machines.

A white-furred doll was nestled against my chest.

“……”

There was one more doll in my bed. A white bear that matched the blanket.

I named it Hayan. After petting it a few times, I got up and stretched.

Still, I had to keep my routine.

Dressed in workout clothes, I stood on a black platform. Electronic music filled the air. My ten fingers danced nimbly to the rhythm. The sweat I had once dripped was now cold from the powerful air conditioning indoors.

[CLEAR!]

I easily cleared a three-star song.

“……”

Why am I here?

As I was halfway through my run, I caught sight of yesterday’s arcade across the street.

At first, I turned away and kept running. But after completing a round, I made a full turn and headed into the arcade.

And now, here I was, playing a rhythm game on a weekday morning.

Had I really become this impatient? I pondered absentmindedly while hitting the falling bars.

I was close to finishing a 5km run, yet I couldn’t resist the urge to enter the arcade at the end.

Would it be okay? Either way, today was already a mess, so it wouldn’t hurt to play a little. I could adjust my routine back to normal starting tomorrow.

Yeah.

Let’s just do this song and go.

“……”

When I came to my senses, I found myself in the VR room.

Why? Was my will this weak?

But really, it was difficult to resist the temptation, not just an excuse. My mind was racing with justifications.

Now, I even questioned how I had managed to resist the impulse to rest before and study instead.

Despite it being morning, the VR room was crowded. Now that I looked, it seemed to have far more people than the arcade on the first floor. The VR rooms weren’t just on the second floor, but also on the third and fourth. Was it all because of Fiore?

There were two-person rooms and group reservation rooms, but the largest space was the public VR room. In this wide shared space, thin partitions stood about arm’s length apart. People were standing there, swinging their arms or wrists while running or walking on VR treadmills.

However, the screens in front of everyone showed what seemed to be ongoing games. The sounds blended together, creating quite a chaotic noise.

After all, why would anyone be watching the screen with VR? I realized.

Ah. It would be more embarrassing if there was no sound or screen, as it might look like I was just flailing around by myself.

And aside from that, there were occasionally people who were partially undressed while watching the screens.

Understanding this, I relaxed and watched the games people were playing. Of the people there, most were indeed playing Fiore, just as Lee Da-ram had said about its popularity in the VR room.

Yet, among them, there was one man who stood out. Unlike the others who looked like they were flailing, he demonstrated quite precise movements.

Fiore was a motion-input game. You attached several sensors to your arms and legs, and as you physically walked or ran on the VR treadmill, your character moved accordingly.

As I got a bit closer to view the screen, I saw that the man was playing the fighter I had played yesterday.

With a sharp forward movement of his hand, the fighter executed a skill. Upon landing a hit, the man sprang up, and as he landed, the skill was reused, causing the fighter to dash forward.

“…… Oh.”

A voice escaped in mild excitement. Looking around the VR room, it seemed like that man was the only one playing the fighter.

He was good. So that’s how it’s done. I only played one-on-one, so I hadn’t known. Fiore had various systems.

So, earning more points in the Current Realm allows you to ascend faster to the Sky Realm.

But before that, does the Sky Realm interfere with the Current Realm and hinder its growth?

Thinking like this, I watched as the man and his allies defeated the enemy team and destroyed the large tower in their base, ending the game.

He removed the VR headset and unhooked the treadmill belt around his waist before heading into the smoking area.

On the screen was a game result window.

The man’s rank was Master.

“Whoa……”

– The Master tier of Fiore represents about the top 1%, considered a significant skill level among the general population.

…… So said the wiki I had looked up early yesterday morning. There, I roughly grasped the game’s system.

It was clearly a game set with Buddhist motifs, yet the ranking seemed quite Western. There were wizards, priests, and knights.

I found it strange and looked it up. Apparently, a Western developer thought Buddhism was cool and borrowed some settings, but didn’t delve deeply into it.

Before long, the man returned, stepped back onto the treadmill, and readied the VR headset.

“……”

After a brief hesitation, I took a step forward. Just as the man raised his head, I asked him.

“…… Excuse me, do you have a moment?”

“…… Yes?”

―――

Would a user playing the fighter in the VR room be seen as impressive?

I purposely showed up in ragged clothes to the VR room.

Flicking his eyes, the public VR room echoed with fighter dialogue, catching the attention of those around.

“Isn’t that the fighter?”

“Pfft, who does he think he is, playing that character when even pros struggle with it?”

“Looks like a total newbie, probably heard some gossip and wanted to give it a shot.”

But then, as I avoided and parried attacks, chaos erupted.

The female staff member at the VR room (rumored to be the local cool beauty; S-grade figure, and a virgin)

“Here’s a treat”

She handed me a cup of coffee, with a sticky note under the cup reading, “Let’s share our number, 010-XXXX-XXX.”

―――

This was a template that had been trending in the Fiore gallery before.

Watching it, I couldn’t help but chuckle as that template suddenly crossed my mind, given the situation I was in.

“Excuse me, do you have a moment?”

I had gone out for a smoke with the results screen displayed when I was approached by the reputed cool beauty, S-grade figure, and virgin.

“Y-yes?”

The information sent to my brain from my thoroughly scanned eyes, ears, and nose caused my mind to momentarily stall.

‘Is this for real?’

In this absurdly unreal situation, I found myself doubting the scenario.

A superior woman, someone I thought I’d never interact with, was talking to me.

My brain turned rapidly. Then I instinctively tried to act nonchalant.

“I have time, but why?”

I imagined what she might say.

‘Did you see my legs just now? I’ve called the police.’

‘This has all been a social experiment.’

‘Really? Be careful with it.’

‘…… Oh no.’

Only negative thoughts surfaced. I figured a woman like that wouldn’t engage with me. Reality and fantasies discussed on forums like DC were worlds apart.

“Um, excuse me……”

The girl glanced to the side for a moment before speaking. The tension in my shoulders twitched slightly.

“Could you teach me a bit about the fighter?”

“…… Huh?”

Once again, foolish words slipped from my mouth.

“The fighter’s unique passive effect—so, the passive is that as you avoid non-target skills, your movement speed, attack power, and basic stats increase. And if you get hit, it resets. That’s why tightrope walking is important. If you get hit by skills or don’t do anything at the back, your character deteriorates.”

“Oh…… A.”

I explained the game mechanics to the girl next to me after creating a private game. However, my entire attention was fixated on her every little reaction.

Saying the public VR room was too noisy, the girl suggested we enter a two-person room. My mouth moved, attempting to string together words, but ultimately, I said nothing and followed her into the room.

Once inside, the air was filled with her scent. A cool mint fragrance, along with a certain indescribable sweetness.

In that space, I abandoned the ranked games for tier advancement and dove into a casual game I’d never played before alongside her.

I explained the workings of the fighter and Fiore since VR had its limitations in expression, so I needed to step out of the VR headset to inform her.

“W-wait, you really avoided that by watching?”

“Yes? Yes. Oh.”

“Oh. This is the timing for the Sky Realm’s descent. You need to be careful now.”

The girl grasped the game mechanics well, but her animal-like movements necessary for the fighter were surprisingly adept.

And as the game ended, and we both took off the VR headsets to discuss the details.

“- Because of that synergy, you need to coordinate well with the supporting player from the Current Realm. This is something you pick up as you play…… and……”

As I approached the end of my explanation, my words began to fade away. The growing discomfort had intensified.

‘…… Why is she getting closer to me?’

For some reason, she gradually edged closer as time passed. Her breath brushed lightly against my arm.

Was she preoccupied with concentrating on her gestures and the screen?

The minty breath continued to waft across my right arm, heightening my sensitivity. My heart began to race faster.

Now, all my senses were focused solely on the girl.

‘Could she possibly be interested in me?’

Having even pondered such notions, I couldn’t read her expression. Her lips remained tightly sealed, not moving an inch, while her lightly raised eyes gazed intently at my face and hands.

… In any case, I had to endure in numerous ways.

And so, time passed like a mix of heaven and hell.

We parted ways. He said to ask him again next time and gave me his number on a memo. Then he bought me a drink from the VR room.

But shouldn’t I be the one treating him? As I sipped the drink, I tucked away the memo he’d given me.

After that, I played Fiore alone. Though I wasn’t confident in my skills yet, thinking I’d still improve with practice.

While I was contemplating this, I planned to take a short break after removing the VR headset before putting it back on.

“Sis……?”

At that ominous voice, I turned around to find Lee Da-ram staring at me blankly. Checking the clock, it was already 5 o’clock.

My face flushed bright red, and though I tried to escape, she grabbed my wrist and beamed, saying we should game together.

So, I ended up playing Fiore with her until late evening. This time, I could win more easily and quickly against Lee Da-ram, thanks to what I’d learned about using passives and skills from the guy.

I received compliments for how much I had improved, which made me feel good. Lee Da-ram kept emphasizing that her main position was a supporter in the Current Realm, for some reason.

But I needed to be careful about money. Although my spending was relatively low compared to other hobbies, it still added up.

When I voiced this concern to her, she asked if I had a computer at home. I nodded.

Then, after returning home.

[Aah. Can you hear me?]

“Oh…… Yeah.”

[From now on, you can call me via the computer like this. But I’ve never seen someone without earphones before. You run too, right?]

“I’m not listening to music outside. It’s dangerous.”

[Ah…… Yeah. Huh, considering someone who doesn’t have KakaoTalk, I can see you’d question if you’re using Zoom to call….]

Lee Da-ram introduced me to an app called Discord. After downloading it, I was finally able to make calls on the computer.

Then she told me how to play classic games for a monthly fee and how to do rhythm games for free.

“But, honestly, it doesn’t feel as fun compared to playing in the arcade.”

[Oh, I feel the same! It’s so much more fun doing stuff like this in the arcade!]

Lee Da-ram eagerly agreed with that statement.

“Hehe, yeah. Uh… but is there a way to play Fiore?”

[Hmm~ Fiore…… it depends on the specs. It might be a bit tricky on home computers. Can you tell me your computer specifications? Here’s how to do it—]

Following Lee Da-ram’s instructions, I finally revealed my specs.

[Oh. With that, you should be able to run it on medium settings! It seems your specs are better than I thought.]

“Really?”

As my need for a computer increased, I pondered if it was fortunate I had bought a second-hand computer from a classmate who didn’t want it anymore at a low price.

“But VR headsets are pretty pricey.”

The average price for a headset compatible with Fiore was around 300,000 won. Considering my finances, it felt extremely expensive.

[Ah, hehe…… Yeah. Even though VR gear has gotten much cheaper since it became popular, full tracking is still a bit pricier.]

Then she fell silent for a moment.

[…… Sis. I’ll give you a full tracking device and VR gear—exactly the same as mine.]

“U-uh?”

I was taken aback by her sudden declaration. How could a high school student have that kind of money?

I rejected her repeatedly, but Lee Da-ram insisted even more fervently.

[It’s okay! It’s the same device I use; I just bought an extra one for collecting. And it would probably be better off with you than sitting on my shelf.]

“…… Still.”

After a few rounds of back and forth, I ended up conceding.

It felt a little strange to accept something from a younger high school student, but refusing something she offered when she said it was something she didn’t need felt even stranger.

“Are you sure? Is it really okay for you to do this?”

I asked one last time.

Lee Da-ram fell silent for a moment before replying.

[…… I thought it would be nice to have a female friend who games with me.]

And with that, she smiled widely.