Even If I Did It With My Feet, I'd Be Better Than That

I could do better than that with my feet.

On the screen Nyua was watching, two people were clashing weapons in a fierce battle.

The graphics were shockingly realistic.

Instead of stiff, scripted movements, their bodies moved with the fluid freedom of actual human beings.

‘So this… is what they call a virtual reality game?’

It was a technology that hadn’t existed in the world I came from.

Yet here, it was treated as completely ordinary, deeply embedded in people’s everyday lives.

While I stared at the screen in fascination, the battle grew more intense.

They slipped into each other’s openings, sword tips slicing through the air.

The speed and tension were so real it was hard to believe it was virtual.

The moment one stepped forward, a blade came flying in.

But the opponent pulled back half a beat faster, dodging the tip by the width of a single sheet of paper.

The small chat window on the screen immediately exploded.

‘So the guy who just dodged is Kang Daehan.’

Still in that precarious dodging stance, Kang Daehan twisted his leg and launched a counterattack.

Unlike his opponent who had just barely avoided the previous strike, the other player was completely helpless.

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“Nyua!!!!”

The chat window was packed with cheers for Kang Daehan, moving like a single living organism.

That was when I noticed the message about Korea winning.

Wondering what it meant, I looked closer at the screen.

In the top right corner, the title World Championship was stamped clearly.

So what Nyua was watching was actually a global tournament.

Below it, the real-time viewer count was displayed.

Four hundred forty-five thousand, two hundred people.

The insane number explained why the chat was so explosive.

I forcibly peeled Nyua off the phone screen — where she had been stuck like a rice cake in the heat of the moment — and focused on the match again.

Everyone seemed certain of Kang Daehan’s victory.

But I was sensing something different.

‘This one’s already lost.’

While everyone else cheered for his overwhelming dominance, I saw the fighting spirit burning in Fabry’s eyes.

He was clearly being pushed back, but his gaze hadn’t died.

‘I’ve seen those eyes plenty of times.’

That was the look of someone waiting for a single chance.

A one-shot comeback opportunity.

If Kang Daehan had stayed calm, that chance might never have appeared.

But having sensed his own victory, Kang Daehan was far too excited.

In the end, my prediction was correct.

Right in the middle of Kang Daehan’s ferocious barrage, a tiny, almost invisible opening appeared for the briefest moment.

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Fabry didn’t miss it.

The hilt of his sword slammed precisely into Kang Daehan’s chin.

Taking advantage of that frozen instant, Fabry’s counterattack crashed down like a violent wave.

The chat window, which had been full of cheers just moments ago, was now flooded with desperate cries.

There was only one thing everyone was praying for.

That Kang Daehan would somehow escape Fabry’s relentless assault.

But Fabry didn’t give him even a single breath of space.

As if determined not to let him recover, the tip of his sword hammered Kang Daehan without pause.

And in the end…

After a dazzling display of swordsmanship, Kang Daehan fell.

The casters who had been screaming at the top of their lungs now sounded drained, their voices growing quieter.

The casters’ voices had clearly lost their energy, but you could tell they were trying their best to lift the heavy atmosphere.

The chat window, however, had already turned into a funeral.

Everyone was openly disappointed, but beneath it was a heavy sense of respect.

Comments of consolation like “He lost, but he fought well.”

That atmosphere was spreading through the chat, connecting people.

It was definitely disappointing to lose.

But the physical ability that surpassed human limits was real.

Watching the flow of comments, I slowly stroked my chin.

‘Hmm… was it really that impressive?’

I could do better than that with my feet.

After watching the broadcast, I looked up various things and found a lot of information.

Fire Fist.

A fighting game that had once burned with incredible popularity.

Although it didn’t get quite as much attention as in its prime, it still had a very dedicated fanbase.

In that game, Kang Daehan was the player representing Korea.

He was called the best.

Especially famous for his overwhelmingly superior physical ability.

His reaction speed and senses were on a completely different level from other pro players.

Thanks to that, for years no one had been able to threaten his position.

Although he had never won a world championship, every pro player unanimously acknowledged his physical talent.

After the match ended, Nyua even searched for and started watching Kang Daehan’s post-match stream.

I wondered why she was going that far, but she was a veteran who had gone through all kinds of battles with me.

Maybe, in this peaceful world, she was desperately searching for the dopamine she had somehow forgotten.

‘Hmm… the graphics really did look incredibly realistic.’

A quick search told me that full-dive virtual reality games offered an immersion close to reality.

Thanks to that sense of realism, they had gained popularity quickly.

Now, it had become an era where most people enjoyed virtual reality ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠games.

‘But… why didn’t I know about this until now?’

I had been lazing around for a whole year. I should have heard about it at least once, yet it felt completely new.

Well, it wasn’t like I spent all day with my face buried in a phone like Nyua.

‘Still.’

When I turned my head, Nyua was already flipping through different streams, her eyes sparkling.

“Nyua!”

From the tone of her voice, she seemed really excited.

Hmm.

If it was fun enough for her, maybe I could enjoy it too?

Once the thought entered my mind, there was no reason to hesitate.

Using the money I had left, I bought a capsule and was now waiting for it to arrive while eating cup ramen.

‘By the way, this is way too expensive. I can’t believe it costs over forty million won…’

The price had given me pause, but what I needed right now was dopamine.

Without hesitating, I had clicked the purchase button, and as a result, the money I had saved was almost completely gone.

At this rate, I’d be living off cup ramen for a while.

‘Looks like I’ll have to get a job or something…’

At the words “living off cup ramen for a while,” an angry Nyua had climbed onto my head and was now yanking my hair.

“Nyuaat!!”

My long hair was caught in Nyua’s mouth and flapping around, but my steel-like scalp didn’t lose a single strand.

Still, I wished she would be a little gentler, just in case.

“Nyuuuuu.”

Leaving Nyua to keep gnawing away, I fell back into thought.

‘So how am I supposed to make money?’

I didn’t really want to work.

If possible, I wanted to just relax and laze around comfortably in this peaceful world.

Of course, I still needed dopamine.

“Nyua…”

When I didn’t react, she had already gone to a corner and was watching streams on the phone again.

On the screen was a streamer playing a virtual reality game and commentating live.

“Thank you for the 1,000 won donation, ViewerBuriBuri!! But aren’t I doing it properly?”

“But all of this is the fault of everyone who came for the spicy broadcast!! If you’re mad, why didn’t you go watch a skill-based stream instead?”

“It’s a shame you’re only realizing it now. But you know insults get you banned, right? I’ll ban you for ten minutes!!”

“Is today ViewerBuriBuri’s money donation day?”

He was playing a virtual reality game and commentating like a sports caster, and he was even making money doing it.

Watching that, my eyes lit up.

‘Found it. The way to make money.’