Black Rank Privilege
The moment Carpe stepped into the auction house building, Cheonma asked:
-First off, just to check: you've got space at home for a capsule, right? No need to get your parents' permission or anything?
"Plenty of space. And permission's no issue. My parents aren't around anyway."
-Oh...
Cheonma trailed off.
He'd always seen the guy as this eternally upbeat kid who'd grown up carefree, without any real hardships. Never imagined there was pain like that lurking underneath.
-My bad. I wasn't thinking...
"They're off on some volunteer gig in East Timor or somewhere in Africa, I think. It's been about two years now?"
-You little shit?
"Started around when I was in middle school? They were always jetting off abroad for volunteer work. It's basically their hobby—both of them."
-...Middle school? Not that it's my place as an outsider, but aren't your parents a bit too chill?
In truth, Cheonma wanted to say, 'Isn't that kinda irresponsible?' But he couldn't bring himself to badmouth someone else's parents that harshly, so he softened it.
"It's fine. They're off doing good deeds, not like it's anything bad. Plus, I'm not the type to get lonely anyway. They send living expenses on the dot every month... And best of all, I get to game my heart out. Win-win."
-...Alright. If you're cool with it.
Cheonma was convinced. This guy's occasional reckless streak? 100% genetic, no doubt.
-Anyway, perfect. Let's go register your account at the auction house first.
"I've been wondering since earlier—what's buying a capsule got to do with the auction house?"
-Might as well get the absolute best model while you're at it.
"Huh?"
-You'll see soon enough.
The auction house building was massive and sprawling.
Not quite on the level of a real-world mega-department store, but easily half that size.
Naturally, the interior teemed with users and NPCs, packed to the brim.
-See that over there?
In the vast space, Cheonma pointed to what looked like a row of bank teller windows from the real world.
Well-groomed NPC men and women sat at partitioned desks, smiling as they assisted customers.
-It's basically the same as a bank. You need an account to do business there, right? Same deal here to use the auction house.
"Ah, got it."
Carpe grabbed a numbered ticket and waited his turn.
Ding-dong.
"Customer 137. How may I assist you?"
There were plenty of users waiting, but with just as many windows, his turn came quick.
Carpe sat in the chair at the counter, and a female NPC greeted him with a warm smile.
"Welcome. This is the registration desk for auction house account setup. Shall I help you with that?"
"Oh, yeah."
"Please place your hand on the orb in front of you. Registration may take a little time."
"Ah, so this is the registration device."
He'd been wondering what that witch's crystal ball-looking thing right in front of him was for.
As instructed, he placed his hand on it, and the orb began emitting a faint glow.
-It's reading your info. Account details, fingerprints, linked bank accounts, all that.
'Whoa, they go that far?'
-RaSe runs the trading brokerage themselves, so no choice.
As long as player-to-player trading existed in online games, real-money trading was inevitable.
Especially after that old Supreme Court ruling recognizing in-game currency as personal property—it had exploded in popularity.
But real-money trading in online games always came with chronic issues.
Scammers running rampant.
What if you wired the cash and the other guy ghosts?
Online anonymity made it hard to catch them, and even if you did, it took forever.
Enter sites like 'Item MaXah'—real-money trading brokers.
-RaSe handles it in-game directly. Just a flat 1% fee.
'Ah.'
He'd wondered how they covered server costs just selling skins. Turns out they were raking it in like this.
No wonder people said, 'All the world's wealth flows to RaSe.'
-Compared to other brokers charging over 30%, this is a steal.
'Come to think of it, I saw articles about how RaSe killed off most real-money trading sites.'
Whether it was the auction brokerage or Channel RaSe, they wouldn't let existing platforms profit off their game.
From 'We made the game—why are you non-players making bank?' to straight-up monopolizing with their own streaming and trading platforms.
RaSe might seem hands-off with in-game ops, but they were ruthless on the business side.
'But hey, bro.'
-Yeah?
'I get all that, but what does it have to do with buying a capsule?'
-That's...
Right then.
"Registration complete. You can now list items at the auction house."
"So that's it?"
"Not quite. One final step: account grade evaluation."
"Account grade?"
"Yes. Higher grades unlock more benefits."
"Ah."
He got the gist.
Trading sites gave perks like lower fees for high-volume accounts. Seemed RaSe had something similar.
-That's why.
'Huh?'
-We came here specifically for the grade check.
'What's the point? I'll be the lowest tier—no trading history at all.'
-Normally, yeah, you'd be right.
As Cheonma spoke, the orb's glow faded.
"Evaluation complete. Your grade is... Oh my?"
The ever-professional female NPC showed her first human-like reaction.
Cheonma grinned at it.
-But RaSe isn't your normal game. In all sorts of ways.
The NPC quickly composed herself and beamed.
"Your grade is 'Black'. Our headquarters' highest tier, granting top benefits across all our facilities."
"...Pardon?"
Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Black.
Of the six account grades, Black was special.
Like a real-world black card—reserved for an elite few.
'How the hell...?'
-RaSe grades factor in a ton of elements holistically.
Not just about having cash.
Trading volume mattered, sure, as Carpe said.
But the biggest factor was something else.
-How massive a footprint you've left in RaSe.
All player data was stored in the account.
This orb read that play history.
The moment Carpe touched it, it found it.
The 'Mythic' footprint hidden in his records.
-At this point in time, what leaves a bigger mark than Mythic job change? Top of the Black heap, no contest.
'...So hardly anyone has Black?'
-Duh. Normal players don't even know it exists. Lemme see... right now? Maybe five in Korea?
"Five?!"
He blurted it out loud in shock.
Carpe glanced around in panic. The partitions seemed soundproof—thankfully, no one noticed.
"Sir?"
"Y-yeah."
"All registration complete. You now qualify for Black benefits across all affiliates. Need anything else?"
"No, that's good. More than enough."
"Understood. We'll email the detailed Black benefits. Is that okay?"
"Yes, please."
"Sent. Visit anytime with questions. Finally."
The NPC stood, clasped her hands at her navel, and bowed perfectly.
Impeccably polite, the kind that made you think, 'Can it get more formal than this?'
"It has been our infinite honor to share in RaSe's history with you. We hope you enjoy our game for years to come."
Carpe stared blankly for a second.
An NPC that could distinguish reality from game? How was this just code? Made him wonder if it was a real RaSe employee puppeteering.
'Another world.'
Watching the human-like NPC, RaSe's tagline popped into his head. And it clicked a bit.
Carpe gave a slight nod and headed straight out of the auction house.
After leaving the auction house, Carpe logged out.
Of course, not before Cheonma briefed him on buying the capsule. Still didn't fully make sense, even after hearing it.
'Cheonma bro. Even with Black rank, they're not giving capsules for free.'
-Obviously. Near cost price, but you still pay.
'I got no cash, though.'
-I'll give you a treasure map. Pull out what you need. Use it all if you want.
With that, Cheonma shared some info.
Which led him here: a gym not far from Gangnam Station.
'Neon Fitness Club. Yep, this is it.'
Confirming the sign, Carpe strode right in.
Jingle.
"Hello. Welcome to Neon Fitness."
The counter staff greeted him. Carpe nodded slightly and headed to the lockers.
'Whew.'
His heart pounded.
What if they stopped him as an unfamiliar face? But nah—the desk jockey couldn't memorize every member's face across all shifts.
'Locker 163... Ah, this one.'
Obviously, he wasn't here to work out. He came to retrieve something from a gym locker.
Beep.
The locker had a digital lock. Punching in the four-digit code from Cheonma opened it with an electronic chime.
Inside was the large black crossbody bag, just as described. Heavy when he lifted it out.
Mission accomplished, Carpe left the gym and headed to a Gangnam Station bathroom.
Into a stall, door locked, he checked the bag's contents.
"...This is insane."
He let out a disbelieving chuckle, even seeing it with his own eyes.
The black crossbody was stuffed with 50,000-won bundles. Digging deeper unearthed a few gold bars.
"...Ha."
If Cheonma were here, he'd grab him by the collar and shake.
What lunatic stashes this in a gym locker!
'You actually left cash bricks in a gym locker?'
-Yeah. For real.
'What if it got lost?'
-Then it's gone. Gyms are surprisingly secure. No bank tracing, and long-term registration keeps others away.
'You're the crazy one.'
Now he got why Cheonma called him nuts sometimes. Who was judging who?
Heart finally steady, Carpe headed to the RaSe Korean branch HQ.
The 10-Star Player's Lucky Draw