Chapter 28

At the capsule sales area of the Rase Korea branch.

Shin Bong-hyun, the marketing manager of the luxury department, was not in a good mood today.

"Ah, this is so annoying."

It was incredibly busy.

Although the luxury department usually didn't have many customers, there had been a constant stream of visitors for the past three days.

The reason was clear.

The new capsule model developed by Rase.

The 'Apollo,' a monster machine with performance far superior to existing models, had been released.

'Why do all these bums keep coming in a row?'

As the latest model, Apollo boasted an exorbitant price, one that ordinary people could only dream of.

However, even such ordinary people could experience a free trial.

Due to the free trial event for the first seven days after Apollo's release, only those visiting the Rase headquarters could participate.

As a result, over the past three days, the luxury department had been filled with all sorts of casual visitors, which was quite out of character.

'The luxury department should only be visited by people who match its prestige.'

Bong-hyun believed he was the perfect employee for the luxury department.

His good looks, which would make anyone on the street glance at him, his tall stature, and stylish appearance.

Naturally, he had received many modeling offers.

He chose to work at the luxury department, rejecting numerous modeling offers, because he believed this position matched his prestige.

'But why do these bums... '

Listening to the various demands of people who wouldn't even speak to him outside was incredibly stressful.

The moment he saw a man in a shabby hoodie enter the luxury department, Bong-hyun couldn't help but frown.

Shin Bong-hyun quickly scanned the man.

Hoodie, jeans, sneakers, and a crossbody bag.

He had a clean and likable appearance, but that was it. From head to toe, there wasn't a single sign of luxury.

'Another casual visitor. What a nuisance.'

Having assessed this, he quickly approached the customer with a smile.

"Welcome, sir. I'm Shin Bong-hyun from the luxury department. The trial event ends at 5 PM, and it's already closed."

"......Huh? The trial event?"

"Yes, sir. The trial event runs from 10 AM to 5 PM. If you want to experience it, please come back tomorrow..."

"I don't really know about the event, but I'm here to buy a capsule."

"Excuse me?"

Hearing this, Bong-hyun quickly scanned the man again.

There were occasionally customers who came to buy a luxury department capsule despite their casual attire.

In most cases, they fell into one of two categories:

Those who mistakenly entered the luxury department.

Or those who just wanted to show off to the staff.

The former was no problem, but the latter often led to a tiresome situation.

They would demand to see various products, even though they had no intention of buying anything.

However, dealing with them was surprisingly simple.

'It's about subtly touching their pride.'

Blatantly ignoring them or saying something like, "The price might be a bit burdensome," was something only amateurs would do.

Of course, he wanted to say something even more harsh and drive them away, but that would lead to complaints.

In such situations, he had to show his attitude subtly.

Reacting a bit late to the customer's words, maintaining a high posture, or even asking for clarification despite understanding.

"Excuse me?"

"......I'm sorry. Could you repeat that, please?"

Exactly like this.

'If I do this, they'll either get tired and leave, or get angry and actually buy something. One of the two.'

Either way, it was good for Bong-hyun.

The luxury department's system linked sales to performance.

If the customer got angry and bought something, it would be the best outcome. This was known as 'pride-touching marketing.'

However, this method wouldn't work with 'Apollo.'

Apollo wasn't just a machine that could be bought with money.

It was only sold to 'Platinum' members, as per the company's guidelines.

"Only customers with a Platinum account or higher can purchase Apollo..."

"Time is precious. Can we confirm with this?"

The man pointed to a biometric fingerprint scanner on the table next to Apollo.

"......Yes, that's correct."

Bong-hyun glared at the man who had cut him off, but the man didn't seem to care.

Instead, he placed his hand on the scanner without hesitation.

'There's no way he's Platinum.'

Bong-hyun snorted.

A Platinum account was in the top 0.01% of Rase users. It wasn't something you could achieve just by being good at the game.

Ding.

-Grade verification complete.

The account grade was verified through the fingerprint.

Bong-hyun glanced at the grade displayed on the screen.

As expected, it wasn't Platinum.

He smirked.

"Sir, as I mentioned, Apollo is only available to Platinum members..."

Bong-hyun suddenly realized something strange.

The casual visitor in front of him was clearly not Platinum.

But it didn't seem to be Bronze, Silver, or Gold either...

"Wait a moment, sir."

Bong-hyun checked the screen again.

"......Oh!"

His face turned pale with shock.

The man in the hoodie, Carpe, smirked.

"I don't think there will be any problem with the purchase. What do you think?"

"......Of course, sir. Shall we proceed immediately?"

Bong-hyun quickly changed his attitude.

On the surface, he maintained his composure, but his heart was pounding.

'Black grade. This is huge!'

Selling an Apollo was already a significant achievement.

But if the buyer was a super VVIP, a Black grade member?

It would definitely have a significant impact on his next performance review...

"By the way, could you change the salesperson?"

"Excuse me?"

"You seem a bit stressed. Your reactions to my words have been slow."

"Th, that's..."

Bong-hyun broke out in a cold sweat.

He never imagined that his deliberate slow reactions would backfire like this.

"Strangely, the NPC at the auction hall provided better service."

The NPC at the auction hall had been nothing short of perfect.

"I'm in a hurry, so please make it quick."

"......Yes, sir."

Bong-hyun's face turned black as he couldn't refuse the Black grade customer.

* * *

The employee who had been with Carpe was quickly replaced by a new one.

The new employee was an intellectual beauty with long, flowing hair.

"Welcome, sir. I'm Lee Hee-ae, the head of the marketing department. I understand you had some inconvenience?"

"It wasn't so much inconvenience as it was difficult to communicate with the previous salesperson."

"I see. I apologize for that. I promise to address your concerns and will personally guide you from now on."

After that, everything went smoothly.

The title 'Head of the Marketing Department' wasn't just for show; she accurately addressed the points Carpe was interested in.

"The highest machine available on the market is Apollo, but there is another machine that is only sold to Black members."

"Really? There's such a thing?"

In fact, Carpe already knew this from Cheonma, but he played along.

"Yes, sir. This way."

The team leader guided Carpe to the deepest part of the luxury department, a place accessible only with an ID card for managers and above. There, the machine was waiting.

"Artemis. The sibling machine to Apollo, and the rarest of all existing machines."

"It looks exactly the same as Apollo."

"Not just in appearance, but in reality as well. The design, parts, and even performance are identical to Apollo."

In essence, it was the same product, just called a sibling.

There was only one difference.

"Artemis is a 100% handmade creation by Rase's developer, the chairman. There are only three units in Korea."

The same production process and parts, but a different maker.

This was the only reason Artemis differed from Apollo.

"Hmm."

Carpe didn't really care who made it as long as the performance was the same, but Cheonma had emphasized that he must buy Artemis, so he proceeded with the purchase.

"Can I buy it right now? How much does it cost?"

"Black grade members can purchase any of our products at cost price."

She explained that the cost price of Artemis was $83,000, or about 100 million won.

It was a sum he could easily pay with the cash in his crossbody bag.

"I'll buy it now. How long will delivery and installation take?"

"If your residence is in Seoul, it should take about an hour."

"Wow."

This was the power of a Black grade member. It was much faster than he expected.

"Then, let's proceed right away."

"Thank you. Is there anything else you need?"

"No, just the capsule today."

He wasn't entirely against looking around, but he was eager to get back to the game.

"Understood. It was an honor to serve you today. Please feel free to contact us if you need anything."

Team Leader Lee Hee-ae handed Carpe a business card.

With that, the capsule purchase was complete.

* * *

As she promised, delivery and installation took less than an hour. Jeong-hoon's house wasn't far from the Rase Korea branch.

Carpe immediately logged back into the game after Artemis was installed.

-Oh, you're here? You came faster than I thought.

Cheonma greeted him.

-Did anything happen?

"Nothing at all. Oh, the staff was a bit surprised when I paid in full with cash. I almost felt bad."

Carrying over a hundred million won in cash would make anyone suspicious.

He could have been questioned about the source of the money, but fortunately, the staff was just momentarily surprised and processed the payment.

"It's a good thing it went smoothly."

-If a third-generation tycoon carries a wad of cash, people might find it strange but won't question the source. It's the same with you.

"But I'm not a tycoon."

-But in Rase, you're a Black grade member, which is far more impressive than any tycoon.

"Ah..."

He realized that Cheonma had registered his account grade with that in mind. He was impressed by Cheonma's thoroughness.

"Bro, how have you been?"

-Well, something happened, and something didn't.

"Huh? I was just being polite. Did something really happen?"

-Well, this...

At that moment,

"Chirp!"

Mokhyang burst out of Carpe's shadow and climbed onto his shoulder.

"Chirp! Chirp!"

"Hey, Mokhyang. Did you miss me?"

"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!"

"......Why is he acting like this?"

Mokhyang was usually affectionate, but not to this extent.

It seemed overly enthusiastic for just a few hours.

-It's understandable. He's been with me the whole time.

"Huh?"

-From the moment you logged out, he's been with me. In my room.

"Your room?"

Why would he be there?

Looking at him with a puzzled expression, Cheonma just shrugged.

-I don't know. Both of us are bound to you, so the system probably just put us together. Anyway, as long as the summoning works, it's fine.

"That's true, but..."

It was certainly a strange occurrence, but as long as there was nothing wrong with them, it was a good thing for Carpe.

"Then, let's start the quest again."

He had been thinking about the quest the entire time he was buying and installing the capsule.

He was determined to recover the Magic King's relic today.

With that resolve, Carpe set out to hunt again.

The 10-star player who had become stronger through luck.