Chapter 83: Cashing Out

The O.R.D.O. headquarters in Zenith City was considerably busier during the afternoon than Jet remembered from his first visit.

Awakeners moved constantly through the enormous ground floor, passing between registration counters, mission terminals, licensing departments and the secured elevators leading deeper into the building.

Some wore ordinary clothes with weapons stored inside spatial equipment or carrying cases, while others had apparently come directly from a Dungeon and still wore armor marked by dust, dried blood and damage.

Large digital displays above the central hall cycled through active Gate notices, Dungeon restrictions, emergency announcements and information intended for registered Raiders.

Jet crossed the lobby without needing to study any of it.

He wasn’t here to register this time.

After returning from the Beyond yesterday, sleeping properly and spending most of the morning with Inez, there was one piece of business he wanted handled before meeting Nadia for dinner.

Money.

More specifically, the Citadel credits sitting in his account.

Jet approached one of the information terminals and entered his Raider credentials. The interface immediately recognized him and displayed the services available to registered Awakeners.

He scrolled past Dungeon applications, equipment certification and material appraisal until he found what he wanted.

[BEYOND FINANCIAL SERVICES]

[Citadel Credit Exchange]

Jet selected it.

The terminal directed him toward the western section of the headquarters, where several counters operated behind reinforced glass. Unlike the ordinary banking system, these counters were administered through O.R.D.O.’s Beyond Financial Exchange Division.

Humanity couldn’t exactly connect Earth banks directly to an ancient supernatural Citadel in another world, but fifty years of operating inside the Beyond had created institutions capable of bridging the two economies.

Jet took a queue number and waited.

It didn’t take long before his number appeared above Counter Twelve.

The woman sitting behind the counter looked to be in her thirties, dressed in the dark professional uniform of O.R.D.O. financial personnel. Her identification badge displayed the name Elena Park, and several transparent screens floated above the desk in front of her.

"Good afternoon," Elena greeted him with a polite smile as Jet sat down. "What can I help you with today?"

Jet placed his Raider identification against the scanner built into the counter. "I’d like to convert some Zenith Citadel credits into cash."

Elena nodded and pulled his information onto one of her screens. "Of course. Since this is your first conversion, I’ll explain the process before we authorize anything. Citadel credits aren’t Earth currency, so O.R.D.O. doesn’t treat this as a simple foreign-exchange transaction. The credits represent recognized commercial value within the Zenith Citadel trading network, primarily backed by monster materials, Monster Cores, Relics, Origin resources and other commodities circulating through the Beyond economy."

Jet listened while another screen appeared in front of him.

His balance was displayed near the top.

The first large payment immediately caught his attention.

[612,800 ZC]

That was the amount he had received from Greyvault Exchange after the Palladium expedition, before counting the additional credits earned from the remaining days of hunting. Their later sales had pushed his available balance higher, although he had deliberately kept every Monster Core obtained after deciding how valuable they were for Rune development.

Elena continued after confirming the account. "O.R.D.O. and several authorized institutions maintain Earth-side reserves used to purchase Citadel credits from returning Walkers. Those credits are then used to fund O.R.D.O. operations in the Beyond, purchase materials, maintain Citadel facilities and settle contracts with local trading houses. That creates the bridge between the two economies."

Jet understood the basic structure immediately.

Walkers returned with credits they couldn’t spend at ordinary Earth businesses. O.R.D.O. needed those credits for its operations inside the Beyond. Instead of forcing every Awakener to personally find a buyer, the organization acted as a regulated exchange.

The next screen showed the current rate.

[ZENITH CITADEL CREDIT EXCHANGE]

[Current Purchase Rate]

[1 ZC = $10.00 USD] ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Jet’s eyebrows rose slightly.

Elena noticed his reaction and explained, "The rate isn’t permanently fixed. O.R.D.O. publishes an official purchase rate based on demand, Beyond material prices, Monster Core markets and the organization’s current Citadel reserves. Zenith’s rate has remained close to ten dollars per credit for several months, but you’ll occasionally see it move above or below that."

That meant the 612,800 credits from their first Greyvault transaction alone represented more than six million dollars if converted at the current rate.

Jet stared at the figure for another second.

Suddenly, refusing to sell the Monster Cores felt even more significant.

Those Cores could have increased the cash value of their expedition substantially, especially the better ones, but after seeing what they had done for Asura’s synchronization and Rune Stage, Jet didn’t regret keeping them. Money could be earned again.

Monster Cores compatible with his Divine Rune were progression resources that Earth couldn’t naturally produce.

He looked back toward Elena. "Are there any restrictions on how much I can exchange?"

"There are verification thresholds rather than hard limits," Elena replied as she brought up another page. "Small conversions are processed automatically. Larger transactions may require confirmation of the credit source because O.R.D.O. monitors laundering, illegal Beyond harvesting, stolen Raid proceeds and unregistered material sales. Your credits came through Greyvault Exchange and other licensed Zenith merchants, so their transaction histories are already attached to your account."

That answered another question Jet had been considering.

O.R.D.O. wasn’t blindly printing money whenever a Walker returned with a large number on an account. The Beyond economy already possessed measurable commodity value, and licensed transactions created records that could be checked before Earth currency entered the equation.

Elena pointed toward another section of the display. "There is also a conversion charge. For registered Walkers using the official exchange, O.R.D.O. takes two percent from the Earth-side payout. The rate you’re seeing is the gross purchase rate, so the final amount transferred to your bank account will be reduced by that fee."

Jet leaned back slightly and did the calculation in his head.

At ten dollars per credit, every one hundred thousand credits converted into one million dollars before the fee.

That was absurd money compared to what he had possessed before the Second Red Moon.

It was also a reminder of why experienced Awakeners, successful Raid Teams and major Guilds could accumulate extraordinary wealth.

A strong group capable of repeatedly bringing valuable resources back from Dungeons and the Beyond wasn’t operating on the financial scale of an ordinary worker.

Of course, reaching the point where those resources could be obtained without dying was another matter entirely.

Jet decided how much he wanted to convert and entered the figure on the screen. He didn’t empty the account. Citadel credits were still useful inside Zenith, and converting everything only to exchange Earth money back into Beyond purchasing power later would be pointless.

Elena reviewed the amount before turning the authorization display toward him. "Everything is in order. Once you confirm, the credits will be deducted immediately. The Earth-side payment should reach your registered bank account within a few minutes because your identity and source verification are already complete."

Jet read through the information carefully.

The conversion rate was listed again, followed by the two-percent charge and the final amount he would receive. After confirming there were no unexpected conditions, he authorized the transaction.

His Citadel balance decreased.

A notification appeared almost immediately.

[EXCHANGE SUCCESSFUL]

Elena checked her screen and gave him another professional smile. "The conversion has been approved. You should receive confirmation from your bank shortly. Keep in mind that large Awakener-related deposits are tagged as verified O.R.D.O. proceeds, so your bank receives the source documentation automatically. You shouldn’t need to explain where the funds originated."

As if summoned by her words, Jet’s phone vibrated.

He pulled it from his pocket and looked at the banking notification.

The corners of his mouth slowly rose.

For the first time since his regression, the money appearing on that screen hadn’t come from borrowing against something, mortgaging property, asking Frey for help or desperately preparing for a future nobody else knew was coming.

He had earned it.

Monster by monster.

Jet thanked Elena, collected his identification and left the exchange section.

His pace became more relaxed as he crossed the O.R.D.O. lobby toward the main entrance. Through the enormous glass frontage, he could see the coffee shop across the plaza where he and Frey had met during he first visit to register as a Raider.

Two familiar figures were waiting inside.

Nadia sat near the window with a drink in front of her, scrolling through her phone while occasionally looking toward the O.R.D.O. building.

Across from her, Inez was attacking what appeared to be an oversized slice of cake with complete concentration.

They had agreed to meet there before heading out together, allowing Jet to handle the exchange without dragging both of them through O.R.D.O.’s financial department.

Jet pushed through the headquarters doors and stepped into the afternoon air.

His phone remained in his hand.

He looked at the bank balance once more as he crossed the plaza, and some of the satisfaction faded into something more practical.

There were still debts hanging over him.

The preparations before the Second Red Moon hadn’t been cheap. He had borrowed heavily, committed money wherever necessary and treated his old financial stability as expendable because surviving what was coming had mattered more than preserving a clean balance sheet.

Now, for the first time, he could start reversing that damage.

Jet slipped the phone back into his pocket and continued toward the coffee shop where Inez and Nadia were waiting.

With the money from the Beyond finally converted into something Earth recognized, he could begin paying off what he owed.