The streets of Alkarya were as peaceful as they usually were.
Well… not exactly as peaceful today, thanks to the growing number of players now crowding weapon and material stalls, buying their amenities and preparations for their Raids.
One of the busiest of these many stalls belonged to the rune seller Jarvis Botswaner, one of the largest business owners in the entire game. Even for someone like him, who was used to constant traffic and endless bargaining, he had never seen business boom this much in quite a while.
'It is almost like spare Karma points were suddenly shared with all these Players.' Jarvis thought as he passed a player a grey spear that had just been bought for three Karma points.
Before he could even catch his breath, the next customer was already standing before him, pointing eagerly at one of the many high-grade armours displayed in the digitalized set-up floating behind Jarvis Botswaner.
This customer he recognized, and curiosity quickly got the better of him.
"You told me you could only save up the balance of the remaining fifteen Karma points in a week's time," Jarvis teased lightly. "What changed?"
The player had a bright smile on his face as he chuckled.
"Yes, that was true. And as you can see everyone is spending a bit more than usual today…"
"A bit?" Jarvis Botswaner stressed with a grin.
The player laughed loudly at this.
"A lot," he corrected himself.
"Why is that so?"
"I didn't see it with my own eyes, but when I got to the gate today Old man Mukari was missing… I mean he wasn't even there. I was curious and asked some players that were returning since they seemed rather excited, and they explained that a cloaked Assassin got past the gate without paying and then he followed after with his goons," the player laughed again, slapping his hand across the counter several times. "With no tax on our Karma points, I took the opportunity to grind a lot with my crew."
Jarvis Botswaner nodded in understanding.
With the absence of Mukari, who normally charged two Karma points for leaving the Base of Alkarya and another two for returning, all players suddenly had four points to spare.
That alone explained the heavy traffic flooding the market today.
"Well… more money for me." He shrugged with a satisfied smile, snapping his fingers.
The digital representation of the armour the player wanted to buy suddenly shimmered into existence on the counter before them, forming piece by piece in glowing blue light.
"It's yours now—"
Cutting through his words before he could finish were loud sounds of commotion.
Screams and horrendous mocking insults filled the air like a chaotic wave crashing through the once orderly marketplace.
Jarvis frowned in confusion.
The Base was never this rowdy, and judging from the sheer amount of yelling and commotion crossing his ears, it almost sounded like a horde of monsters had somehow climbed the walls and poured into the streets.
His curiosity got to him once again, and this time he stepped away from his stall to check what exactly was causing the disturbance.
Others did the same.
Merchants, players, and bystanders slowly drifted toward the source of the noise, gathering until they reached a busy intersection.
Jarvis bit his lips as he tried to hold back his feelings, but to little avail.
His body betrayed him.
"Hahahahahahha!" He burst out laughing.
He wasn't the only one.
All around him, others erupted into uncontrollable laughter as well.
In the middle of the empty street, which the crowd had cleared like a grand entrance reserved for a king, stood none other than Mukari, the proud tax master of Alkarya.
Except he no longer looked high and mighty.
Instead, he had lost an eye, blood dried in ugly streaks across his face, and he was running across the street completely naked. His large drum-like belly wasn't the only thing jiggling wildly as his body bounced in frantic humiliation with every desperate step he took.
"Mind your fucking business! Stop laughing!" he screamed at the onlookers.
No one paid him any attention.
Mukari had offended most of them before, squeezing their hard-earned Karma points with shameless greed. So this moment of disgrace was a spectacle they wouldn't miss for the world.
Mukari began to shed tears, his body shaking as the laughter echoed from every direction.
Some players even started clapping.
Others whistled.
A few recorded the scene through their system windows.
The proud tax master who had extorted them for months… now looked worse than a beggar.
'If only he hadn't taken all my Karma points… I would have gotten myself killed…'
"Damn you Assassin!"