2. Even players paid taxes. The rate was progressive, but because dungeons posed an existential threat to humanity, it was capped at 20%. Still, taxes always felt like a waste of money. To offset this, players poured their earnings into items. The state recognized equipment as a business expense, creating a system where players could either clear dungeons more safely or flip tax-deductible gear on the black market for cash. This, naturally, drove item prices sky-high. Buja was an anomaly—a solo raider who could clear Epic Dungeons at an absurd pace, pocketing nearly seventy-seven thousand dollars every few days. For the average player, such income was a pipe dream. A typical party of five to ten would venture into a