Dungeon Crawler Carl

“So let me tell you about Donut the cat. Like I said, she’s one of the fluffy, flat-faced cats that look like they need to be sitting on the lap of a Bond villain. Bea and I shared a two-bedroom apartment, and one of those rooms was dedicated to the cat if that tells you anything. More specifically, the room was devoted to Donut’s Best-in-Show ribbons, her Best-in-Breed ribbons, and the countless trophies and frames photographs of her.”

This quote provides a quick yet descriptive character sketch of Donut. She has high charisma—unusually high for Level 1—and her experience in cat shows helps her to survive within the dungeon as well. While Carl is a fighter and a builder, Donut knows how to entertain a crowd, and this proves to be a vital skill in a world where viewership often determines survival.

“It hit me, at that moment. The sudden shock of the buildings was one thing. But there were people in those buildings. It was almost everybody in the damn city. Hell, even most of the homeless people were in shelters. […] It was two in the damn morning on a Monday night. Everyone would be in bed. And that meant everyone was dead!”

This quote explores the theme of The Ethical Implications of Sadistic Entertainment. The show has already killed billions of people around the world, all to create a twisted and lucrative form of entertainment for trillions of intergalactic fans.

“‘This next screen is the single most important menu in the entire game. Your life depends on these numbers.’ It was called Ratings. I clicked on it, and the list took me aback: Ratings Views: 0 Followers: 0 Favorites: 0 Patrons: 0.”

This quote hints at The Ethical Implications of Sadistic Entertainment, for Carl will have to play the game in such a way that he makes himself an indispensable part of the mechanism through which the Borant Corporation seeks to entertain its viewers. While Donut and Carl must struggle to physically survive the dungeon, they must also do so while being as interesting as possible.

“Listening, yes. Paying attention, not necessarily. They expect a certain amount of… gnashing of teeth… amongst the crawlers. And we NPCs are required to say the name of the organization multiple times during the training, so we’re mostly ignored. Mostly. You need to be really careful once you start collecting followers. They know they’re sadistic assholes, but they don’t want you saying it on camera. They take their image quite seriously.”

This quote shows some of the conflict that crawlers face, because the creatures who have destroyed the planet and killed billions of people and are now forcing the survivors to fight to the death in their dungeon will also force those same crawlers to speak kindly about them. Public image means far more to the Borant Corporation than ethical behavior, and they will kill any crawler who defies them.

“The rat creature grunted. ‘Remember how I said I made it down to the 11th floor?’

‘Yeah.’

‘A handful of crawlers over the centuries have made it that far. Once one made it down to 13. One. He died within a half-hour of hitting the floor. He was a human, like you. But from another human world. That’s the deepest anyone has ever delved, kid. Level 13.’”

This quote shows that the game is thoroughly rigged against the dungeon crawlers. Being inherently fair-minded, Carl believes that it is inevitable that someone will conquer the dungeon, but Mordecai quickly disabuses him of this notion. No one has ever even made it past Level 13, much less beaten the dungeon and claimed the prize, and this long history of failure does not bode well for the humans now trapped within the game.

“Listen up, kid. She’s quite a bit more powerful than you are right now, so you’ll want to stick together. At least until you get to the ninth floor. That… That will be a challenge. You can always leave the party. That crown is on her head, not yours.”

Mordecai’s words introduce the complexities involved in the issue of Partnership and Loyalty under Duress. Mordecai encourages Carl to use Donut to survive, then abandon her to get to Level 10. It is clear that Donut and Carl’s partnership will be tested relentlessly in the dungeon.

“He grasped my jacket and met my eyes and then whispered, ‘It’s not worth it, no matter what they tell you. Not until floor 12, and even then, negotiate as much as you can. Remember that.’”

This quote gives another glimmer behind the curtain of the dungeon because while Mordecai survived his crawl to Level 11, he clearly wishes that he had risked his life to go further before negotiating. The implication is that the deal he made is worse than death. By extension, it can be assumed that if Carl should get that far, he will be offered bad deals to get out of the dungeon.

“Okay, when I woke up back there, I had all my memories, of all my time being me. Of sitting in that window, looking outside, of watching television all day long, of all the hours in the carrier in back of Miss Beatrice’s car, travelling to those horrid yet wonderful shows, of being told what a princess I am. And then, suddenly, my mind looked back on all of it, and I understood what had happened. I am a grand champion, Carl. I’m supposed to act a certain way. But sitting in your lap, watching you get fragged over and over in Call of Duty? I like that, too. I mean, you really suck at that game, but you keep playing. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I liked that.”

This quote illustrates Donut’s perspective and explains why she is so snarky after changing from a pet into a crawler. Donut feels conflicted about her own identity, and she is confused by how much she enjoyed spending time with Carl. Her admission points to the pair’s mutual devotion, but neither is willing to admit to this level of affection early in the novel.

“Next, they showed a girl about 13 years old with a pair of rottweilers. I guessed she might be from South America somewhere. She wore an oversized soccer jersey that was yellow with a thick blue stripe running across it. The girl wore an angry, determined expression on her face.”

This quote features another crawler, Lucia Mar, who became instantly popular on the show. Lucia Mar is also a guest on Odette’s talk show, but Odette finds her to be erratic and uncharismatic. Odette’s disdain for Lucia’s lack of personality is a sharp indicator of how important it is for the crawlers to be entertaining as well as skillful.

“Kill the crawlers, get better at killing, and you get to go deeper. And one day, eventually, we will be so deep that crawlers will never come, and we will finally have peace. We will have peace and a place to live and breed and have our little ones run free and not worry about killing for survival.”

This conversation between Donut and the goblin Rory illustrates that even the mobs attempting to kill crawlers are sympathetic and sentient. The exchange therefore highlights The Ethical Implications of Sadistic Entertainment. While it would be easy to villainize the crawlers’ opponents, it is clear that even they are victims of the show and have their own desires and hopes.

“And those kids had been placed there, in that room, for that express purpose. They’d existed only to die. I couldn’t blame myself, or feel guilty. Donut was right. This wasn’t my fault. Not at all.”

This quote develops The Ethical Implications of Sadistic Entertainment because Carl feels immense guilt for killing goblin babies. At the same time, the dungeon itself has set him up for failure, given that he could not have killed that boss without causing some collateral damage. The dungeon purposefully creates painful situations to increase the suffering of the crawlers.

“‘I have been grievously injured in battle,’ she said. ‘In saving you, I have made the ultimate sacrifice. I can feel my life fading away, Carl. I’m circling that last bend into the drain. This is the end. I used my claws like you said, and I have perished as a result. Miss Beatrice is going to be most displeased with you.’”

This quote shows the theme Partnership and Loyalty under Duress, for Donut is nearly killed while saving Carl’s life. However, the scene also illustrates her dramatic and humorous personality because even though she nearly dies, she also uses the moment to annoy Carl.

“Look for vulnerability, and once you find it, exploit it. You haven’t yet walked into a boss battle completely blind as you say. There have been clues every time. There will always be clues. Look for them.”

This advice from Mordecai becomes crucial to helping Carl and Donut survive. Because Carl learns to look for each boss’s vulnerabilities, he is able to defeat several bosses that are well above his level. Most notably, Carl determines the weaknesses of the “ball of swine” borough boss.

“‘Goddammit, Donut,’ I said. She was right. Of course. What was the point of living, if I couldn’t live with myself?”

This quote adds depth to Carl’s character and enhances the thematic focus on Partnership and Loyalty under Duress. Carl realizes that he will not stop at anything to win the game because he will not give up his values. He would rather die than shy away from protecting weaker characters. This scene also reveals that Donut understands what motivates Carl, perhaps even better than he does himself.

“Finally, we must say that we are disappointed in the disrespect we are being shown regarding the bathrooms. As of this moment, if any human-born crawler intentionally urinates or defecates anywhere outside a designated bathroom area, they will be immediately and swiftly penalized in the form of a Rage Elemental plucked from the 13th floor. This elemental will kill them and everyone in their party before they can get their pants back up.”

This quote illustrates how punitive and cruel the Borant Corporation is. When one of the elderly men in the Meadow Lark group urinates outside of a bathroom, violating a dungeon rule about cleanliness, the resulting punishment nearly kills Donut, Carl, and the entire Meadow Lark group. Because Borant feels disrespected, they set up a punishment that could kill hundreds of people. The overblown scene demonstrates the lengths to which they will go to ensure compliance.

“Still, I couldn’t help but feel like an asshole. The feeling wasn’t as bad as I’d felt after the whole thing with the goblin babies, but there was something inherently distasteful about using Donut’s charm ability to kill things. Yes, these were monsters that wouldn’t hesitate about killing us. But like with the goblins, once Donut turned them neutral, we saw a part of their personalities one didn’t normally see with monsters.”

This quote further develops the idea that the mobs are not entirely villainous. When Carl begins to see the personalities and quirks of his foes, he finds it more difficult to view them as his enemies. The moment also illustrates the cruelty of putting all those creatures into a dungeon to serve as cannon fodder.

“‘If we die, I want you to know that I love you, Carl,’ Donut said, ‘I don’t love you as much as I love Miss Beatrice because she’s, you know, she’s my person. Or as much as I love Ferdinand. But I love you.’”

This quote reveals the deepening loyalty and love that Donut has for Carl. It also reveals that Donut is uncritical in her loyalty to Beatrice, whose plan to abandon the cat proves that she is unworthy of such love.

“‘It’s okay,’ I said. ‘Go back to Brandon. They’ll watch over you.’ I wrapped myself around the cat. ‘I don’t want to do this without you,’ Donut cried. ‘Carl, I lied before. I won’t be fine on my own. I need you. No, no!’”

This quote further illustrates Carl’s loyalty toward Donut and his determination to protect weaker crawlers even at the cost of his own life. Carl knows that he has more health than Donut, and he uses all of that to protect her in the hopes that she will survive and be able to join another party.

“Zev, ma’am, whatever the hell I’m supposed to call you so you don’t send a lightning bolt up my ass, I don’t want to get in trouble with you or Borant or the Syndicate or whoever else is running this bullshit. I am doing what you have asked. I am killing monsters, trying to level up, trying to survive. I will smile, and I will joke, and I will put a proper face on when I go on these shows. But, fuck. You have already taken everything from us. Do not ask us to give more than we have. We are not going to fight or survive on your schedule.”

The deep frustration in this quote shows that Carl has limits and will stand up to others whom he believes are overstepping their bounds. The following exchange also reveals that Zev is much more sympathetic than he originally believed; in many ways, she is as much a victim of the Borant Corporation as Carl and Donut are.

“They need the game to be entertaining and profitable, but they also need it to finish much more quickly than usual. The committee has already issued a warning, putting Borant on notice over the ‘bugs’ that keep occurring, like the issue with the bathrooms and the overpowered mobs. One too many violations, and Borant could lose everything. […] [T]he kua-tin government is working extra hard to get you killed.”

This quote reveals that the political climate outside the dungeon will impact Carl and Donut’s experience within the dungeon. While Borant cannot make obvious attempts to kill off the crawlers, they are working just within the rules to make the game as deadly as possible, their main goal being to end the game swiftly. This dynamic also adds another layer to The Ethical Implications of Sadistic Entertainment.

“I remembered what Rory the goblin shamanka had told us. It’d only been a few days ago, but it felt like a lifetime. If we climbed down the stairs, we die. You get halfway down, and your body just dissolves. I’ve seen it myself.”

This quote illustrates how Carl uses a glitch in the system for his own gain, thereby turning the tables on the Borant Corporation. His strategic plan also reveals how resourceful he is, and his sly approach to the game foreshadows additional successes in future installments of the series.

“The Maestro guy was the worst kind of a bully. A bully with an audience. I had to do something. For the moment I didn’t have a plan other than pissing him off as much as I could.”

This quote shows another element of The Ethical Implications of Sadistic Entertainment, which is that the game attracts the worst sort of creatures. One of those creatures is Maestro, who feeds off the suffering of others and tries to intensify it whenever possible. Carl cannot stand that type of person, and he endangers himself to stand up to Maestro.

“‘Shit,’ I said, scrambling toward the barn doors. As I ran, I had a brief moment to marvel at how much I’d changed in the past week. My original instinct would have been to hide. Instead, I ran toward the danger.”

This quote illustrates how Carl has changed, and his willingness to confront the dangers around him instead of hiding from them reflects The Human Capacity for Resilience. He is adapting to the world that he now lives in, and he has become the heroic figure he needs to be in order to survive and remain true to his ally.