Dungeon Crawler Carl

Carl does not receive a notification that the trap killed Frank and Maggie. He and Donut drive for hours but see no sign of mobs, people, or stairwells. Carl thinks about his father, who was a motorcycle aficionado and abandoned Carl 12 years ago. When they stop to use the restroom, raccoon-headed monsters called Scat Thugs attack them, and Donut and Carl defeat them.

After several more hours of travel, they find a spray-painted wall that indicates that there are people and stairs close by. On the map, they see a massive loop, and in the center is a stairwell. A sign warns that going deeper into the stairwell will lead to the borough boss. A massive pink, fleshy ball rushes past inside the inner loop and is described as “a nightmare Pac-man monster” (169).

Carl suggests that they find the people who made the signs. There are about 40 people gathered on a drawbridge, most of whom are Level 1 and elderly. Carl also notices several younger, more able-bodied crawlers. The party is called Meadow Lark. Brandon is the leader; he is at Level 6 and has a bronze star indicating that he has killed a neighborhood boss. Brandon is bewildered that Donut can talk but is polite to her. Carl realizes that the group has only four people in fighting condition. Brandon and Chris are both at Level 6. Yolanda Martinez is Level 5. Imani C. is a Level 10 and has 12 skulls next to her name, indicating that she has killed 12 other crawlers.

Brandon explains they are the night staff at an eldercare facility; everyone was outside because a fire alarm went off. When the collapse happened, many paramedics and firefighters ran. He and the other staff moved some of the elderly to the ramp to keep them warm, but after about half were moved, the ramp would no longer allow him to exit. He had no choice but to go down the ramp into the dungeon with the elderly people. Other workers went in search of stairwells or safe rooms but they were killed by the hazards of the dungeon.

A nearby safehouse, a Waffle House from Alabama, only holds 30. The more mobile residents barricaded themselves inside and have decided to hold a party until the level collapses. Brandon explains that Imani conducted a mercy killing of 12 elderly people in order to save them from being slaughtered by a monster that would have burned them alive.

Carl discreetly asks what the plan is for all the elderly, and although Brandon realizes that saving them all is hopeless, he refuses to leave them. He hopes to get them down to Level 3 so that they might be able to choose a class and possibly survive. Carl is conflicted. He reflects, “We had two choices. We could leave these guys and hope to find another set of stairs somewhere. Or we could find the borough boss here” (178). Carl is concerned that Frank and Maggie are the ones killing off the people who have disappeared from Meadow Lark, but he also wonders if the culprits might be another group of crawlers entirely.

Carl decides that if he dies, he wants it to be for a worthy cause. He devises a plan. He and Donut will spend the day achieving small victories in order to level up; he suggests that the fighters of Meadow Lark do the same. Then after the next episode and some sleep, he states that they will all join forces to kill the boss.

Carl sprays over the signs that the other group left to try to keep murderous crawlers from finding them. Carl is worried that the unknown murderous crawlers will kill the elderly in the group to gain experience. In the meantime, Carl and Donut fight lizard-like monsters called troglodytes. As they fight, Donut and Carl become much more synchronized. Carl encourages Donut to use her claws because her strength is 18, but she does not want to get filthy. After a few hours, they find the troglodyte boss room. The room is a repurposed fitness center, and Carl realizes he will not be able to bomb it from afar this time. Carl has a cigarette, and then they step inside.

A Level 2 troglodyte hisses from the counter, and Donut kills it with a missile. The door slides closed behind them, sealing them in with the boss and beginning a boss battle. There are six Level 3 Troglodyte Bashers, a trio of Virtuosos, and the boss. The boss is called “The Juicer” and is a Level 9 neighborhood boss. The boss throws a free weight, which bursts into flame as it rockets toward Carl’s head. Carl uses Confusing Fog to make it impossible for the opposing forces to see. He focuses on eliminating support creatures, while Donut shoots magic missiles at the boss.

The Juicer is proving difficult to kill. After killing the bashers, Carl focuses on the poisonous Virtuosos but is injured in the fight and has to take a health potion. He notes that he has a 15-second potion cool down, while Donut’s cool down is 2 minutes. The Juicer’s health is severely depleted when Carl beats him with a barbell. After he hits him twice, the boss grabs his wrist and then his neck. As Carl is being strangled, Donut comes flying in and pounces on the boss’s back. She bites down on his neck and scrabbles at his back. The boss slaps at Donut and barely hits her, but she goes flying into the far wall with a sickening sound.

Carl finishes the nearly dead boss with a punch and hurries over to Donut. She is covered in blood. He tries to use a Heal Critter spell, but it does not work. Carl cannot give her potions because she has to wait two minutes to take one again. Donut’s leg magically mends, and her health increases slightly. Despite this, Donut dramatically pretends to die.

Carl and Donut loot the entire room and then go to the nearest training guild. Mordecai is impressed they killed a Level 9 boss. Mordecai reviews the notes from the fight and suggests that Carl not use any unenchanted weapons except his bare knuckles. He also suggests that Donut casts any scrolls the pair might find since her intelligence is higher.

Carl asks for advice on the borough boss guarding the stairwell, but Mordecai cannot tell him anything about the creature until after he has killed it. He says that Carl cannot hope to beat a borough boss with only six crawlers. Mordecai coaches Carl on how to exploit the bosses’ weaknesses. Carl examines his new achievements and increased fighting skills. He has received enchanted Ninja throwing stars and an enchanted war gauntlet. Mordecai shares that while some bosses and mobs are here against their will, this will not always be the case on lower levels. He says, “There are no gods here. Just those who pay for the privilege” (202-03).

Carl watched the latest episode of the show. There are now only 2.5 million crawlers, down from 13 million four days ago. He and Donut are not featured on the show. Six hours and 30 minutes before the level collapse, Carl, Donut, and the Meadow Lark leaders (Brandon, Yolanda, and Chris) prepare to fight the borough boss. Agatha—an elderly woman with a shopping cart—unexpectedly joins them just as the doors shut and the boss battle music begins. This boss battle has lasers, neon lights, and music for a rave. The borough boss is a Level 15 ball of swine: a fleshy sphere made up of tusked pigs. The walls move, and the group finds a solid ground without walls nearby. Carl hurriedly takes Agatha’s shopping cart into his inventory, which upsets her.

They use the tables looted from the goblins to build a 10-by-10 portable, modular fortress. The ball of swine gets wedged between the ceiling and the fortress, and they attack it through various openings. Eventually, the ball of swine breaks into individual tusklings that must be killed to end the fight. The tusklings are “weaponless” and “untrained,” and the group “slaughters” them.

Donut and Carl both rise to Level 10. Imani gets to Level 11. Chris and Brandon jump to Level 8, and Yolanda goes to Level 6. The group loots the bodies and gets the borough map. Donut and Carl approach the stairwell, and the forcefield is gone. Yolanda, and Imani bring the elderly into the room, and Chris jogs away to tell the people in the safe room about the staircase.

Carl quietly asks Donut what she wants them to do, stick with the whole group or remain independent. Donut tells him she knows what he’s going to decide, even before he does. Carl and Donut will remain with the elderly, attempting to protect them on Level 2. While everyone is distracted, Agatha has already gone down the stairs to Level 2. Carl and Donut go downstairs, planning to find a safe room and then clear a path to get the group of elderly to the safe room. Meanwhile, Imani, Yolanda, Chris, and Brandon stay with the group to protect them. There is a door at the bottom of the stairs, and when they open it, they feel like they’re falling. They land in a plush room on a large boat. An associate producer of the show named Lexis is waiting. She wants Carl and Donut to be interviewed by a woman named Odette.