Chapter 43

Carl and Donut appear on the Maestro's talk show for a post-dungeon interview. The broadcast showcases their escape from the rage elemental, then ambushes them with guest appearances from Frank Q and Maggie, two player-killer crawlers who murdered other humans in the dungeon. The Maestro reveals videos of Frank and Maggie's crimes, including that they killed their own daughter Yvette—whom Carl accidentally killed with a booby-trapped rat corpse. The tense confrontation escalates with Maggie attacking Carl through an invisible barrier, before the Maestro gifts them parting presents: Carl receives useless boots, while Frank and Maggie receive a legendary skill potion to upgrade Frank's tracker ability to level 15.

Carl and Donut sit for an interview with the Maestro, an orc host from a broadcasting system. The Maestro establishes himself as War Leader of the Skull Clan and reveals that Donut's tiara makes her a member of the rival Blood Sultanate; they can only advance past the ninth floor if all Sultanate members are killed. The Maestro mocks Carl for supposedly being favored by the AI, then introduces two surprise guests: Frank Q and Maggie, player killers Carl and Donut previously encountered. Video footage reveals Frank and Maggie's full backstory: they claimed to be cops hunting a human trafficker, but are actually murderers who killed multiple crawlers, most of them homeless or elderly. Their teenage daughter Yvette was with them during their attacks. When Carl and Donut later encountered Frank in a saferoom, they set a booby-trapped rat corpse with live dynamite. The footage shows Yvette emerging from hiding under Maggie's stealth field, discovering her parents frozen, and then being severely injured—and later killed by Maggie—in the explosion Carl created. On stage, Carl confronts them, pointing out that Yvette would have recovered without Maggie's intervention. Maggie attacks Carl with a dagger but hits an invisible barrier separating the production areas. The interview deteriorates as the Maestro fails to control the hostile conversation. He concludes by giving Carl impractical tactical boots (useless since Carl benefits from being barefoot) and giving Frank and Maggie a legendary skill potion that upgrades Frank's Find Crawler ability to level 15, enabling them to locate any crawler by name. Carl and Donut leave, with Carl taunting the Maestro about facing him on the ninth floor.