Chapter 13

Carl opens prize boxes from defeated enemies and receives 595,000 gold, various severed claws and hands, and a spiderweb tattoo granting access to the Guild of Suffering cult. The group learns about the Butcher's Masquerade party at floor's end, where hunting trophies can be exchanged for prizes, and watches the broadcast revealing new class specializations, guild system implementation, and that 1,002 hunters will soon be unleashed on the crawlers.

Carl takes a rare moment to rest, noticing a strange bubbling sensation in his mind that intensifies during stress. He opens his prize boxes: a Gold Junkie's box yields an unpleasant spiderweb tattoo on his elbow. His 34 Hunter-Killer boxes contain severed claws and hands from defeated enemies (Xindy the mantis, Chin'dua the draconian, and others), totaling 595,000 gold, plus a note explaining these trophies can be exchanged for prizes at a "Butcher's Masquerade" party at floor's end. A Platinum Asshole's Box grants a potion that upgrades his Fear spell to level 10. Mordecai explains the Night Wyrm's Guild of Suffering is a non-pantheon cult with memorial crystals. Donut opens her own box to receive one hunting trophy hand worth 1,000 gold.

The broadcast recap shows the end of the previous floor's events, including Dmitri and Maxim Popov as Nodlings, Katia opening the portal to floor nine, and specialization reveals for top crawlers: Elle McGib became Tundra Princess, Quan Ch became Sergeant-at-Arms. Carl remains first on the ranking list. New announcements include discontinuation of subscription-based private message listening, implementation of a guild system (requiring 500,000 gold guild charters from Bopca vendors), and party size limits of 30 crawlers. Most significantly, the Butcher's Masquerade party will occur at floor's end with top 50 crawlers invited plus one guest each, featuring music, dancing, costume contest, pet beauty contest, talent show, and exchangeable prizes.

Donut becomes enthusiastically obsessed with preparing Mongo for the pet beauty contest, insisting on training, hiring staff, and acquiring grooming upgrades. Carl deflects her plans, noting the party is two weeks away and the group must focus on survival. He returns to his bomber's studio, aware that the mysterious rushing sensation in his mind is growing louder and beginning to hurt.