Chapter 6

Carl is summoned to a private meeting with the Syndicate liaison Orren regarding the Gate of the Feral Gods, where he learns the artifact poses an existential threat to the sixth floor and is pressured to voluntarily surrender it. After securing legal representation, he proceeds through the class specialization process and chooses the Agent Provocateur upgrade despite Mordecai's advice, gaining access to an advanced bomb-making workshop.

Carl is transported to Orren's office in the Desperado Club, where he discovers that multiple entities—representatives from Borant, the Syndicate, and a media observer—are listening in on the meeting. The liaison reveals that the Gate of the Feral Gods caused system crashes upon creation and possesses the power to devastate an entire floor. Because system rules prevent forced confiscation of crawler inventory items, Orren offers Carl three dire options: imposing a protection spell that would disable all portal access (killing thousands), accelerating him to certain death, or voluntarily surrendering the gate with a promise to return it on the ninth floor. When Carl asks about a liaison helping Maggie cheat, Orren cryptically indicates the matter has been handled. Carl demands a lawyer before responding to the ultimatum. He then arrives at the Staging Area, where he finds most crawlers have already completed class selection. His companions—Donut (now a Legendary Diva bard), Katia (with a HAZMAT endorsement to her Monster Truck Driver class), and Mongo—relay their experiences. A final announcement introduces the sixth floor as "The Hunting Grounds," revealing 360 hunters (soon to be more) will be released in 30 hours to hunt crawlers for gear. The hunters have been given a level boost to 50 to compensate for the crawlers' accelerated progress. Ian, a Bush Elf NPC attendant who was formerly a crawler, warns Carl to avoid the city of Zockau in the north where "aliens" dwell, and specifically warns him about a mantis hunter named Vrah who collects the heads of her victims. In the cramped specialization booth, Carl faces a ten-minute timer to choose between three class specializations: Revolutionary (strength-focused), Guerrilla (dexterity and traps), or Agent Provocateur (intelligence and bomb-making). Despite Mordecai's recommendation for the melee-focused Revolutionary class, Carl selects Agent Provocateur to gain access to an advanced Bomb Maker's Workshop, becoming a level 47 Agent Provocateur.