Chapter 12

Carl visits the club with Donut and encounters Elle (now a Frost Maiden) and Imani (now an Obsidian Butterfly Fire Spiritualist). They discuss Brandon's death and Chris's mysterious disappearance. The chapter ends with Donut killing a human crawler in self-defense on the dance floor, marking her first player kill.

Carl discovers The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook in his inventory, a hidden guide that has been passed between crawlers for multiple editions. The book contains recipes for potions, explosives, and other secrets invisible to showrunners and viewers. A note warns him to hide his knowledge and act as if discovering information independently, or the book will erase. A scratchpad tab is added where his contributions will appear in the 25th edition. After watching the recap episode mourning Mordecai's death, Carl decides to move forward and crowdsource information from other crawlers. He receives news that sponsors will soon be available. Carl and Donut visit Club Vanquisher, hiring two bodyguard cretins named Bomo and The Sledge for 500 gold. They meet Elle, who has transformed into a small, sky-blue Frost Maiden with white hair and floating abilities. Elle reveals she chose this race partly because of the manager benefit Carl mentioned to Brandon. They reconnect warmly, and Elle shares that Brandon is dead. Imani arrives, now transformed into a gaunt Obsidian Butterfly Fire Spiritualist with large ethereal wings. She explains that Chris, who became an Igneous and adopted an aggressive personality, fought with Brandon over strategy and left with others. Chris killed Henry in an encounter with a succubus, triggering the Shade Gremlin incident. Brandon died protecting their escape. Imani warns that Chris is alive and searching for Carl. As Carl begins discussing the train station map with Elle and Imani, Donut—heavily intoxicated—kills a human crawler on the dance floor in what appears to be a self-defense activation of her cockroach skill. A skull marker appears next to Donut's name, indicating her first player kill.