Cover of Dungeon Crawler Carl

Dungeon Crawler Carl

by Matt Dinniman


Genre
Fantasy, Science Fiction, Humor and Comedy, Thriller
Year
2020
Pages
481
Contents

Chapter 41

Overview

Carl and Donut enter an eroding Iowa farm zone and face deckmaster seven, the invisible Nightgaunt “Visitor,” whose rage at Carl’s cloak makes it ignore its own deck. Donut’s borrowed Jola card—an enormous Yule Cat whose candle reveals invisibility—brutally ends the fight and nets them a token and useful snare cards. They then push into a turkey barn where Mongo’s rampage triggers a trap: two separate card-wielding enemies activate at once, setting up a high-stakes double fight that can unlock the final confrontation.

Summary

Carl and Donut climb up onto a crumbling stretch of asphalt labeled Dallas County, Iowa, as the landscape continually breaks away into the ocean. Donut spots invisible “moth things” on a nearby farmhouse roof, and combat begins. Carl impulsively throws an explosive at the roof, killing minions but also collapsing the house and worsening the unstable ground as they run forward to avoid sliding into the void.

Donut uses the Jola card (given by Katia), plunging the area into a blizzard-like effect that outlines the invisible enemy: The Visitor, a level 70 Nightgaunt deckmaster, accompanied by Quench Moths. The dungeon’s narration explains the Nightgaunt’s “urban legend” origins, while the Visitor fixates on Carl due to Carl’s Nightgaunt cloak and repeatedly tries (and fails) to cast spells instead of playing its deck.

Jola manifests as a massive Yule Cat with a candle that reveals invisibility and demands clothing in a language Carl doesn’t understand. The Quench Moths dive into Jola’s candle, and Jola attacks the deckmaster directly, slamming and then killing the Visitor while the enraged Nightgaunt ignores its cards. Combat ends, the deck resets, and Jola vanishes after ominously addressing Carl.

They loot the Visitor’s dropped cards, noting an unfair number of totems and valuable consumable snare cards called Lamp that briefly paralyze and illuminate totems. They take the token and leave most totems behind, observing again that many opponents have been malfunctioning or failing to use their decks correctly. With the terrain still eroding, Donut releases Mongo and they hurry toward the next opponent inside a large farm building.

Inside, they find tens of thousands of living turkeys in oppressive heat, with some already dying—evidence the game is breaking its own “memory ghost” rules by bringing real animals into the scenario. Carl considers ways to clear the room before engaging the distant, spiked ogre-like figure, but Mongo charges into the flock and starts slaughtering turkeys. When Mongo bites a specific turkey and suddenly can’t connect, the turkey reveals itself as another card-wielding opponent and combat starts; the turkey launches into the rafters, Mongo drops unconscious, all turkeys go silent and face Carl and Donut, and the spiked ogre awakens with its own deck—forcing Carl and Donut into a simultaneous two-opponent fight that will grant enough tokens to reach the final boss if they survive.

Who Appears

  • Carl
    Fights deckmaster seven; cloak enrages the Visitor; leads into a dangerous double-opponent trap.
  • Princess Donut
    Spots invisible enemies, summons Jola, manages Mongo, and helps secure the seventh token.
  • Jola (the Yule Cat)
    Katia’s summoned totem; reveals invisibility with candle and kills the Visitor directly.
  • The Visitor (Nightgaunt deckmaster)
    Level 70 deckmaster seven; invisibility user; fixates on Carl’s cloak and dies to Jola.
  • Mongo
    Donut’s dinosaur; goes on a turkey-killing spree and is knocked unconscious when combat triggers.
  • Quench Moths
    Level 30 minions accompanying the Visitor; swarm the candle and are effectively neutralized.
  • Katia
    Off-screen ally; previously gave Donut the Jola card used to win this fight.
  • Turkey deckmaster (unnamed)
    Disguised among living turkeys; triggers combat, retreats to rafters, and disables Mongo.
  • Spiked ogre-like opponent (unnamed)
    Dormant threat inside the barn; awakens with a deck, creating a simultaneous two-enemy fight.
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