Carl's Doomsday Scenario

Donut is a long-haired Persian show cat, formerly owned by Carl’s ex-girlfriend Beatrice, and now a fully sentient crawler and Carl’s partner. She is a primary character, second in importance only to Carl himself. For race, she chooses to keep her identity as a cat, which is both strategic and personal, as she genuinely believes in her superiority. Her choice of class, Former Child Actor, is also a strategic choice influenced by Odette’s advice to make Mordecai her manager, though she fears that Mordecai will be angry with her if he ever finds out they planned it.

Like Carl, she experiences significant character growth. While she keeps her child-like naivety, both about Beatrice and the world in general, she demonstrates new maturity and cleverness in this book. This is made evident in both small ways, such as Carl noting that she now sometimes refrains from speaking in all capitals in the chat, and in large ways, such as choosing to save others from the soul crystal explosion at the end of the novel, even at enormous risk to her own life. This makes it clear that she has adopted Carl’s moral code and drive to help others wherever possible.

Donut is not only intelligent in terms of the game’s point system but also demonstrates a knack for clever strategy and planning, both during fights and in interviews, which impresses Carl. However, she hides her “true cunning nature” (145) from the world, having absorbed the belief from Beatrice “that outward cleverness and quiet efficiency were things she needed to hide or, worse, suppress” (145). The knowledge that they are constantly performing for an audience influences almost everything Donut says and does. Her awareness of their entertainment value is important to counterbalance Carl’s disregard, even disdain, for this fact. The true depth of Donut’s increased maturity and character growth becomes apparent in the final chapters when, believing they are about to die, she admits to Carl that she knows Beatrice is dead.

In the first book, Mordecai is a game guide who gives Carl and Donut tutorials and advice as they progress through the early floors of the dungeon. Though he is originally from the skyfowl race, he became a changeling during his time as a crawler. As a game guide, he is limited by strict rules about what he is, and is not, allowed to say or reveal to the crawlers. In the second book, he becomes Donut’s official Manager.

Mordecai is angry about this but will not explain why. The narrative hints that it may have something to do with his time as a crawler and his experiences with Odette. As a crawler’s manager, Mordecai is now able to leave the guildhall and visit other places on each floor. He is, however, not free to move around as he pleases. Every time Donut and Carl enter a safe room, he transports there to join them. He is also now free from many of the rules that limit the guild guides. Though he no longer has access to the game system feed, he can use his own experience and knowledge, which is extensive, to explain anything Carl and Donut may need to know. Mordecai drinks often. He is also a well-known member of the Desperado Club from his time as a crawler. Mordecai is often exasperated, even annoyed, by Carl and Donut, but seems to have genuine affection for them, despite himself.

Zev, a species called kua-tin and an employee of the Borant Corporation, works as Carl and Donut’s PR manager, facilitating their media presence and interviews on shows such as Odette’s or Danger Zone with Ripper Wonton. Though she is rarely physically present, she is a crucial secondary character in the novel, who often contributes to Carl and Donut’s survival. Like Mordecai, she is limited by strict rules from Borant on what she is and is not allowed to say or do to help Carl and Donut. Her primary goal is to fulfill her job; however, she displays compassion for Carl and Donut’s difficult situation and does her best to support them. Her assistance is vital to Carl’s plan during the circus quest. She agrees to contact and negotiate with the producers of Signet’s drama, Vengeance of the Daughter, allowing Carl not only to survive, but gain the support of the producers, at least until they reach the sixth floor. To do so, she takes risks that could lead to censure, as she briefly faced in the first book. Her willingness to do so demonstrates loyalty to Carl and Donut and complicates Carl’s image of the callous, evil Borant.

As in the first book, Odette is an important secondary character. She is a former crawler who was once Mordecai’s guide. She now hosts an interview show about the dungeons. She is the first viewer to see Carl and Donut’s potential and buys rights to their end-of-floor interviews early and cheaply, a great deal that has now reaped significant benefits as they grow in popularity. Odette routinely offers Carl and Donut advice on how to survive in the dungeon, off-the-record after their interviews. She is intelligent, strategic, and pragmatic. She continues to insist that she only helps Carl because it is profitable for her, however she appears to have a soft spot for Carl and Donut. Her advice has been crucial to their survival, as when she recommends that they make Mordecai their manager. Additionally, Odette clearly cares about and fixates on Mordecai, even admitting that she watches him on the feeds incessantly. It is still unclear what kind of relationship they had or what happened to sour it.

Signet is an elite NPC in dungeons and a main character in her own drama, Vengeance of the Daughter, which plays out inside the dungeons but is separate from the crawlers themselves. In the context of the drama, she is half-naiad and half-high elf, and her father is “High Elf King Finian, leader of the Liana Sector of the Hunting Grounds” (69). As a mixed-race, bastard child, Signet is shunned by the High Elves, who tried to kill her before Grimaldi and his circus saved her. She is in love with Grimaldi and loyal to the circus that became her home, which motivates her to fight them when the poison cloud turns them into monsters. She uses a special skill called Ink Marauder, bringing the monsters tattooed on her body to life as powerful warriors. Signet is powerful, seductive, manipulative, and distinctly amoral, being unconcerned with the people she must use and hurt to get what she wants. She is the first major NPC of the game. Carl’s deal with the producers of the Vengeance of the Daughter program foreshadows Signet’s return on the sixth floor and the likelihood of conflict later.

Hekla is a secondary character who first appeared in the recap episodes in the first book. She is an Icelandic woman who leads a group of women warriors in the dungeons called Brynhild’s Daughters. In the second book, she chooses the Amazonian race. Her class is Shieldmaiden, in keeping with her established image and fighting style. She is powerful, pragmatic, and an effective leader. Hekla primarily appears only in the recap episodes. However, Carl and Donut have a single interaction with her during the interview on the show, Danger Zone with Ripper Wonton.

Hekla is disdainful of Carl’s penchant for causing chaos and blowing things up but respects his and Donut’s strength and skill in the game. She therefore asks them to look after one of her separated teammates, Katia, until they can reunite. In this way, though Hekla is a minor character, she influences the direction of the plot. Additionally, Odette warns Carl in the Epilogue that Hekla wishes to poach Donut away from Carl. She has seen the benefit of having a manager and wants that for herself. Odette implies that Hekla will be willing to kill Carl to get Donut in her party, foreshadowing a conflict between Carl and Hekla later in the series.