After defeating the Juicer, Carl methodically loots the gym boss room. Carl takes weights, benches, mats, medicine balls, broken equipment, tools, a door, office supplies, files, and even a hidden bottle of liquor, explaining to Donut that anything movable may become useful later because the inventory system sorts and stores it efficiently.

Carl and Donut visit a nearby training guild after both reaching level nine. Mordecai praises their defeat of a higher-level boss, then analyzes the fight. Mordecai explains that Carl's bare-knuckle attacks are now as effective as most unenchanted weapons, that Carl wasted the Confusing Fog scrolls because Carl's intelligence is low, and that Donut's powerful melee attacks are dangerous because Donut lacks the health and constitution to survive close combat reliably.

Donut opens loot boxes and gains useful rewards, including a dexterity bracelet and Heal scrolls. Donut insists she will remain a cat when race choices become available and wants Carl to become a cat too, but Carl says he intends to stay human. Donut also learns the spell Puddle Jumper, which lets Donut teleport herself and others within line of sight after a delay, making it valuable for crossing obstacles even if it is not ideal in combat.

Carl asks Mordecai about the guarded stairs and the borough boss blocking their likely path down. Mordecai advises skipping the boss and finding another staircase, but Carl worries they may not locate one in time. Because Mordecai cannot reveal boss information in advance, Mordecai instead teaches Carl to look for vulnerabilities, using the llama, the Juicer, and the Hoarder as examples of enemies whose weaknesses were hinted during battle.

Carl reviews his own rewards: combat skills increase, the group gains more Heal scrolls, and Carl receives enchanted shuriken that increase damage against a monster type with repeated hits. Carl also drinks another Determine Value tonic. His best reward is the Enchanted War Gauntlet of the Exalted Grull, a wrist bracer that transforms into a spiked gauntlet, boosts Carl's strength and punching skills, and preserves his bare-knuckle bonuses. Mordecai warns Carl about Grull-worshipping equine creatures and cryptically emphasizes that there are no real gods in the dungeon, only paying participants.