New Party Leader Unveiled For Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 9 (Sorry Donut!)

Published Oct 29, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT

Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond. 

Dungeon Crawler Carl fans on Patreon recently got a handful of new teaser chapters from Matt Dinniman for Book 9, and they are absolutely packed with exciting details.

While we don't have an exact release date yet for Book 9, which was announced under the working title The Beautiful Place, we do know that it's going to come out in two massive volumes, so there's a ton of story left to be told. Further, Patreon supporters will be getting an advanced look at the early chapters as Dinniman finalizes them, with the first two chapters released earlier this summer, and Chapters 3–5 as well as an Interlude released in October.

!!! WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL BOOK 9 !!!Longtime readers will know that Princess Donut, the Queen Anne Chonk, has long been the main party leader, but the newest teaser chapters released on October 14 introduce a brand-new leader thanks to the party expanding with a few new members. The latest chapters for Matt Dinniman's ninth book pick up with Carl and his companions entering the infamous 12th floor for the Celestial Ascendency Games.

With the surviving crawlers joining forces and several familiar characters undergoing dramatic transformations, the Royal Court of Princess Donut has experienced another unexpected shake-up. For those who need a refresher, party leadership in Dungeon Crawler Carl isn't determined by a vote or necessarily by whoever is the highest level. The dungeon automatically assigns leadership to the member with the highest combined base-stat total, with the leader gaining additional control over the party's membership, name, and individual titles.

Donut originally secured the position in Book 1 after consuming the Enhanced Pet Biscuit, which substantially increased her attributes. She subsequently named their party the Royal Court of Princess Donut, naturally appointing Carl as her Royal Bodyguard.

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Donut has lost her leadership position before in Book 7, This Inevitable Ruin, where Carl briefly overtook her thanks to his increased base stats, although Donut eventually reclaimed the position. She was back in charge by the beginning of Book 8, A Parade of Horribles.

Book 8 also introduced another major party shake-up when Carl temporarily left the Royal Court to separate his personal space from Donut's, protecting their shared resources in case he died. However, Carl gathered many of the remaining crawlers into one massive party, with the group also gaining some particularly unusual members, including Penny the pig and the newly transformed Sexy Scolopendra.

Now, the newest Book 9 chapters have officially revealed that Elle McGib has taken over as the new party leader, and her transformation is a major one. Following her completion of the Four Seasons Path, Elle has officially become The Mourning Comet, a goddess of Apocalyptic Rebirth. That's right: an actual goddess. Although she's still classified as a crawler, she's now a level 175 deity with the Frost Maiden race and Divine Judicator of Holy Fire class.

More importantly for the party, Elle's transformation has increased all five of her original base attributes to 199. She has also acquired a sixth stat, Fervency, which functions as a measure of her divine power and increases as she gains worshippers.

As Donut quickly discovers, Fervency counts toward the combined total that determines who gets party lead. The system apparently identifies Elle as the new Party Leader of the Royal Court of Princess Donut, much to Donut's frustration. She even complains that Elle's additional stat means she'll always have the advantage.

Of course, the change is relatively minor compared to what's awaiting the crawlers during the Ascendency Games. Elle's new godlike powers could prove invaluable, although keeping her Fervency from reaching zero will also be essential.

For readers eager to learn more, Dinniman has been steadily releasing early Book 9 material through his official Patreon. The October 14 update includes Chapters 3, 4, and 5 alongside a new interlude, following the first two chapters released in August and the prologue in June. Fans can access the available preview chapters by subscribing to his Patreon, with memberships starting at just $3 per month, and if you're eager for more Dungeon Crawler Carl Book 9 content, that's well worth it.

Dungeon Crawler Carl