I'm an NPC, So Why Do I Keep Running Into the Same People?

[Gaming + Dungeons + Lighthearted + Ensemble Cast + Beastfolk, Multiple Races and Factions]

Player perspective:

Player A: Heard? That circus dungeon got upgraded again. It’s now a “rank-setting” trial dungeon.

Player B: What? That circus dungeon with the insanely high death rate? Are they trying to make it impossible to clear? *sob*

NPC perspective:

From a shabby circus in a remote border town to a famous one in a major city, the perks haven’t improved, and there’s even more nonsense to deal with. We could’ve done without the promotion!

This is an ensemble-cast story about an infinite-game world, told from the perspective of dungeon NPCs. A group of circus NPCs diligently perform their roles, but keep running into the same players grinding the story and their favorability, leading to all sorts of out-of-character antics.