James turned his attention to the second part of the notification. Card Commander Level 2 – Upgrade Available.

  Trait Activated – Wait—NO!

  Effect: Upgrade initiated.

  His knees gave out before he could finish. Moss rose up to meet him, one lonely ant trekking across it the last thing he saw before the world went white.

  For a split second, James was in both locations at once; then the forest was completely gone.

  He hadn’t passed out exactly. This felt more like his consciousness had been teleported.

  The second thing he noticed, beyond his body existing, was the faint, persistent white noise.

  Next was a voice coming from behind him.

  Bob:

  James turned.

  Bob, for it could be no other, leaned against a stack of cards, each the size of a paving stone. Their backs shimmered with oily, rainbow light.

  The dwarf was massive in every direction but height. Barrel chest. Shoulders like a doorframe. Arms corded thick with strength. A mane of dark hair bled into a beard just as unruly, shaggy enough that James wondered if a bird could have nested in there. Dark eyes glinted with amusement, sharp in a face otherwise buried in hair.

  Bob:

  System Notice – New Feature Unlocked: Accessible mentally at will.

  James looked around at the endless white. His ribs still hurt, so he couldn’t be that disconnected, surely.

  “So you're saying this is a… break room, where I can interact with the system, deck, and you, while outside I could be dying?”

  Bob:

  “So what’s with the white noise?”

  Bob:

  Bob gave him a curious look, then continued.

  Bob:

  Bob:

  That was the biggest explanation Bob had given so far.

  It was curious, but if Bob was to be believed, he couldn’t waste time on curiosities right now.

  Bob seemed to pick up his cues, as he snapped his fingers. Three massive upright cards shimmered into existence, blank except for bold headings:

  

• Commander Subclasses
• Utility Upgrades
• Triggers

  Bob:

  “You’re not going to tell me which one’s best?”

  Bob:

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  James pointed to Commander Subclasses

  Commander Subclasses

  Choose One:

  

  A sixth, larger card appeared beside Bob: ornate, gold-trimmed, completely blank apart from the title .

  Bob:

  James scanned the list, assessing out loud. “Body Builder screams min-maxing front line fighter.”

  “I’ve had plenty of decks that use Card Synergy but you usually do this by building around a key card or set”

  “Deck builder highlights that this is different from back home. Unplayed cards generally did nothing to support your actively played ones. I think that this too would require some key cards to work.”

  “Field Architect could be really cool. It’s the type of class that would work best when paired with another commander that was also using a synergy deck.

  He hesitated. This one was his best chance of elemental magic.”

  James frowned, still eyeing the list. “Boosted stats are straightforward. If it’s anything like enchantments or even instants then this should work nicely.

  He thought of the baby squirrel and realised it wasn’t here. This would most likely work the best for a broad spectrum of potential opportunities and challenges.”

  Bob’s barely-there nod was all the answer he needed.

  James was positive Bob was not supposed to have done that. He did his best to also keep that fact from his thoughts.

  “Yeah, okay,” James said, tapping Focused Enhancement.

  Focused Enhancement (Basic)

  Slot Options – Choose One:

  The card dissipated in sparks of gold light, while its writing, still Arial Bold Font, re-appeared on the Gold bordered level 2 card.

  Bob:

  Utility Upgrades

  

  James skimmed them but kept coming back to . This felt special in a way the other two felt functional. Perhaps he could safely question Garron in one. It would be handy to have somewhere the squirrel kit go to stay safe. More importantly, it gave him a way to heal his summons without risking them in the field.

  “Alright,” he said, tapping mini-worlds.

  Card Mini-Worlds

  Bob:

  James ignored him as the words once again transposed themselves.

  Bob gestured again, and the final cards flew over.

  Trigger

  Slot Options – Choose One:

  Trigger Slot Unlock:

  

• On Attack
• On Summon
• On Unconsciousness
• On Proximity
• On Full Health
• On Low Health
• On Damage Taken
• On Command

  “Hey Bob, why don’t these have short descriptions like the others?”

  Bob:

  “On Full Health…” James considered. “Could use it to auto-activate buffs before the fight even starts. But then again is that not the same as On Summon?

  Bob:

  James interrupted. “Oh I think I get it. On Full Health is kinda also while at full health. Whereas ‘On Summon’ only triggers at the moment of summoning.”

  James tapped ‘On Full Health’.

  On Full Health

  The trigger burned into place. Then he hesitated. “Actually… swap to ‘On Proximity’. There’s definitely some tripwire potential there.”

  Bob made the change without comment.

  On Proximity

  The ornate Level 2 Upgrade Card now gleamed with all three choices. Bob handed it over.

  James hesitated a moment before taking it.

  The card dissolved into light, soaking into James’ skin like warm water.

  System Notice – Level 2 Upgrade Complete.

  options now available:

  

• Balanced Boost:
• Focused Boost:
• Augment:
• Imprint:
• Cleanse:

  Additional Commander Unlocks:

  

• Inventory Slots:
• Maximum Death-Marked Deck Slots:
• Maximum Bond Slots:
• Maximum Active Cards:

  Focused Enhancement initializing.

  With that prompt, James was thrown out of Commander's Space. The white noise was gone. Forest sounds rushed back in.

  And with them, a creeping itch.

  James blinked down. Ants. Dozens. No. Hundreds.

  They were already in his sleeves, up his neck, biting.

  “Oh, come on!”

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