Having Janine along saved them time looking for chests, at least.

  As there were apparently none on this level, they moved on.

  From what James could tell, Nathan had been content to watch and chat with Janine.

  “Okay, I said I’d give you guidance for this floor. So here it is. Don’t die.”

  She laughed at her own joke.

  Nathan laughed along with her, the

  “Fine, fine. A hint then. Kill the Queen.”

  “Given the insect and tree motif, I’m guessing some sort of hive battle. Maybe ants, or bees.”

  “Okay Commander, what’s the plan then?” Edward prompted.

  Nathan appeared slightly annoyed by that question. His best guess was that Nathan wanted Edward to make the battle plan.

  “I think that if Janine is still willing to leave this to us, then logically, we should be able to complete it without using our trump cards.”

  “What’s a trump card?” Edward asked.

  James sighed. So far they’d understood all his idioms. It was perhaps too much to assume that would continue.

  “Back home we call cards that are more powerful but can’t be used again for a while, ‘Trump cards’.”

  They nodded.

  “So, I’m guessing this time we will go for ranged combat. Edward, you hold the front line, along with Vern and Charlie. Ken, shoot lightbolts at the queen, while I do the same with my crossbow. If we can’t do enough damage at range then we all help fight in melee until it’s only the queen left.”

  “Okay, let’s go,” Edward said, stepping down from the last step.

  The air vibrated with the sound of either bees or wasps.

  James stepped off as well and took in the expanse ahead. It was much larger than any of the previous floors. The stone walls just ended all of a sudden, beyond which was an open meadow. The sun shone in the sky. A giant tree stood in the middle. Hanging from the tree was a massive hive with a swarm of fist sized bees flying around it.

  They did not immediately react to their presence.

  “I’m guessing that as soon as we step off the stone onto the grass this level will truly start.” James said.

  Janine nodded.

  She and Nathan were prepared for a fight this time. Apparently they could screw this up and need their help.

  “Fire would seem like the best bet here again. Ken, can you use that Utility card fire spell again? Torch’s snap was it?”

  “No, it has a four hour cooldown.”

  “I could summon a beetle and give it Thornhide and Might. They could then shoot from range… it won’t be as strong as on the wall though.”

  James decided to stop overthinking things. They already had the clue. They needed to kill the Queen, and the Queen would be in the nest.

  “Okay, I’m going to get Squire to climb that tree and detach the nest from its branch. That will cause the whole nest to fall down. Ideally the Queen will get killed by the fall. If not though, she’s sure to come out and defend the brood. Additionally, I they might be vulnerable to sonic attacks. As soon as you see the queen, pepper her with lightbolts and I’ll use my crossbow.”

  Edward’s duffle bag came out again and he withdrew a flail. The duffle bag and warhammer disappeared again but James saw the logic. It would be handy.

  James pulled his crossbow out of his inventory along with a quiver full of bolts. He attached the quiver to his belt.

  “Ready?”

  Edward gave the flail a few practice swings then said “Yes”.

  Ken’s staff had two lightbolts swirling around it as he said “Yes”.

  Play Card: Quick Might Target: Effect: +5 Might for 1 minute.

  Squire took off like a bullet, streaking across the ground.

  The swarm of bees grew as more exited the hive. Those outside flew towards Squire but despite their speed, couldn’t keep up with tripled swiftness.

  Edward charged forward, Ken and James a few steps behind. Nathan and Janine moved to the edge of the stone, not quite on the grass yet, ready. Charlie and Vern , not having any specific orders, ran besides James.

  By the time he was three steps in, Squire was already scrambling up the tree.

  The swarm were now reacting to our presence as well, with a large portion splitting off to attack us.

  Three more steps, and Squire was taking huge chunks out of the connecting tissue that held the hive up. She was also moving fast to avoid the nearest bees.

  Ken loosed two lightbolts into the swarm. Two giant bees dropped to the ground. It was a drop in the ocean. They were only ten meters away now.

  He could no longer see Squire beyond the swarm.

  Suddenly there was a cracking sound, then a bigger thumping noise as the hive crashed into the ground.

  Either the bees were independent, or the Queen was still alive because they kept coming.

  Ken took another two out with lightbolts.

  Edward put his flail to good use, taking out bees in an arc in front of him.

  Charlie and Vern leapt into the air, biting down on two then swiping with their claws.

  James used the gap they made in the cloud, sighting down the queen, just as she rose from the hive. He pulled the trigger. In an impossible shot, the bolt flew across the gap, missing all the bees in between him and the queen. Unfortunately it also missed the queen. He was not Legolas, apparently.

  Ken also managed to get a lightbolt through the gap and that struck true. It was not enough to kill her though.

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  James dropped the crossbow, pulling out his mace and bone shield. He was only just in time as a stinger hit the shield instead of his head.

  A yelp nearby told him Charlie had not been so lucky.

  Edward cleared another group in a swipe but was being stung by one he missed.

  Ken was suddenly five meters to the side. Two more lightbolts flew away but James couldn’t see the results.

  Charlie let out a growl that seemed to push the bees back for a moment.

  Vern swung about, clawing more bees from the sky.

  James felt the sting of piercing stingers in his back. He swung around using his shield and mace as bee swatters.

  Still, he was steadily taking damage.

  He was just about to start summoning when the bees scattered and flew off.

  He looked over to the last place he’d see the queen, and there was Squire, claws covered in pale yellow fluid, standing over the defeated queen like a little hero.

  Card Commander Level 6 – Upgrade Available.

  “LEVEL UP!” James shouted.

  Everyone cheered.

  James pulled out an Ale and drained it.

  When everyone looked at him in surprise he just shrugged. “What?”

  They laughed.

  Janine and Nathan joined them as they walked over to the fallen hive.

  Ken triggered the loot for the queen.

  [Party chat:– Gold ×300

  – Regalia piece (Common)

  There it was, another Regalia piece. He was surprised that there was no bee related rewards.

  He looked at the fallen hive where thick honey oozed out.

  Putting his hand on the hive he managed to put the whole thing, minus a little honey, into his inventory as a single slot.

  Ken motioned around. There were smaller bee corpses on the ground. “All yours.”

  Squire zipped around, triggering the loot condition on a full twenty fallen bees.

  System Notice – Essence Stabilized

  Additional information unlocked:

  Giant Worker Bee:

  

• Category:
• Rarity:
• Aspects:
• Slots Required:
• Abilities:
• Traits: None
• Crafter:
• Size:
• Weight:
• Level Requirement:

  He now had twenty Giant Worker Bees and was sure he could find a purpose for them. Having unlimited “Basic” summons felt like a bit of a cheat.

  They expected level five to be something special, so he was given instructions to level up “quickly”.

  Meanwhile, Janine led the group minus his bonds to a secret spot where there was another small chest.

  James commanded the bonds to protect him and dropped into Commander’s Space.

  James accepted the level up without the fluff this time around.

  He motioned and the cards flew into their respective sections, pinning the golden level up card to the air beside him.

  Trigger

  Slot Options – Choose One

  On Attack

  On Summon

  On Unconsciousness

  On Low Health

  On Damage Taken

  James made snap decisions based on his gut. He took the ‘On Attack’

  Next,

  Utility

  Slot Options – Choose One

  Summoning Awareness

  Jail Wing

  Bond School

  Identify (Basic)Allows you to identify anything of Basic or Common level. Provides a chance to identify anything of Uncommon level. Cooldown: 8 hours.

  James didn’t hesitate and selected Identify (Basic)

  Enhancement

  Slot Options – Choose One

  Focused Enhancements Pack (Basic)

  Size Enhancements Pack (Basic)

  Drake Enhancements Pack (Basic)

  Undead Enhancements Pack (Basic)

  James was again hit by the possibilities that Aspects provided.

  He chose Drake Enhancements Pack (Basic),

  Bond

  Slot Options – Choose One

  

• Shared Instinct
• Guardian Pulse
• Bonded Echo(Upgrade Available – May target 2) Passive empathy link. Gain a faint emotional ping from a bonded creature. Eg. fear, pain, excitement
• Traveling Buff
• Bond Resistance (Basic)
• Bond Transfer
• Bond Instinct: Recall
• Bond Aspect Recognition

  He chose Bond Aspect Recognition

  Next,

  Crafting

  Slot Options – Choose One

  Card Combining (Basic)

  The resulting card inherits minor stat or trait fusion. Low chance of upgrading rarity (Uncommon).

  Combining consumes both input cards. Requires Crafting Station.

  Gear Crafting Bench

  Unlocks recipes for light gear and tools. Can be upgraded at higher crafting tiers.

  Auto-Extractor (Basic)

  Salvage includes pelts, bone, venom sacs, claws, or tokens. Carding will no longer be prompted when slots are full.

  Essence Converter (Basic)

  Outputs vary by Essence type and rarity. Requires access to Crafting Station.

  Quick Crafter (Basic)

  Does not affect cooldowns or external crafting locations.

  James picked Gear Crafting Bench Crafting

  He also chose Card Combining (Basic) (Jack of All Protocols)

  He looked over the choices. He was a little concerned that there was only one new unlock this time but what could he do?

  Note to self:Check with Janine, Anne, or Bob if there’s a way to actively affect the options.

  He was happy with the choices so locked them in.

  Level Up – Card Commander (Level 6)

  Stats Increased:

  ? Agility: +1

  ? Endurance: +1

  ? Mind: +1

  ? Perception: +1

  ? Will: +1

  ? Presence: +1

  Deck & Commander Limits Updated:

  ? Maximum Death-Marked Deck Slots: 3 × Commander Level → 18 total

  ? Maximum Bond Slots: Commander Level → 6 total

  ? Maximum Active Cards: Commander Level → 6 total

  Slots Assigned:

  ? Utility: Identify (Basic)

  ? Enhancement: Drake Enhancements Pack (Basic)

  ? Bond: Bond Aspect Recognition

  ? Craft: Gear Crafting Bench

  ? Jack of All Protocols: Card Combining (Basic)

  System Notice – Commander’s Space Updated

  ? Drake Enhancements Pack (Basic) added to card deck.

  ? Aspects unlocked from bond Squire - Beast (Common), Rodent (Common).

  ? Aspects unlocked from bond Charlie - Beast (Common), Canine (Common).

  ? Gear Crafting Bench now available in Crafting Hall.

  ? Card Combining (Basic) now available at Crafting Station and Gear Crafting Bench.

  James blinked as the golden card dissolved into motes and scattered across his vision.

  Energy ran through him, heightening sensors, strengthening bones, pumping muscles.

  He’d been quick but knew he didn’t have time to go check out the gear crafting bench yet.

  He opened the Drake Enhancements Pack (Basic).

  System Notice - Rare Card option received.

  Cost: Pay up to 5 Resource Card – Drake Essence (Rare)

  Effect: Receive 1 of up to 5 Rare Cards. Chance of consolidation to (Epic) rarity.

  Trait Activated – Wait—NO!

  Effect: Resource Card – Drake Essence (Rare) x 5 consumed.

  All options consolidated.

  Choose One:

  

• Dragon’s Hoard (Rare)
• Enhancement: Rarity Boost (Rare)
• Summon Drake (Rare)

  As tempting as Dragon Hoard and Summon Drake were, James didn’t hesitate for more than a moment before picking Enhancement: Rarity Boost (Rare).