That was how they met. Jeff continued to pass night after night playing Sword Dynasty and pressing Igor's Enchantment level ever higher. Although he never got around to actually speaking to Alilshy, he always smiled when he got notice from the server:

SYSTEM: Your buddy, Alilshy, has logged in on server 5

Jeff's calculated approach to the game and his relentless mouse clicking resulted in something of an emerging fame. As months rolled by, Igor became well renowned for his Enchantment level, hitting the top twenty of all players just as Jeff marked eight months in Memphis.

He didn't take much credit for it though.

Igor: The difference is I only do this one thing 90% of the time

Igor: It could be anyone

Hack-master: But it is U, m8. You're the one

Igor: It's not skill. Just how many times you click the mouse

Hack-master: Yea, well, so what? We all play by the same rules, but

Hack-master: you're the guy with level 95 Enchantment

Though he told himself it was just something to pass the time, when he reached number six on the Enchantment high score list and realized that he could, with about three hours of clicking, pass Hex Queen into the number five spot, he did get pretty excited.

All day at work, he was tempted to blow off memos and other things related to his job, log in to Sword Dynasty, and work on Igor's skill. He didn't, but he was tempted. Jeff resisted the enticement all day, but as soon as the clock flipped to 5:00, he headed for the door.

He exited the building, for the first time that day stepping outdoors. It was a rare Memphis day, the weather just right to truly enjoy a top-down ride in a Jeep. Since that was exactly what car Jeff drove — a soft-top Wrangler — he smiled at his good fortune and started unbuttoning the top.

He truly enjoyed the ride, but reaching his apartment and realizing that he had to take extra time putting the top back on — precious time away from his pursuit of Hex Queen — Jeff rolled his eyes impatiently.

I guess it was worth it . . . what's five more minutes?

He was almost done when he was distracted by the approach of another car with the top down — a Sebring coming into his parking area.

The driver was a woman, late twenties, early thirties maybe, with flowing brunette hair, stylish sunglasses, and nice features. She swung the car around the Jeep into the empty space beside it where Jeff stood, almost hitting him.

Slamming on the breaks at the last second, she stopped and waved a gesture of apology. Jeff returned one to say, "no problem."

Awkwardly, she gathered her purse and headed for her apartment. Only then did Jeff recognize her as his across-the-breezeway neighbor.

Not even a hello or a friendly glance, Jeff mused. She must be shy.

Shy. That reminded him of Alilshy in Sword Dynasty and THAT reminded him that Hex Queen was probably about to log off, eight hours ahead of him in time zones. With all possible haste, the buttoned up the last of the Jeep top, then rushed into his apartment.

Wonder if getting to number five in Enchantment would be something I could use to strike up a conversation with Alilshy? Then, again, how could I do it without coming off like I am bragging? Ah . . . . Forget it.

He passed Hex Queen that night, smiling as always when the System alerted him of Alilshy's logging in and out, but saying nothing. Not that he ever had.

Something, however, that night bothered him. Maybe it was seeing the shy girl in the convertible that had been the catalyst. Maybe it was finally passing Hex Queen and feeling that he actually had earned some standing in the game. Whatever it was, he went to bed that night bothered by his paralysis regarding Alilshy.

Why can't I speak to her? he asked himself.

Because you don't know her, he replied. She'd think you were a psycho stalker if she knew you had kept her on your buddy list all these months and never once said a word. She surely won't remember meeting you.

So what? It is just a game.

Yes, it is just a game, he said back, but there are real people who play it. You can't just be helter-skelter about it.

After a fair bit more internal debate, he resolved to just type the words, "Hi Alilshy. Do you remember me?" the next time she logged in, and just see what happened. He turned over and pounded his pillow into a more comfortable shape and drifted off to sleep.

The next night after work, he set up his laptop in front of the TV on the sofa as always, praised the inventor of wireless networking, and made himself ready to watch the Braves and the Cards play, his two favorite teams. He took a quick look at the high scores and saw that Hex Queen had passed him, but that did not matter.

Time zone effect. I'll outdistance her again tonight.

He took a deep breath and prepared to say hello to the character in the game whose name alone had brought a smile so often to his face. He logged in, scanned his friend list and was halfway relieved to see she was not online. His friend Hack- master was, though.

Hack-master: Hi m8. Have U heard?

Igor: I just logged in

Hack-master: O. Hex Queen has posted a message to U on the b.b.

Igor: On the boards? What did she say?

Hack-master: Congrats, but watch out

Hack-master: Challenging U to a race for number 1 rank

Igor: NK?

Hack-master: Do I kid about this kind o stuff?

Igor: BRB

Jeff logged out of the game and into the message boards. Hex Queen was very gracious and extremely light-hearted, but there was, indeed a challenge to Igor — all in good fun — to see which would be the first to knock Blue Devil out of the number one rank.

Blue Devil had already posted a reply saying good luck and best wishes. He was done with Enchantment until he could get his Combat skill up to level 98 too. He also said that Hex and Igor had better watch out for Dream Blizzard who was currently level 97 and ranked third.