Everyone knew that the players at rank two and four had quit playing Sword Dynasty pretty much completely so it was a three-way race. Dream Blizzard did not bother to tender a reply, but no one expected him (or her — no one knew for sure, though the character was male) to comment anyway.

The last post in the thread was from Hex Queen. It was short: "Igor, add me in game."

Jeff logged back in to the game and added Hex Queen. Sure enough, she was still on line. Jeff was surprised by a lot that night, but more than anything, by Hex Queen's savvy at Sword Dynasty.

Through many chat interactions, she finally convinced Jeff that Igor and Hex Queen could compete and work together at the same time. She convinced him to agree to pay no more and no less than certain prices for raw materials they both needed to develop their Enchantment skills. She also convinced him to sell his skill — highly desired by the fighter types to make their weapons and armor magical — for certain prices.

She was delightful, witty, but more than anything, she demonstrated great insight into the game's economics.

Hex Queen: When we get to lvl 99, we will be the highest 2

Hex Queen: Enchanters in the game

Hex Queen: Then, we can set our prices and be on easy street

Igor: Supply and demand

Hex Queen: Yep. You're American. It should be easy for you

After that night, they talked often, but briefly. The time zone difference was a big barrier in them developing much of a friendship, but sincere and mutual respect grew between them.

The race, however, distracted Jeff totally from his notion to start up a conversation with Alilshy. Still, as the nights rolled by, he smiled every time he saw the system message.

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

By the time the DynaServe co-ed four-on-four league started back up, Jeff had pushed Igor not only to the number one rank as an Enchanter but he had managed to become the first ever to reach level 100, the max level possible.

Being number one ranked had resulted in fame enough, but being the first ever to attain level 100 resulted in acclaim that exceeded anything Jeff had imagined. Hex Queen's reaching 100 a week or so later was hardly noticed, but she did not mind.

Hex Queen: Coming in 2nd is like dancing with your brother.

Jeff had to laugh at that. The race had been fun and Hex Queen had proven a good sport. But for that one skill, her character was far superior to Igor in every way, so in truth, the victory, in Jeff's mind, only served to show that he could do one thing for a long time. He admired Hex Queen for her great spirit and fun attitude, and wished they could be better friends, ruing the eight-hour time difference.

Hack-master: Hi m8. What U going to do now that you're #1?

Igor: I think I'll do some of the quests

Hack-master: I figured U to have done them all

Igor: LOL When would I have had time?

Hack-master: Good point

At that, Jeff set out to complete the many quests programmed into Sword Dynasty that he had for a year ignored. Free of the race and able once more to play the game relaxed, he began again to think about Alilshy. Leaving DynaServe one Monday a few weeks later, he made up his mind that he would, next chance, say hello to her.

What's my problem, he thought. According to her name, she's supposed to be the shy one. What could the harm be?

Jeff sat down, situated his computer, mouse pad, and water glass, and then went to the Sword Dynasty web site to log in. As per his norm, he moved the mouse over the server 2 button then paused. For no conscious reason, he moved it to server 5 — the one Alilshy always used — and clicked the mouse.

The game started loading and he tried to recall where he had left off. He had started a very long quest that had just been released the previous week. The Lost Shaman Quest, it was called. Thus far, he had managed to work his way past what was considered the first phase of the quest reaching the demon chamber.

He would have to battle the demon and win, and then collect the key it would drop to get through the door. Anyway, that is what the dwarf in the previous room had told him.

The status bar on the game load window was nearing 100 percent and Jeff knew he would soon face a huge fear. Not the demon he was about to battle. Speaking to Alilshy, as he had pledged to do.

The game load finished and the play interface appeared. Jeff clicked to his buddy list and noted Alilshy was in fact logged in — on server 5 as he expected. He swallowed hard. A quick scan of the play window indicated that another player shared the demon room with him.

Beyond all probability, against 10,000 to 1 odds, it was Alilshy.

Jeff swallowed hard again. His hands became icy with tension as his fingers hovered of the keys.

Igor: Hi Alilshy. Do you remember me?

That was what he had planned to type months back, before the race with Hex Queen, and that was exactly what he typed.

Alilshy: Sure I have heard of you. Everyone has

Igor: No, I mean, do you remember meeting me a long time ago?

There was a long pause before she replied.

Alilshy: To be honest, I don't. I wish I could say I did, though

Igor: I didn't think you would

Alilshy: But you remember meeting me? Why?

Igor: I thought you had a great name. I still do

Alilshy: Thanks

Igor: To be honest, I added you to my buddy list. Must have been 9 mos ago

Alilshy: You're kidding

To prove his statement, Jeff switched to buddy chat and typed.

Igor: No. I really did