“SHIT!” I thought. I did my best to keep my internal reaction from showing. I think he saw through it.

  “It’s on the edge of the line. Not centered,” I said, trying to sound like the stern elder sect member or Sensei from one of those cultivation stories. “How did you choose where you placed the cup? Explain.” I waited, doing my best to look foreboding instead of nervous about what came next.

  “Master, I...”

  “I am not your Master!” I barked, startling him and Blaze both. “Continue. Politely. Properly.”

  He gave a stiff half bow. “I felt for it. I already knew the building across the street was a spawn site…I saw it when the President was here. The government said all those sites were on Ley Line intersections. From what I saw your Fire Mage doing when she came out, she was looking for the line.” He gave Blaze a quick bow from the waist.

  “I know Mages can have a DETECT MANA spell. I thought she used that. When you said to put the cup at the line, I knew there must be one there from where she was looking.” He paused, eyes flicking between us like he was trying to read a teacher’s face for approval.

  Blaze looked a little stunned, but she dropped into her agent stare. Cold. Assessing.

  “After that, I opened myself to feel it. Nothing. Then I used Game Skills that consume MANA. When I moved near that spot, my MANA regenerated faster…not by much, but I could see it on the System interface. That’s how I chose the location.”

  I studied him for nearly a minute, dragging it out like a bad playwright stretching a scene. “I need to talk to the people at the convention center about this,” I muttered. “One more thing for them to research.”

  “Is the van over there yours?” I asked, glancing toward the white van parked across the street, its paint sheened wet under the rain.

  His eyes flicked that way. “Yes, mm…Yes, sir.”

  “If you’ve got dry clothes in there, go get them. The other two batteries in the cups are yours; I’ll charge them later. Your specialty burns MANA faster than most Warrior types. You should be able to draw from it. We’ll test that later.”

  I paused, choosing my next words. “When you return, don’t drip water all over my floor. You’ll change once you’re inside. You don’t need robes. This isn’t a cultivation story.”

  “Yet,” I worried.

  He nodded and jogged toward his van, waiting as a passing car slowed to stare at him in his drenched robes before speeding off again. Blaze and I stepped back inside, shaking off the mist that rode the breeze in with us.

  “Get some bath towels for him, and another floor pillow,” I told her. “If he’s going to play the cultivator, I’ll play the grumpy old Master. Maybe nuke some tea for him too, so it’s hot when he gets back. Unless you’ve got a spell that’ll boil water without setting something else on fire.”

  Her face went “I’m checking the rules” blank. “There’s a modifier for the IGNITE spell that’ll do it. IGNITE’s Level 4. I can get it next time I level up. Used my spare points for MANA spells.”

  “Remind me when you do. Sounds useful. Oh…and change into shorts, sandals and a T-shirt with your game robe over it. You’re playing my apprentice.”

  Blaze laughed. “You and your warped sense of humor.” She disappeared down the hall to change, still chuckling.

  How far should I take this? I wondered, refilling my coffee and dropping another sweetener in it. I shouldn’t start something I don’t want to finish.

  The rain drummed softly on the roof and tapped occasionally against the living room window when the wind shifted and blew it that way. I didn’t see him yet. Shaking my head…hoping something would fall out and help…I sat in my chair, my coffee on its coaster steaming beside me.

  Blaze came back with a green floor pillow and the towels. “Put them down there,” I said. “When he comes in, hand him the towels and send him to the side bathroom. Save one for drips; he can hang his clothes in the tub.”

  “Yes, sir.” She gave a half bow, getting into character, and smiling as she knelt on her blue pillow. “Maybe you should take a student, great First Mana Mage. SandB’s almost that now. But people might think you’re starting a harem.”

  We both cracked up.

  When I could breathe again, I said, “No. Just no. No harems. Helping her be a better mage…sure. But I’d have to talk to Bailey about it first. See what she says about it.”

  Blaze nodded. “She might say yes. Both of them might. You should’ve seen SandB at the quarry, a totally different woman. Bailey thought she’d panic again, but when you told her to take your place, she didn’t. She can’t explain it. Bailey told me she thinks saving you started it. So, she’s talking to her advisor about it tomorrow.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “I told her earlier the GRA thinks my theory about stats changing us as we level up is worth studying.”

  “You’ve been saying that.” Blaze leaned toward the window. “He’s coming. He’s got a bag.”

  “Good. Let’s get this show on the road. Open the door before he knocks or rings. Tell him to change and what to do. I’ll sit here and look inscrutable.”

  “Yes, oh inscrutable and mentally unscrewed great one.” She gave an exaggerated bow, her forehead almost touching the floor before she broke into laughter and headed for the door.

  I pulled my robe’s hood low over my eyes; hands tucked into opposite sleeves. Trying for mysterious…probably landing somewhere between sleepy and ridiculous.

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [Use the phrase, “Enter of your own free will. See if he gets it.]

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [I’m not sure I get it. Isn’t that a vampire thing?]

  William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [Yep. I want to see how he reacts.]

  She opened the door just as he reached for the bell. “Enter of your own free will,” she intoned in her deepest Halloween voice.

  He froze mid-step. From my angle, I saw his eyes widen. “Good. It’s working.”

  Blaze almost backed into the coat rack holding the door for him. I kept my expression neutral…barely.

  She handed him the towels, told him where to go, and returned to kneel on her pillow, matching my posture with her head down and hands in her sleeves. When he disappeared down the hall, we both broke into muffled laughter.

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [The look on his face. I wish we could start interrogations like this.

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [No physical harm done to him. I wish I knew what he was thinking.]

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [Don’t Mentalists have READ MINDS?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [Yeah, but I haven’t taken it. PURSUADE, CHARM PERSON, and CHARM MONSTER are far enough. And PSYCHIC SHIELDs. Nobody hates you for defensive spells.]

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [Fair. I don’t blame you. I’ll start the tea.]

  The faint sound of running water reached us down the hall. I’d bet a bag of chocolate it was as hot as he could stand after kneeling out in that cold rain. Blaze headed for the kitchen.

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [I’m making some tea for myself too.]

  Leaning back, I sipped my coffee, thinking. Maybe the first step toward cultivating MANA was being able to feel it. I topped off my own reserves from the Ley Line through the garage and focused on the sensation inside. It filled me…like after a good meal. Not in my stomach, just… everywhere.

  The soft clink of cups came from the kitchen. I don’t own fancy tea sets, but my wife and I had four dainty little cups from our wedding gifts, collecting dust at the back of a cupboard. Blaze had to stand on a stool to reach them.

  A quick rinse, a quicker dry, and they were ready for tea time.

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [I think he’s done. Set them in front of the pillows.]

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [Then what?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [Once they’re down, I’ll fake it from there.]

  I heard her microwave them a minute later.

  About five minutes later, he rounded the corner…barefoot, dressed in traditional martial arts white Gi with a plain black belt knotted around his waist. A few drops of water still dotted his hair.

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [Now.]

  She moved smoothly, stopping in front of the pillows like she was deciding something, then squatting and setting a cup of tea before each pillow. Rising, she moved and stood behind hers.

  Li-chen, I might as well use his game name, stopped to let her pass. For a moment, he looked confused, then played along and stood behind the green pillow.

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [Kneel.]

  She knelt. He mirrored her, almost in unison. I lifted my cup, waited, sipped. Blaze copied me. He followed.

  “He’s getting it, so far.”

  I set the cup down. So did they. “Now what the hell do I do?” I hadn’t planned beyond this point.

  Scraping the bottom of my mental barrel, I cast a minimum MANA SHIELD in front of them and added an extra MANA Point to shape it into a glowing, translucent blue cube, hovering a foot above the floor.

  “Mana,” I said, deepening my voice. “In its raw form, it powers our magic and abilities. It kills and heals. It supports and destroys. With it, we rise. Without it, we die.”

  The blue cube flickered faintly in the dim light from the rain-dimmed windows.

  “Look at it. See it in its base form. Energy to be manipulated. Contained and shaped by our will alone.” I paused dramatically. “Blaze, form a cube next to mine. Same size. Same height.”

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [You’re getting weird. Hope this goes somewhere.]

  She extended her hand, forming a cube nearly identical to mine, heat radiating from it. I slipped a thin, invisible MANA SHIELD beneath them to save the wood floor.

  “Li-chen. Form a cube using your MANA next to mine.”

  He blinked, rocked back, and finally showed emotion. “Master, I….”

  “Silence! I am not your Master. Do not tell me what you can’t do. Show me what you can do.”

  Then, because I couldn’t resist, I added, “The small Master once said, ‘Do or do not…there is no try.’”

  Or in the swamp your ship will lie, I thought.

  Blaze glanced up, looking puzzled.

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [Yoda to Luke on the swamp world.]

  Her shoulders shook trying not to laugh. It was worth it.

  Li-chen’s expression went blank for several seconds…probably scrolling through the game rules in his head. Then he said, “My Level 5 Skill is Projection. I can project a punch or kick. I have not attained that level, Master. I am four hundred Experience short.”

  “Can that Skill create a cube?” I asked, tone flat.

  “I don’t believe so. The Rules say it strikes like the punch or kick at a distance. A fist is not a cube.”

  I brought my hands up below my face, interlocked my fingers, palms vertical, thumbs tucked in…forming a rough cube shape. His eyes widened. He mirrored the gesture, leaning forward to place his hands beside my cube.

  The faint light of the red and blue cubes flickered between us, reflecting off the rain-streaked windows.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMletImQ_cs

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