I returned to editing the book. In the first ten minutes, I had to look up four terms. That was just the first page. Unlike the opening front matter, I was deep into the author’s explanation of his theory, claim, supposition, and the partially mystic…as far as I could tell…statements behind the equations and whatever his results supposedly meant. I was certain it meant something, to mathematicians. Just not much to me.

  Normally, I used standard style guides and academic norms to make sure a manuscript met the expected requirements. Grammar was the easy part. But every academic field seemed to have its own ritualistic formats…citation styles, heading structures, even paragraph expectations. Math was no exception. Journals and dissertations demanded precision. A self-published book, though? Somewhat looser.

  The contract didn’t mention any journals or academic reviewers, so I assumed he intended to self-publish. As long as the bank deposit cleared and came on time, I didn’t care. I’d still do the best work I could and pull pieces from several style guides to build something clean and readable. If he wanted it revised later, I could strip it down or formalize it.

  The deeper I went into his description of the work…what he thought he’d discovered…the “better” I understood it. Better, in this case, meant going from about five percent comprehension to maybe ten.

  I still didn’t have a clue, but I thought I could see the faint silhouettes of clues somewhere ahead. Certain concepts seemed to point at each other, at least. Probably.

  Around the two-hour mark, I took a planned break. I needed more coffee and something with actual calories. Not the snack or candy type empty calories.

  Passing through the edge of the living room, I saw Blaze and Li-chen on the couch, leaning toward each other, talking quietly. From the fragments I overheard, it was all Game related. They looked up when I passed by them, but didn’t say anything. If they wanted me to know, they’d tell me. The couch was more comfortable than the floor pillows.

  A quick cup rinse, a refill, and the thought of food hit. Another plate from the cupboard and a slice and a half of pizza caught my eye. Who cut the half a slice, I had no idea or memory. But now it was mine. I chomped a big bite out of the half slice to stake the claim and wandered back to my office.

  Sometime later, Blaze and Li-chen stepped into the doorway. I held up a finger, finished editing a twenty-four-word monster of a sentence. “The” was the shortest word in it, and it only appeared at the beginning.

  “What’s up?” I asked, rotating my chair to face them with and sighing.

  “Will?” Blaze asked. “What’re the chances cultivation becomes possible in the future? Like…maybe a way for Warriors to cast spells alongside their physical abilities? Things beyond CHARGE and TAUNT? More like mage spells?”

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  Planting my elbow on the armrest and stroking my beard, I bought myself a moment to think.

  “Possible. If the STORE is to be believed, Level 100 is real. Any class can hit it. So as a mechanism for adding something like cultivation into the Game…sure. Somewhere before that, it might show up. The STORE spell and technique books show me anything I can take up to ten levels ahead. Details I get within five levels. More than that? No idea.”

  I shrugged. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”

  “Mostly,” Li-chen said. “That matches what a lot of people think. When someone finds them, the titles show up on the Library of Congress site. Details as soon as they are available to someone. Nothing they show there is even close to cultivation yet.”

  “I’m not surprised. I check it for the GRA every time I level up. Sometimes between levels if I remember it.”

  I paused, thinking. The steady hiss of rain outside had softened. The big storm was passing us now. No more booming lightning strikes.

  “No more big lightning bolts?” I wondered aloud.

  “They stopped,” Blaze said. “It’s just rain now. That’s good…right?”

  I nodded, then shook my head. “Just a stray thought. We can’t blame everything on the System…can we?”

  “Are you trying to blame thunderstorms on the System?” she asked. “Isn’t that stretching things even for you, mister know-it-all?”

  “Nah. That storm was in the forecast. They said it’d be strong…not that strong…but strong. Still, sometimes I wonder what all the System can affect. More than we know is guaranteed. Right?”

  They both murmured in agreement.

  Then Li-chen asked something I didn’t expect.

  “Mr. Banister. What should I call you? It doesn’t feel right just using your first name. You didn’t claim to be a teacher, but you taught me a lot today. I’m used to martial arts customs. Showing respect to teachers and elders. You’re both.”

  “Elder? Gee, thanks. Now I feel like an octogenarian. Way past my prime.”

  “Please, sir, I didn’t mean any disrespect.”

  That made me laugh. “I know,” I said through the chuckles.

  “He can’t help himself,” Blaze told him. “He’ll twist your words just to get a laugh. Makes fun of you, himself, everyone. He’s been like that since I met him.”

  Li-chen laughed then…really laughed…like he finally let go of whatever stiff Young Master habit he’d been holding onto. “No clue why this time,” I thought, but it was human and real. Blaze and I joined in. It was good for all of us.

  “For now, if you want to be polite, use sir. Otherwise just call me Will. I get called sir enough by the Army that it doesn’t even register anymore. I’m not picky.

  And it’s shorter than Great Poobah, Master of Mana and the Universe.”

  We all cracked up.

  Then a flash of blinding white lit up the office like a giant flashbulb went off inches from the window. A split second later the loudest thunder yet ripped the air apart outside and rolled on for a good ten…maybe fifteen seconds. The house lights flickered, even with the solar battery buffering the system.

  The three of us froze and stared at one another in shock.

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