Holden narrowed his eyes as he watched the two girls from the shadows. The one with dark, short hair was sprinting laps around the training hall, constantly varying her speed. The blondie, on the other hand, seemed more interested in general strength training, performing various advanced calisthenics movements.

Something about them struck him as odd. He may be young, only halfway through his first year of middle school, but he wasn’t stupid. Their mannerisms, the way they spoke, that look in their eyes… something was different in a way that was hard to describe.

At least Paul appeared normal enough, although his extreme paranoia was unusual. No matter how many times Holden grilled him about Heather and Jamie, though, he stayed mum. Whatever was going on between them, he seemed determined to keep quiet about it.

Well, not that it matters now, he thought to himself. Yesterday, each party had been required to send out a single member to fight against a monster in the COLOSSEUM, and his party had chosen him to be their representative. The fight was a simple affair, but it was also just barely enough to push him up to the next LEVEL.

He’d spent weeks stuck at LEVEL 99, and it felt great to finally break into the triple digits. Of course, there were perks that came with his new LEVEL other than the usual five STAT points. LEVEL 100 let you select a new SKILL, and he knew exactly which SKILL he was going to pick.

There were many to choose from, but ultimately his curiosity about Paul’s party members was getting the better of him. And honestly, who could blame him? The blondie was LEVEL 5, and the short-haired girl was LEVEL 4! Paul himself was around LEVEL 40, so for them to beat a team of players averaging around LEVEL 80 was unheard of.

Shaking with excitement, he selected ANALYSE as his new SKILL and watched it get added to his menu. A few minor adjustments to the settings determined how he wanted the SKILL to be triggered. Finally, with a light chuckle, he flicked his gaze towards the blondie and closed his right fist.

His menu popped back up, this time with text that he had never seen before:

JAMIE GRATHER, DARK DRUID

TITLES: STONEWALL

HP: B

MP: B+

REGEN: D- (C)

STATS

STR: A- (A+)

AGI: C+ (A-)

DEX: B- (A-)

VIT: B+

STL: F

INT: B-

CHA: F-

His eyes widened. At LEVEL 5, the most anyone should have in a single STAT, even if they were min-maxing, was a B-. To have these kinds of STATS… just what game mode was this girl playing on?

DARK DRUID was also a surprising CLASS to see, and not the one he’d expected. Most DARK DRUIDS were more attuned to nature, not… whatever that girl had been. She’d fought like a FIGHTER, or maybe a BERSERKER. Definitely not a MONK, though.

Holden groaned to himself, letting his swirling thoughts settle. No wonder his team had lost. He’d told everyone to hold back, only using SKILLS and none of their magic, saving their magic for later fights. Paul’s team had not given themselves the same handicap, which helped them make up the LEVEL deficit.

He also noted that some of her STATS had letters off to the side, designating their maximum potential when augmented by either SKILLS or magic. It seemed Jamie primarily used this for her STR, AGI, and DEX STATS, which made sense based on her playstyle.

It appeared that Paul’s statement was correct about LEVELS not being the only thing that mattered in this game, although Holden and his party already knew that. STATS were just as important as LEVELS. Still, he had never seen anyone with STATS this ridiculous at such a low LEVEL…

Were they cheating? He studied the two girls for a moment, ultimately deciding that it was unlikely. Jamie’s movements through her calisthenics routine were extremely controlled and precise, which either alluded to her having experience outside of Leveled Plane or having practiced the movements in-game. Based on the dense, coiled muscles sculpted on her avatar, it was obviously the latter.

Cheaters were frighteningly simple to catch in Leveled Plane if you knew what to look for. Most didn’t even manage to slip through the game’s security, but the ones who did always had avatars that were disproportionate to their STATS. Their STR STAT didn’t correlate with their avatar’s musculature, or maybe their movements seemed choppy at times, showing that they hadn’t practiced much of anything.

Either way, it was easy to determine that Jamie and the short-haired girl weren’t cheating. Whatever they were doing to get the STATS they had, it was legitimate. Taking a deep breath, Holden activated ANALYSE again, this time on the short-haired girl:

HEATHER YEW, BERSERKER

TITLES: SHATTERED

HP: A- (A+)

MP: C+ (B-)

REGEN: B+ (A+)

STATS

STR: C+ (B+)

AGI: A- (S-)

DEX: B (A)

VIT: F-

STL: F-

INT: B-

CHA: F-

Holden gulped. Those STATS, combined with her CLASS, were terrifying. To anyone new to Leveled Plane, they would look decent at best. But Holden knew better.

STATS of players while using ANALYSE were categorized by letters. This allowed ANALYSED players to maintain some secrecy while the player using ANALYSE would gain some insight into their opponent. There was a certain numerical range that a STAT needed to fall between to be given a specific letter.

The fact that this ‘Heather’ had a STAT that could be augmented into the S range… he shuddered. The difference between A and A+ was significant, and the one between A+ and S- was even greater. At LEVEL 4, it shouldn’t have been possible.

It did explain how she was able to keep up with him, though. His own STATS trended slightly higher than Heather’s if hers weren’t augmented, but it wasn’t by much, and her AGI beat his by a hefty margin.

Still, he’d expected a few different things, but BERSERKER had never even crossed his mind. She didn’t fit the stereotype. Her movements were too contrived for anyone with the BERSERKER CLASS.

Maybe she doesn’t use the CLASS much. It was really the only thing he could think of. He’d seen BERSERKERS fight in the past, even won against a few, but none had ever hidden their abilities like Heather did.

With another groan, Holden rubbed his eyes, letting his mind wander as Heather and Jamie continued their workouts. The rest of his party had left the COLOSSEUM for the day after Alex won an arm-wrestling match, keeping their party in the running. The games within the COLOSSEUM lasted a full month, and if Holden’s party was the last one standing, they’d earn some LOOT and money as a reward.

He was more interested in the fame that would come from winning, though. Only half a week had passed so far, and already a decent number of teams had been removed from the games. Even lasting another week or two would draw attention to his party, allowing them to request more revives from FOUNDATION.

“HEY HEY! NEXT UP, WE’VE GOT ONE JAMIE GRATHER AND ONE MICK FERN! BOTH CONTESTENTS HAVE TWO MINUTES TO ARRIVE IN THE RING!”

Holden heard Jamie sigh as she flipped back onto her feet, abandoning her handstand. Heather blurred in place, almost seeming to teleport to Jamie’s side. They were both covered in sweat and grime, and Heather was breathing heavily.

“Don’t worry sis, I got this,” Jamie said, grinning as she flexed one of her biceps. Heather just frowned.

“Jay… alright, fine. If you lose the first match, you’ll have a second chance, but I don’t wanna resort to that. Too risky for us, got it?” Jamie nodded, her grin fading as her eyes flashed violet for a moment.

They’re being oddly serious about this, Holden thought from his place in the corner. I mean, if they lose the worst thing that’ll happen is they’ll need to make new avatars. Not a big deal…

He watched as Jamie made her way across the ring, basking in the roar of the crowd. Her soft green eyes had shifted back to their sick violet, almost glowing with malice as she stared down her opponent.

Mick was a big man, covered in muscle and built like a bear. His dark skin glistened in the light of the sun, his pearly white teeth grinning sinisterly down at Jamie. She looked like a twig in comparison, even with the sculpted muscles on her body.

“Get whatcha need?” Holden jumped, spinning on the balls of his feet. Idly, he noticed the smell of oxidizing metal fill the air and the way the hairs on his arms were standing up on end, but Heather’s smirking face took most of his attention.

Taking a few breaths to calm down, he sent her what he hoped was a pleasant smile.

“Yep!” he said cheerfully, nodding frantically. “Was just checking if the training rooms were open and was too intrigu–”

“Shhfp!” she hissed, and his mouth clamped shut as one of Heather’s fingers came to rest against his lips. “If you’re gonna tell me something, at least be truthful about it. You’re a terrible liar, kid.”

He felt his face flush, batting her finger away with his hand. “Who ya callin’ kid? I just turned eleven! You’re not much older than me!”

“Sure sure, whatever. Now, you gonna tell me what you were really doing?” She looked terribly amused, and Holden felt his anger growing in his chest. Taking another few deep breaths, he calmed himself down.

Well, couldn’t hurt I guess. “I was using ANALYSE on you and Jamie.”

Heather hummed, her eyes flashing dangerously. For a moment, they seemed to glow a deep red, soaked in rage and pain and untold regrets. Then it vanished, leaving Holden feeling stiff from fear and wondering if what he’d seen was just his imagination.

With a cheerful giggle, she spun around and skipped away, throwing Holden for a loop as his preconceived notions about her character were torn apart. Instead of being serious like he’d originally expected, she seemed almost chaotic. Or maybe it was all an act?

“Come on, come on, I wanna see Jay smoke this guy. We can talk more about this later~” She giggled again, and he felt like nails were being dragged down his back. That giggle was horrifying.

Spinning around again, she snatched his hand and pulled him along as she kept skipping. His hand felt clammy in hers as his nerves burst to the surface. I think I might’ve made a mistake.

They made it just as the announcer screamed “GO!” There was a loud screeching noise as the metal table used for arm wrestling dented, both Jamie and Mick straining against each other as they fought for control.

Holden watched Mick’s eyes widen from the unexpected resistance as Jamie’s grin turned mad. Her muscles bulged as she pushed against Mick, but she was unable to force him back.

The crowd roared as Mick slowly began to push Jamie’s arm down, her smirk slipping away as she strained against him. Holden could see Mick’s confidence growing as he continued to press his advantage, Jamie’s arm shaking from the strain. For a moment, he thought that Mick had it.

The announcer screamed something from above, as per usual, but Holden was more focused on Heather as he heard her chuckle under her breath. She whispered something that he didn’t catch, not seeming worried in the slightest, making him reconsider his initial assessment. Maybe Jamie had something up her sleeve.

Then, Mick shouted something as a burst of wind flew by, and Jamie shrieked. The crowd was still roaring, still cheering, and Jamie’s hand stopped an inch away from the table. Her arm was bent backwards slightly, almost in an arc, and Heather had gone oddly silent.

Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, Holden frowned when he saw how pale her face was. Her eyes were focused on Jamie, dull and sad and filled with pain.

“Uh… is everything…” She startled, glancing down at him, seeming to break out of her trance. Then, she sighed, her shoulders slumping.

“Kid… if you really wanna know, just turn off the gore censorship. Not like you weren’t gonna figure it out soon anyways,” she mumbled.

What? Turn off the gore censorship? But why… no. No. They didn’t. His stomach sank as the pieces snapped into place. There was a single way gain STATS regardless of your LEVEL, especially to the point that Heather and Jamie had. If they really were…

“I… I think I know what you’re saying,” he said, his voice almost monotone, “but I can’t do that. The system won’t let me until I turn 13.”

Heather sighed again, turning her dull eyes back towards her friend. She stayed quiet, so Holden refocused on the match as well. It probably wouldn’t last much longer anyways, since Jamie was–

A scream rippled through the arena, one loud enough to make even the announcer shut up, if only for a moment. Mick’s eyes were wide and bloodshot, the veins in his forehead bulging as he tried to force Jamie to give. But she refused.

Due to his proximity, Holden was able to see the competitors clearer than the crowd could. This helped him notice the violent sobbing that wracked Jamie’s body and the unholy angle of her forearm before wind pushed it back into place with a sharp crack. Lines of stone crawled up her body, winds buffeting her opponent as the stone slowly covered her arm.

The crowd began chanting as Jamie forced her arm back into the upright position, the announcer yelling more pointless commentary into his mic. Holden just felt sick. Nauseous, disturbed, distraught.

Jamie had a broken arm. Jamie had a broken arm. That didn’t happen. The game didn’t allow it. It was too violent, too cruel, too painful. And yet… it happened anyways, confirming his suspicions.

“Are you two insane?” he whispered as Jamie screamed again, pushing Mick back with her rock-covered, still broken arm.

Heather chuckled mirthlessly, her eyes boring into his own.

“You don’t wanna know, kid.” He shuddered, feeling himself being sucked into the whirlpools of her blazing red eyes. Bloodlust, madness, terror, anger, hurt, pain, so much painpainpain–

Hands clamped around his shoulders, and he shrieked like a little girl. Shaking his head to clear the fog in his mind, he found Heather’s blue, concerned eyes staring back at him. He flinched.

“Ah, snickers, forgot about that,” she mumbled, turning away. It wasn’t fast enough for him to miss the sadness and hurt in her expression, though.

He couldn’t control the chills running up his back, the way he gasped for breath, his heart pounding madly in his chest. Even as Jamie pushed Mick’s arm down to the table with a blast of wind, he could barely focus over the blood rushing in his ears and his blurry vision.

Those red eyes stayed in his mind, judging him, pressing in on him, showing him Hell. Cruel laughter filled his ears, sounding like it came from all directions, and he curled in on himself. His body felt hot, then cold, then hot again.

Blood stained his hands, pooling from his lips, his breathing rapidly accelerating as his mind descended further and further into madness. He couldn’t remember what he was doing, where he was, who he was–

Reality lurched around him as he came back to his senses. He found himself curled up on the ground in the training room, a warm hand resting on his shoulder that sent a soothing energy running through his body. He groaned, struggling to uncurl himself.

“–An insanity debuff!? What did you do?” Ah, that was Paul. He must’ve just logged in.

“I dunno!” There was Heather. Her voice was slightly hysterical. “I just… looked at him! No, no, no! It’s like the party of four all over again!”

“What party of– ya know what, I don’t wanna know. I’m almost done healing him, and then ya can talk to him.”

“And you said… he knows?” That was Jamie, he was pretty sure. Her voice was laced with pain, and he heard her hiss through her teeth as she shifted positions, but it still sounded like her.

“Yeah… I think he knows.” There were three sighs, and Holden groaned again as he cracked his eyes open.

He heard a flurry of motion before Heather’s face filled his vision, and he flinched back as he remembered those blood-red eyes. It took him a moment to realize that her eyes were their usual electric blue, and they looked a bit watery.

“I… I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t…”

“Here, give him some space. There’s still some leftover traces of the debuff, ya know,” Paul grunted, and Heather nodded before slinking away to sit next to Jamie, who was cradling her right arm to her chest and wincing every now and then.

“I’m fine,” Holden said, sitting up as he shoved Paul’s hand away. “I got a natural debuff counter, but it only works with the weak ones. It's been weakened enough."

Sure enough, he could feel the lingering… whatever that was in his brain being pushed back by his natural resistance. With a nod, Paul tried to help him stand, but he shoed him away. With a shrug, Paul instead positioned himself next to Jamie and Heather as they lay against the wall.

Holden’s legs were shaky at first, but that cleared up after a few seconds. Compartmentalizing his thoughts, locking this recent experience in the depths of his psyche, he finally registered what had just happened. Boiling with rage, he shot a harsh glare towards Heather and her friends.

“What was that?!” he snarled, and Heather flinched violently before she started to cry.

“I… I didn’t mean to… hic…”

“I DON’T CARE! You messed with my flippin' head! WHAT DID YOU DO!”

She tried to say something, but only sobs came out. Jamie was holding her hand with her good arm, Paul trying to hide them from view. It only increased Holden’s fury—there was nobody else around to see them.

“You know what?” he called out, his voice dripping with malice. “Fine. I don’t care. Play on Realistic Mode or whatever, mess with my head, fine! But know this: my party’s stronger than yours, and we’re gonna win. You don’t stand a chance.”

"Wai–” He turned on his heel and stormed away before Jamie could finish, unable to stand in their presence any longer. He left behind a sobbing girl who sounded broken beyond belief, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

The memories of what he’d seen came back for a split second, redredred and he shoved them right back down, growling. She’d get what was coming to her, after what she’d just done to him. But first, he needed to find his teammates. They had some plans to make.