The Farmer's area of the plaza was basically a morgue with a sunstroke problem. While the kids in the Combat zones were high-fiving and screaming like they'd just won the Super Bowl, we just stood there in the dirt, staring at our shoes.
I looked over at the Knight and Mage sections. They were glowing. Literally. Some kid had accidentally set off a sparkler-sized fire spell, and everyone was cheering. I felt a sharp, bitter twist in my gut. I'd spent eight years training to be over there. Now, I was stuck here with the people who'd be spending their lives making sure those heroes had enough calories to keep fighting.
The Commander gave one last nod, said something about "accepting your fate and working for the future," and then—poof—he was gone. Just vanished into thin air. He had a border to guard, and apparently, a bunch of newly minted potato-growers weren't worth more than ten minutes of his time.
"Alright, North District! Back to the buses!" the officials barked.
The ride back to school was the longest twenty minutes of my life. The bus was divided by an invisible wall. On the left side, the "Combatants" were already talking about which guilds they wanted to join and how much money they were going to make. On the right side, the "Logistics" kids were dead silent.
When we pulled up to the school gates, Mr. Miller was waiting for us. He'd been my coach for three years. He knew I was the fastest runner and the strongest lifter in the grade. He took one look at my face and the light in his eyes just... went out. He didn't even have to ask. He just put a hand on my shoulder for a second, a heavy, pitying weight, and then moved on to the next kid.
"Yo, Shane! Check it out!"
I didn't even have to turn around to know it was Jaxson. He'd been my shadow since middle school, always coming in second, always trying to pick a fight to prove he was better.
He swaggered over, tossing his Star Origin card in the air and catching it. "Warrior class. Heavy physical bonuses. Looks like all that gym time finally paid off for one of us, huh? What'd you get? Blacksmith? You can sharpen my sword for fifty bucks an hour if you want."
The kids around him chuckled. It was that nasty, nervous kind of laughter people do when they're glad they aren't the one getting picked on.
I looked at Jaxson. I could still see the form of his stance—flawed, sloppy. Even with his new Warrior buffs, I knew I could probably put him on the pavement in under five seconds if I really wanted to.
"Song Jie—I mean, Jaxson," I said, catching myself using his old nickname. "I might be a Farmer, but I can still flatten your nose. You want to test those new stats right now, or you want to keep barking?"
Jaxson flinched, his smug grin wavering. He knew I wasn't bluffing.
"Back off, Jaxson!" Chloe stepped into the gap between us. She looked like she was vibrating with heat. "I'm a Fire Mage. You want to see what happens to 'Warriors' when they get hit with a point-blank fireball? Because I'm having a really bad day, and I'd love an excuse."
Jaxson went pale. A Mage was a different beast entirely. They were the glass cannons of the base—if you didn't kill them in the first three seconds, you were toast. Literally.
"Whatever," Jaxson muttered, stepping back into the crowd. "Have fun in the dirt, Shane."
Mr. Miller stepped in before Chloe could actually set the parking lot on fire. He called us over to record our results. When it was my turn, Chloe leaned in and whispered to him.
"Mr. Miller... can we do Shane's registration privately? Please?"
She was looking at him with those big, pleading eyes. She knew how much this hurt. She wanted to save me the "embarrassment" of announcing it to the whole class.
Mr. Miller looked at me, then at the "Farmer" label on my screen, and sighed. "Fine. Just get it to me before you leave, Shane. And kid... I'm sorry. The system isn't always fair."
"It's fine, Mr. Miller," I said, and for a second, I almost believed it.
After the final assembly, Chloe and I walked toward the school gates for the last time. It felt weird. We'd been "Shane and Chloe" since we were ten. Now, we were a Fire Mage and a Farmer.
"I'm gonna be busy in the Star Origin World for a while," Chloe said, her voice small. "My parents are spending a few thousand dollars to get me some starter gear so I'm ready for the graduation trial next month. You... you're gonna be okay, right?"
"I'll be fine, Chloe. Really. Go be a hero." I reached out to ruffle her hair like I always did, but my hand stopped halfway. The dynamic had shifted. I wasn't the protector anymore. I just patted her shoulder instead. "See you at the trial."
She waved until I turned the corner, heading toward the slums near the border wall.
When I got home, the smell of cheap instant noodles was already wafting through the hall. Sierra, my thirteen-year-old sister, was practically vibrating with excitement. She'd been waiting all day.
"Shane! Well? Tell me! Are you a Paladin? A Berserker?"
I sat her down on our mismatched thrift-store couch. "I'm a Farmer, Sierra."
She went quiet. She knew what that meant. She knew our parents' dreams of us becoming a "High-Rank Family" just hit a brick wall. But then, she threw her arms around my neck.
"It's okay," she whispered. "I'll awaken in five years. I'll be the one to kill the monsters. You just grow the food, and I'll make the money. We're gonna be fine."
I squeezed her back, my throat tight. "Yeah. We're gonna be fine."
After dinner, I went to my room. It was barely big enough for a bed and a desk, but it was mine. I lay down, feeling the weight of the day pressing into my chest. I took out the black card and held it to my forehead.
If I was going to be a Farmer, I was going to be the best damn Farmer this base had ever seen. I had a sister to feed and a destiny to rewrite.
"Login," I whispered.
The world dissolved into a flurry of digital white noise. My consciousness automatically entered the Star Origin World.