A bright light filled the pod, making her close her eyes. When she opened them, she was in a classroom setting, sitting behind a desk. It was a smaller room with I.L.S. desks much like the ones used in the Facilities. Rounded, with a screen a foot high around the front edge to reflect the holographic images; but here, the screens were retracted into the desk tops.

A woman was standing in the front of the classroom, her arms crossed as she looked out at the desks. She was dark, like Aella's avatar, but had golden hair reaching her shoulders, braided close to the skull on one half of her head. Her clothing was an elaborate set of armor in gold and black, wrapping around her body like wings. Almost like a human wasp.

Aella glanced around, seeing other avatars appearing behind the desks. Most of the other avatars had brightly colored hair, and colored eyes in the same color ranges of pink, green, and yellow. Some had tattoos trailing around their limbs in a rainbow of colors, and some drifted onto their faces in fierce lines and spirals. One had chosen a fiery shade of orange hair. The only one that was different, was a man sitting near the back with pale white skin and shimmering sapphire-colored hair. He nodded to her and winked as she looked at him.

She raised an eyebrow and turned her attention back to the woman standing at the front of the room.

"My name is Nike, Fourth Council Member of the High Alpha Council," she said, her voice booming in the room. She lowered her arms and part of her armor expanded into four wings behind her, shimmering with energy. "In this testing portion, you will complete a series of logic tests to determine the ratios of your different strengths. How you do on these tests will help determine which you profession you will be most suited for."

Aella frowned. This sounds like nothing more than Facility training. Test you to see which career you should go into. Their creativity so far is underwhelming.

"Your preliminary profession is not permanent. You will be able to achieve any profession, after you complete preliminary goals. Your success rating, however, will likely be smaller unless you give everything to that profession. Any questions?"

Aella raised her hand.

Nike raised her hand to her. "Name, please."

"Aella Rynnex," she answered, standing to her feet.

Nike nodded. "Yes, Aella?"

"What are the different rankings, and how do they differ from one another?"

Aella tensed as she heard someone snicker behind her. I forgot. Everyone probably already knows what the rankings are.

"It's a valid question," Nike answered, narrowing her eyes at someone behind Aella. Her wings fluttered behind her, sparking with glowing yellow energy.

The snickering stopped and the room was silent. Nike paused, and her wings stopped moving. "You may sit down now, Beta," she said.

Aella nodded and sat down.

Nike turned and folded her arms behind her as she began to pace to the left. "There have been some changes to the professions, as an additional two have been added. This will create variations in teams, as there are now six players on each team.

Aella nodded. And some players might be of the same profession, or switch later on.

"I can't tell you more than a general overview. The first ranking is the Resource profession. These players are in charge of finding, growing, and storing food and elements from the earth for themselves and for their team. The second profession is new, and an extension of the Resource Ranking. It is the Ocean profession. They are responsible for food and elements obtained from water, and this profession will also be responsible for the capture of various sea monsters and creatures by combat or magic. Beta has more water planets than Alpha, so this new profession was created to compensate for that."

Several whispers broke out over the room, and Aella shifted in her seat. Sea monsters? She chuckled and shook her head. That's going to be fun.

"The third profession are the Merchants. These players are responsible for the storing of the team's resources, and the bartering and trading with other teams. They are also have the option of becoming an inventor, and creating new weapons and items for their team from the items their teammates collect."

She paused for a moment and stopped pacing back and forth in the front of the room. "The fourth, fifth, and six professions are the main combat fighters for their teams, and will specialize in a great number of combat moves, and magic defense and offense spells. The fourth profession is new and is an extension of the Merchant profession, known as the Sailor profession. These are mainly transport players, as they construct the transport vehicles for their teams, and handle all navigation aspects of the team. The weapons the Merchant builds are generally integrated into these vehicles."

Aella frowned. "Magic spells? That sounds complicated. And annoying.

"The fifth profession are the Fighters, and they are the primary fighting force. They will have the most knowledge about combat, magic, and strategic defense and offense. Their job is to protect their team, and most often lead their team."

I don't like any of these options. Isn't there anything I can do on my own?

Nike held up a hand. "The last profession is dependent upon the player. It is the Ranger profession. These players create new paths, heal their teammates with magic, carry out scouting missions, and are the first player on their team to meet new enemies. They can be used for defense or offense against other teams, or as a defender of the Resource, Ocean, and Merchant players. They may be away from their team, or never leave it. Each Ranger player will be different, and they will be a formidable force to reckon with. They will receive spells from all the professions, as they are required to act in many different roles."

Aella smiled, and nodded. I want to be an Ranger player. I need to be on my own.

Nike looked around at the players. "Any more questions?"

There was silence to answer her question.

Nike nodded and smiled. "There is one test, and how you complete each task will give you points in certain profession categories. Most of you will place in one or more professions, but it will be clear which profession you will dominate in. Do not think of the professions as you complete the tasks. Complete the tasks as you would normally; it is difficult to change a profession once you have been placed into it, and we are trying to place you into the profession that best suits you. We cannot do that if you act differently."

A beeping sound filled the room, and the lights in the room dimmed. Nike stepped back and folded her arms in front of her. "Your group is next in the queue for testing. You will be on an island in the Alpha Game, and there are Alphas stationed around the perimeter to ensure that you do not face monsters above your level. When prompted, enter your Game name, player number, and section number. We are section four, in case anyone forgot."

Aella jerked when the room disappeared to a white screen in all directions, and three lines appeared in front of her. "Please state your Game name," a mechanical voice said.

"Aella Rynnex," she said.

The name appeared on the first line. "What is your player number?"

Aella gulped. Great. Just the time to blank. "190?"

There was silence. "That number does not match our records. Please state your player number."

Aella sighed, her eyes moving back and forth as she tried to remember. She nodded as she raised her head. "200."

"Correct. Please state your section number," the voice said after her player number appeared on the second line.

"Section 4."

There was silence for a moment. "Each test has 50 available points. Points will be distributed to the different profession categories for each action you take. After testing, your top three professions will be available to you, and you will choose one. The test will now commence."

Aella blinked as the white screen turned bright, and she blinked as her eyes adjusted to the scene in front of her, and she gasped as a warm breeze ruffled her hair, sending waves across the golden wheat that stretched for several hundred feet in all directions, rippling like the waves of the sea. The smell in the air was clean and warm, smelling like freshly baked bread but earthier and richer. She turned as she heard a roar and saw a crystal blue sea stretching from the sloping hill she was on, reaching to the horizon.

She moved her hands in front of her face, her eyes growing wide at the depth perception. The hands were realistic, just like her own, but a much darker shade. Her pod suit shimmered in the sun, the shiny fabric reflecting the light.

She jumped as a dozen small baskets appeared in her vision, floating just above the wheat. Each one was filled with a different object. Some were leaves, others roots, and some were vegetables. All of them were foreign to her. She glanced around her and saw a massive timer above her head with three minutes counting down.

Three larger baskets appeared to the right and a mechanical voice spoke. "Please separate the items based on their similar properties."

She nodded, stepping closer to the smaller baskets. Her avatar moved in perfect sync with her movements. This might not be so hard.

She recognized a few vegetables as tomatoes, potatoes, squash, a type of bean, amaranth, mandrake, and a bunch of green matcha leaves, but the others she didn't recognize. Maybe it's separated by medical use? Some of these are vegetables, but amaranth is a superfood. And mandrake is an herbal remedy. She stared at one of the mystery items. It was a white root, slightly soft with a bumpy texture and smooth leaves. Wait-maybe it's how they're grown. Some of these grow in the ground, on a vine, and there are leaves. That's three categories.

She looked up at the timer, and nodded when she saw she one minute and 17 seconds left. She stepped forward and started moving the items to the three baskets. She lifted her hand from placing the last item into the basket when the timer rang, making her jump.

"Please make your way down to the beach where your next trial will begin," the voice said.

Aella looked down toward the rolling, White-frosted waves and nodded, seeing an arrow leading down a path through the tall grass and to the dunes below.