Project Online by C.J K. (the speed reading book .TXT) 📕

A monotonic voice echoed throughout the room as the teacher spewed out centuries of historical texts and events. Nearly half of the class was half asleep and the clock ticked like a bomb ready to detonate. It was the year 2437 and it surprised Lias that teachers still exist in this era. Humanity currently relied heavily on technology but he guessed the government decided they wanted to keep the educational systems traditional.

For teenagers today, life is nothing more than a way of immersing themselves in the greatest of technology. They’ve sacrificed their social skills and have kept interactions at the minimum to get the most satisfying fun out of everything the time period has to offer. Nearly nobody leaves home or gets off the computer, and eating is something done out of pure necessity. The only thing getting in the way of the schedule is the new school law that was passed about ten years ago that required teenagers to go physically learn in an “educational environment”.

“I just can’t wait until they get rid of this stupid school and make everything online, It's such a waste of time sitting in a classroom for six hours when I could get the same amount work done in one” Lias glanced up at the clock to check the time.

“wow still 4 hours left” he mumbled while tugging at the roots of his hair.

He stared blankly at the clock’s second hand as it glided across each number and onto the next. It was an agonizing pain trying to watch time flow but a jolt of shock resonated throughout his body as the clock abruptly stopped. Then suddenly the whole classroom turned into a cacophony of bright colors. his eyes burned in pain as the radiation penetrated my visual perception and his head felt like a balloon ready to pop with even the slightest bit of pressure change.

A strong gust of wind hit his chest and he was launched back with enormous velocity. Lias shut his eyes and embraced himself for impact, ready to experience the excruciating pains of broken bones but instead his back was met by a soft patch of grass. He gradually gained his sense of vision and a mixture of luscious light blue and marshmallows alleviated his irritated eyes. An overwhelming warm sensation filled his body as a cool breeze grazed his skin like a feather.

Lias layed there rejoicing the different sensations until his energy was regained and he slowly stood up and observed his surroundings. Around him were massive groups of people, perhaps maybe in hundreds. It made him feel really uncomfortable to be around so many people and he began to feel sweat dripping down across his face. Suddenly a massive screen interface popped up in front of his face and along the surface was a video. Everyone stood silently with their eyes glued to their screens until the video automatically played.

“Boys and girls we have developed a new technology that has allowed us to transfer the minds of all students into another online universe. The reason we have done this is very simple. In our current world, society is no more. Nobody is making human interactions with one another and we estimate that in about a few decades, humanity will cease to exist if this behavior continues. We initially decided to introduce a society back into humanity by passing a school law a decade ago but there has been little to no improvement. “

“In a last ditch effort to save humans from complete demise we have brought up our world's best scientists to concoct a satellite to transfer your minds to a different world. Your original bodies will be transferred to time capsules and kept safe in the real world, but remember that a body cannot live without its mind. Dying in this world will be equivalent to that of death on Earth so please be careful. The technologies of our current world do not exist in this one and we are forcing you to work together and live a life free of electronics. Your objective is to remake the human societies that existed hundreds of years ago and to develop the right mindset required for the continuation of humanity.”

“Students have been spread out across this virtual world in groups of thousands and we have spawned each group in separate randomly generated towns. Each town is filled with basic tools and equipment to start you off. As of the outside world we have absolutely no idea what lurks behind the town’s gates. Perhaps you will find treasures of great value, battle strong monsters or maybe even discover a power greater than that of god. Your destiny is in your hands.

“The time capsules will be released thirty years from now along with your mind. You are humanity's’ last hope. Project Online has been commenced.”

It's been nearly a week since they’ve been stuck in this virtual world and the mentality has surprisingly been strong. Despite lacking social skills, the teenagers were able to create a miniature society and establish order around the town. The progress was slow but in a month they should be able to have a fully developed community. In addition they’ve also managed to experiment with the extent of their abilities in this world. Apparently some people have been blessed with the power of a certain element and are able to control it similar to magic. The only drawback was that it requires certain chain of words to execute a command. The study of this phenomenon has already commenced and in a few more weeks, the most efficient magical chants should be discovered.

Lias stared up at the sky and closed his eyes. He was not one of the blessed magic users and like many people he had no special ability. As a result he was grouped with the people that were in charge of developing the town’s interior structure.

“Hey lazy ass, get to work!” the boss screeched.

Lias slowly got up and walked towards the construction site while giving everyone a look of abomination. He grabbed my tools and began nailing boards into a house. He pictured his boss’ head as the board as he slammed the nails down onto the raw wood.

“You're going to break the board”

Lias turned around and saw a little girl. She had dark silver hair; it wasn’t long but the length was just enough to dangle right above her shoulder. Her eyes were like little diamonds in a sea of gold and the overwhelming dazzling forced everyone to talk to her with their head staring straight at the ground. She carried a wooden staff and wore a badge on her chest with the crest symbolizing the mages. Immediate jealousy filled Lias’s head.

“Well what you going to do about it?” Lias lashed back as he stood staring straight into her eyes.

A sudden Intensive deep coldness filled his chest and his knees buckled. It almost felt as if she completely froze his lungs. Lias went face first into the ground gasping for air.

“Next time you say something I’ll make sure your whole body turns to ice” she smirked as she playfully watched Lias’s painful struggle for oxygen.

“Know your place weakling” she laughed off in the distance.

Burning tears of humiliation dripped down his face as he pounded the ground in frustration. He was absolutely sick of this hierarchy and was determined to break it. Lias stood up and stormed off towards the town’s gate.

Everyone stood uncertain of  what to do. Nobody had gone outside the gates in fear of the unknown but he was sick of getting bossed around. He knew that he could no longer bear staying within the town’s walls and without hesitation he kicked open the gates and ran out.

Lias ran as far as my feet could take him and he felt a rush of wind across his face as he ran across a field full of grass. Each blade glimmered in the bright sunlight creating a sea of gold. He marveled at the beauty of mother nature and he flopped down onto the ground. He stared up towards the vast sky and its mighty clouds. It’s beauty rivaled that of the field and he witnessed a battle of allure.

Then suddenly a shade of darkness overtook the battlefield of colors and drained the elegant colors of the scenery. A chill vibrated through his spine as he slowly stood up and turned around.

Behind him stood a massive ogre the size of a truck poised in a threatening position. His eyes widened in both surprise and fear as he slowly backed away. Giant fumes of smoke emerged from the ogre’s nostrils as it took each raspy breath and it’s eyes fixed upon his small little body with a blood curdling stare. In one hand it carried a trunk of a tree most likely its weapon of choice and in the other was a rotten carcass of some sort of animal. This species of ogre was clearly not herbivore and with no weapon He stood no chance against this monstrous beast.

Lias surveyed his surroundings and he saw a thick forest nearby. In hopes of the trees providing refuge for his dire situation he made a break for the nearest brush.  

The ogre took a moment to process its bearings but in no time it was tailing Lias’ every movements. Even in the forest the trees proved to be futile against the detection of the ogre and in a matter of moments Lias found myself bolting for his life.

Exhausted of energy and with every step becoming twice as heavier than the last Lias made a final sprint towards a clearing. He bursted out through the forest ready to collapse and immediately after he felt the familiar red eyes piercing my back. There was no need to turn back for confirmation and an inevitable feeling of death overtook his brain. He could feel the breath of death slowly scratching the back of his neck. In front of him lay a massive crevice of darkness that split the earth in two.

With no energy to fight back Lias knew it was either diving into the crevice or getting eaten by an