Chapter 1: Chapter 1: You have been summoned to The Ruins(1)

"Akir." The physics professor, who stood in front of the class, addressed me, and multiple heads turned towards me.

The professor, who looked 50 years old, had brown hair that had a couple of gray hair strands mixed in, and his dark eye bags told me that he regretted having children.

"Yes?" I asked, feigning curiosity.

"You looked like you weren't paying attention." The professor said disingenuously.

"You are mistaken, I was paying attention, even though it might have not looked like I was." I said with an innocent expression, as I quickly looked over the chalkboard.

The subject seemed to be the gray zone between solid and liquid.

"Well, then, would you care to explain what the gray zone is." The professor asked.

'So all he wants me to do is to answer a couple of questions, and then we'll move on.' I thought.

"The gray zone is the zone that liquid and solid has to cross to transition." I replied immediately.

"And what does the gray zone include?" The professor asked a follow-up question as soon as I had closed my mouth.

"It includes inter molecular forces acting on the molecules and atoms that make the change in state from cold to hot and vice versa." I answered the question, as quickly as he had asked it.

"Very good. Now pay attention. Even the student council president doesn't have the right to do whatever he wants." The professor said.

"Yes." I responded and heard someone chuckle.

Apparently, someone found it funny that I was being reprimanded.

I quickly turned my gaze in the direction where the chuckle came from, and my dull gray eyes met the lively green eyes of a man with dirty blond hair.

My glared at him for about 200 milliseconds, until his face turned pale, and he quickly turned his gaze towards the professor.

I looked around the class and noticed that all the people around me looked to be exhausted with school.

I sighed inwardly and started paying attention to the professor.

Studying was something I could never like, but I still did it every day.

Why?

Why do people do things they don't like?

Maybe they think displeasure is an essential part of life and have convinced themselves that life is worth living because pleasure outweighs displeasure.

I don't agree with those thoughts.

Perhaps I would, if I had experienced pleasure for even a moment in my entire life.

What keeps me pushing is my future.

After I earn a fortune and retire early, everything will be worth it.

I will be the happiest and most free man that has ever lived.

***

After school, I was walking home, when a man ran up to me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, you good? I've never seen you slack off like that." The man said in a worried voice.

It was Grant, a man with light brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had something on my mind." I assured Grant.

"Wanna share?" He asked in a friendly manner, while tilting his head.

"Nah, it was something completely irrelevant." I said, trying to avoid a conversation.

"Oh, have you finally awakened your sex drive? It's about damn time, the girls have been waiting for years." Grant joked.

"Not yet, maybe in a couple more years." I answered with an amused smile.

"Your good looks are wasted on you. Why don't you give them to that loser?" Grant said with a laugh as he pointed at some skinny nerd who was walking in front of us.

"Yeah, I'll consider it." I said with a laugh.

"Haha, I gotta go now. See ya." Grant said, and started walking in another direction.

"See ya." I said with a smile on my face.

As soon as Grant was far enough, my smile faded, and my face turned completely indifferent.

I turned my gaze forward and saw the nerdy kid that Grant had pointed at.

I didn't get why he called other people losers when he was clearly one himself.

He acted like we were best friends because he thought he could make himself look cool by hanging with me.

I went along with his behavior since his family was rich, and I could benefit from a connection with him. He was also the student council vice president, so it would be impossible for me to avoid having anything to do with him.

***

When I opened the door, nothing greeted me.

The apartment had three rooms, The kitchen, The bathroom, and my room.

There was no special smell or sound in the apartment.

I took my shoes off and headed into my room.

You are reading story The Ruins at novel35.com

After entering my room, I placed my backpack on the floor and walked into the kitchen.

I followed my routine of cooking, eating studying, going to the gym, cooking more, eating more, studying more, and sleeping.

The next day was the same.

The days passed like a film in front of my eyes.

On one day, I was at the gym staring at myself in the mirror.

The man in the mirror had black hair styled into a middle part undercut and dull and lifeless, gray eyes. He was sickening to look at.

The gym was empty. I was alone. Not just here but everywhere and all the time. I had lost everyone I had in my life.

Some I pushed away myself and some were taken from me, and now I am the only one who remains in my life, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing.

It isn't a bad thing. I don't need anyone to rely on.

I collected myself and walked over to the squat rack.

After getting ready, I felt 220 kilograms weigh on my shoulders and lowered my body.

The first time was relatively easy. The second, not so much. The third felt like I could barely make it, and the fourth was impossible.

I tried for what felt like hours, but my legs just couldn't generate enough power. I tried to scream, but no voice came out.

In the end, my legs gave out. It was a pathetic and meaningless effort.

I could have avoided pain by giving up earlier, so why didn't I? I wasn't a masochist or anything, so why did I try for so long when I knew it was impossible? I guess it was just my will to succeed that overrode my logical thinking.

***

I came from the shower and went to cook some food.

I made some rice and cooked the chicken that I had placed on the counter before I went into the shower.

I sat down and stared at my plate as I ate. The food didn't taste like anything. It was so dry that I felt like I was eating sand.

"Haaah." I sighed after finishing my meal.

I washed the dishes, brushed my teeth, and went to sleep.

***

In the morning, I made some coffee and went to the terrace to drink it. It was Saturday, so I was in no hurry. I drank my coffee on the terrace while looking at the sunrise.

'Why do people always take pictures of it?' I thought.

I didn't find it beautiful at all. It was just a yellow ball rising on the horizon.

I finished my coffee and walked inside.

Suddenly, I felt a weird sensation and the coffee mug fell out of my hands.

In the blink of an eye, I found myself in some kind of cave with lots of other people that seemed to be about my age.

My heart skipped a beat, my eyes went wide, and I looked around frantically.

The cave looked pretty regular. It was shaped like a half sphere, and the stone was a saturated gray color.

I started observing the others to detach myself from the situation.

The others were screaming while searching for their phones and or looking around frantically like I had done.

As I looked around, I started to notice that some people had been sleeping when they were transported here and were in their pajamas.

It seemed no one was unlucky enough to have been transported naked.

I, myself, considered myself lucky, as I was wearing black sweatpants and a white t-shirt.

People were looking for their phones and screaming frantically, but I was calm.

Maybe that was because I wasn't as attached to my life as they were, and this situation was too absurd for me to take it seriously.

Suddenly I felt severe head pain.

The people in the cave started screaming even louder as the pain felt like their heads were being ripped apart.

Even my own voice joined the screams.

The pain lasted for about ten seconds, and when it came to an end, I heard my own voice in my head.

However, they weren't my own thoughts.

What I heard was more like a message that took the form of my own voice.

[You have been sum-]

I couldn't hear the rest of the message over all the throwing up that was happening.

Thankfully, the message played again.

[You have been summoned to The Ruins]

You can find story with these keywords: The Ruins, Read The Ruins, The Ruins novel, The Ruins book, The Ruins story, The Ruins full, The Ruins Latest Chapter