0119 Breaking the Limits of Underwater Swimming!

Looking at the notification popping up on the panel, Chen Jue was stunned.

When he swam normally, his [Swimming] proficiency would only increase by +1. Yet, by not swimming "properly" and diving instead, he could gain +50 at once—it was truly bizarre.

"Could it be that underwater diving is the skill humans were actually meant to master for survival?" Chen Jue mused.

Recalling how he had gained more [Climbing] proficiency by scrambling up trees than by practicing formal rock climbing, he immediately understood the logic. The primary purpose for which his ancestors developed the [Swimming] skill was to capture food from the water to stave off hunger, as well as to evade natural disasters like floods and predators.

Swimming fast on the surface was only one factor; being able to stay submerged for longer and dive deeper was what truly aligned with survival conditions. Moreover, the pool was a relatively safe environment. If he were to swim in wild rivers, lakes, or the sea, he might trigger tags related to practical combat or real-world training, further accelerating his proficiency gains.

...

Once he grasped the logic behind the proficiency growth of [Swimming], Chen Jue stopped obsessing over imitating professional swimming techniques. He was practicing [Swimming] purely to improve his physical fitness and boost his attribute values. As long as diving helped with that, he would focus on studying that method.

At first, Chen Jue swam with his head down, face toward the bottom, hovering just a few centimeters below the surface. He used the momentum from pushing off the pool wall to dash through the first half of the pool before gliding forward. With his current lung capacity, a single deep breath allowed him to dive in and hold his breath until he reached the 25-meter mark.

One such dive netted him +50 proficiency. After two round trips, his [Swimming] skill leveled up from Lv0 to Lv1. As a surge of unfamiliar muscle memory flooded his body, Chen Jue tested his movements in the water and found that his stroke strength had increased slightly. Each stroke propelled him an extra ten centimeters or so. Evidently, the panel had used its correction function to forcibly refine his self-taught, unconventional technique, making his arm strokes more efficient and his kicking motion more standard.

However, after trying another 25-meter dive, Chen Jue noticed the proficiency gain had dropped from +50 to +25. He surmised that because his [Swimming] skill had improved, the panel now deemed the difficulty of a single lap lower, effectively halving the reward.

To test his theory, Chen Jue increased the difficulty for his fourth lap. Instead of hovering just below the surface, he plunged headfirst, sinking all the way to the bottom of the pool!

He pushed off with a powerful kick, his body shooting forward like an arrow, crossing the 10-meter mark in an instant. Because he was at the bottom, his swimming motion changed from alternating arm strokes to a paddle-like motion where he thrust his arms forward and swept them to the sides, while his legs continued a flutter-kick motion similar to freestyle.

Using this odd technique, he dove all the way to the finish line. When he surfaced, the panel popped up a new notification:

——————
【Ding~】
【Completed a high-intensity underwater aerobic exercise. Your limb explosiveness has increased, your cardiopulmonary capacity has been effectively trained, and your swimming technique has significantly improved.】
【Swimming proficiency +50】
【Strength attribute +0.01】
【Free attribute +0.01】
——————
【Ding~】
【Due to the impact of water pressure, your eardrum has suffered a minor tear.】
【Constitution attribute temporarily -0.01】
【Friendly reminder: Once the eardrum recovers and heals, the temporarily reduced attribute will be restored automatically.】
——————

"What?"
"Attributes can decrease?"
Chen Jue was shocked and hurried to check the panel.

Sure enough, behind his [Constitution] attribute, which had reached 2.07 thanks to the nitric oxide booster, there was now a blood-red downward arrow "↓" and a red "-0.01" label.

This sudden turn of events made Chen Jue instantly alert. Recalling the dive to a depth of 1.8 meters, he realized he had indeed felt something odd—a large amount of pool water had been forced into his ear canals. When swimming on the surface, this didn't happen because the air trapped in the ear canals kept the water out. Once he reached the bottom, the increased water pressure pushed the air out, allowing the water to impact his eardrums. He had even heard a faint "pop" and felt a slight stinging sensation, which he had ignored in his rush to reach the end.

The consequences had arrived the moment he stepped out of the water.

Seeing his [Constitution] drop, Chen Jue immediately climbed out of the pool and bought a pair of high-quality waterproof earplugs from the front desk. Relying on the panel's powerful recovery, he hadn't taken training injuries seriously. Now, after being taught a lesson by the pool, he realized the human body wasn't invincible. Even professional swimmers spent years adapting to water pressure. A novice like him diving straight to the bottom was clearly reckless.

"It's alright! It's alright!"
"It's just a minor injury, the pain isn't intense."
"I'll use some medicine or try some ear massages when I get back, it should heal." He comforted himself, then tried putting on the earplugs to practice in shallow water.

He had bought high-quality external earplugs that blocked the outer ear canal without causing internal pressure, avoiding the risk of trapping water or bacteria. With these, he dove back in. He swam several laps without water entering his ears, and his [Swimming] proficiency grew rapidly. Soon, another notification appeared:

——————
【Ding~】
【Proficiency reached 100%. Skill level increased.】
【Swimming Lv1 → Lv2】
【Your understanding of swimming has deepened, your posture has become more efficient, your body is gradually adapting to shallow water pressure, and your swimming speed has increased.】
【Due to prolonged exposure to water pressure, your lung capacity has slightly increased.】
【Constitution attribute +0.01】
——————

"Hoo~ ha~"
"Leveled up again!"
Chen Jue looked at the panel in surprise. He hadn't expected his new [Swimming] skill to level up twice in such a short time. He had clearly hit on the secret to skill progression. Moreover, in less than half an hour, he had gained 0.04 in total attributes.

"No wonder Coach Li Rui planned the swimming sessions so densely!"
"This sport really has a huge impact on physical fitness." Chen Jue felt a sense of awe; professional planning was indeed far more efficient than his blind training.

...

After half an hour in the public pool, Chen Jue felt the 25-meter length was no longer challenging enough, as he still felt he had plenty of breath left when he reached the end. He climbed out and walked toward the standard competition pool next door.

The competition pool was 50 meters long and 30 meters wide, with a depth gradient from 3 meters at the starting end to 2 meters at the finish, featuring 8 lanes. Several student athletes from the Jiang University swim team were training there under the guidance of a professional middle-aged coach. After observing for a moment, Chen Jue jumped into an empty lane.

The coach didn't stop him, as the pool was open to the public and many visitors used the competition lanes. Since it wasn't a competition day, there was plenty of room.

However, the coach was surprised to see Chen Jue surface to take one deep breath and then dive straight to the bottom, swimming forward like a long, twisting fish. Even after passing the 15-meter mark, he showed no signs of surfacing.

The coach watched him closely, muttering to himself, "Still not surfacing after 15 meters? Does he not know the rules? Or is he a hidden expert?"
"Still, that speed is impressive!"

According to FINA rules, a swimmer cannot remain submerged for more than 15 meters after a start or turn, or they are disqualified. This rule was established after the legendary Chinese swimmer Mu Xiangxiong, the "Frog King," dominated breaststroke competitions by staying underwater for most of the race, leaving his opponents in the dust. The rule was eventually standardized in 1998.

Because of this, athletes rarely practiced long-distance underwater swimming. Only a reckless novice like Chen Jue would ignore the rules and dive the entire length.

The coach became increasingly puzzled. Chen Jue’s diving distance was absurd; he passed the 25-meter mark without surfacing. When Chen Jue began to stroke and kick, the coach was even more confused: "What kind of technique is that? A mix of freestyle and breaststroke? Are young people today this chaotic?"

Before the coach could process this, Chen Jue continued. He passed 30 meters, then 40 meters. In the final 10 meters, Chen Jue felt a tightness in his chest. Oxygen depletion was causing a slight sense of suffocation. Seeing the finish line approaching, he accelerated along the sloped pool floor, touching the end just as he ran out of air.

"He actually dove 50 meters in one breath!"
"Where did this kid come from? Is he a student?"

The coach was stunned, and even a student athlete in the next lane looked on in disbelief.
"Holy cow! What kind of iron lungs are those!"

As Chen Jue surfaced and took a deep breath, the panel flashed:

——————
【Ding~】
【Completed an extreme underwater aerobic exercise. Your swimming posture has been reinforced, and your diving technique has been strengthened. Under extreme oxygen-deprived conditions, your metabolic function has been enhanced, your cardiopulmonary system has begun to adapt to underwater hypoxia, and your physical endurance has significantly increased.】
【Swimming proficiency +100】
【Constitution attribute +0.03】
——————