0121 The Consequences of Showing Off

"Another attribute critical hit?"

Watching the continuous notifications popping up on his interface, Chen Jue couldn't help but grin. This afternoon's swimming training had truly been a pleasant surprise; attribute points were rolling in as if they were free.

Taking advantage of the temporary stat boost from the pre-workout supplement, Chen Jue planned to swim a few more laps to push his limits and exhaust the last of his energy. However, since he didn't have much stamina left, he decided against attempting underwater swimming. Coach Wang had warned him that underwater swimming required high physical conditioning and carried significant risks, so it should only be attempted when one is in peak condition.

Furthermore, after his [Swimming] skill leveled up to Lv3, Chen Jue noticed his speed increasing significantly. To verify this, he surfaced and asked Coach Wang to time him with a stopwatch. Coach Wang did not refuse, as he had witnessed Chen Jue’s terrifying rate of improvement. In particular, Chen Jue had mastered the techniques for backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and medley almost instantly, and his breathing rhythm and timing had transitioned from clumsy to increasingly proficient. Seeing this, Coach Wang grew curious about what kind of results this auditor from outside the university could achieve in the sport.

"Ma Qiang! Come over here and swim 200 meters with your senior!" Coach Wang gestured to Ma Qiang in lane 7.

Ma Qiang hurried over to the starting block, asking, "Coach, how should we swim it?"

"Let's try a medley," Coach Wang suggested. "Start when I blow the whistle, and I'll time you both."

Chen Jue had no objections; he joined Ma Qiang on the starting blocks. Formal swimming competitions begin outside the pool, and the starting block is as crucial as the starting blocks used in a sprint. Since Chen Jue had never practiced a competitive dive, he fumbled for a moment before mimicking Ma Qiang’s crouched stance.

When the whistle blew, the two launched themselves like arrows into their respective lanes. It was Chen Jue's first time attempting a competitive start, and he felt the explosive power was far greater than pushing off the pool wall. Upon entering the water, he extended his arms and performed a dolphin-like undulation with his torso and legs, using the momentum to glide to the 15-meter limit marker. Because the bottom of the pool had clear markings and he was wearing goggles, he could easily spot the limit.

As the underwater phase ended, Chen Jue surfaced and began the first leg of the medley: the butterfly stroke. The butterfly stroke, named for the way an athlete’s arms spread out like wings, resembled a dolphin leaping from the water. Because Chen Jue had been focusing on upper-body strength to reach his goal of "grabbing that golden brick," his upper-body explosive power was immense. Once he broke the surface, he accelerated with high frequency, matching Ma Qiang, who had been training since childhood.

When the first 50 meters were completed, Coach Wang, who was timing from the poolside, frowned in thought: "Ma Qiang has improved quite a bit lately; he actually broke 26 seconds in the 50-meter butterfly. But this auditor, Chen Jue, has incredible natural talent. His technique is still a bit raw, but his explosive power is so strong that he also finished under 26 seconds!"

Coach Wang was stunned. Hand-timed results are slightly less accurate than electronic ones due to human reaction time, but in the hands of a professional coach, the difference is usually only about 0.3 seconds. This meant Chen Jue had finished his first 50 meters in just over 26 seconds.

According to athletic standards, finishing a 50-meter butterfly under 27 seconds qualifies one as a Level 1 athlete. While that might not sound like much, Chen Jue had only practiced professional competitive swimming techniques for a single afternoon, leaving him massive room for growth. If Chen Jue hadn't been over the age limit for college-level competitions, Coach Wang would have wanted to recruit him into the Jiang University swimming team on the spot.

What did it matter if he was an auditor? Many sports competitions allowed for special guests or wild-card entries. Besides, this was a medley; there were still 150 meters to go, and athletes usually pace themselves to conserve stamina. As expected, after completing the butterfly, both Chen Jue and Ma Qiang performed a slick turn into the backstroke. Chen Jue’s arm strokes became wider and more powerful, increasing his speed even further.

Unlike the butterfly, the backstroke was something Chen Jue had mastered in his youth. He had learned to survive his reckless childhood swims in reservoirs by relying on a self-taught backstroke. With his newfound professional technique and the explosive power in his arms, Chen Jue pulled ahead, leaving Ma Qiang five meters behind by the end of the backstroke.

Even Coach Wang on the sidelines looked at his stopwatch, wide-eyed: "27.03 seconds for the backstroke! That’s nearing the performance of an international master!"

Of course, this result was largely due to the pre-workout supplement. Under the influence of the temporary attribute boost, his physical performance was 10% higher than usual, and his explosive power and stamina were clearly superior to Ma Qiang’s. However, the individual medley is a grueling test of endurance, and after more than an hour of prior training, Chen Jue’s stamina began to plummet. His speed in the final breaststroke and freestyle legs slowed significantly.

When the 200-meter medley concluded, Chen Jue clocked in at 2 minutes and 13 seconds. Ma Qiang, leveraging his national-level endurance, pulled ahead in the final stretch to finish in 2 minutes and 7 seconds.

"Senior, you're amazing!" Ma Qiang said, stunned by the results. "You just learned these professional strokes, and you're already at a Level 1 athlete's pace. If you practiced for a while longer, you could definitely enter formal competitions."

According to the standards, a 200-meter medley in a 50-meter pool qualifies as a Level 1 performance if finished under 2 minutes and 19 seconds.

"I just got lucky," Chen Jue said modestly, waving a hand. "I could explode in the first half, but I ran out of gas toward the end."

Coach Wang added, "Chen Jue, it's normal that your stamina isn't up to par with Ma Qiang yet, given this is your first time. But your backstroke speed is incredible. If you polish it, you're definitely qualified to compete in professional 50-meter backstroke events!"

Professional swimmers like Ma Qiang were usually scouted from kindergarten, whereas Chen Jue was a late bloomer relying on his interface and raw physical stats. After the praise, Chen Jue felt a bit lightheaded, thinking, "Could I really compete professionally?"

However, when he heard that top-tier international 50-meter backstroke times were under 24 seconds, that thought vanished. He was still far from international levels; at best, he might show his face in a provincial-level competition, but he was nothing special on a national scale. Besides, his goal wasn't to be a sports celebrity; he just wanted to improve his physical fitness through [Swimming].

Having no further ambitions in this area, he chatted with Coach Wang and Ma Qiang for a while before heading to the locker room.

After leaving the pool, Chen Jue checked his attribute panel. A single afternoon of weighted training and swimming had netted him over 0.10 in attribute value—an efficiency rate equivalent to two or three days of previous gains. Furthermore, after his race with Ma Qiang, his [Swimming] skill gained 80 points of proficiency. He decided he needed to train here more often; the rapid improvement felt like using a "3x EXP scroll" in an RPG—it was addictive.

But such high gains came with a price. Just like the financial knowledge he studied, high returns come with high risks. Once he changed clothes and the countdown for the temporary attribute boost ended, he felt an intense wave of exhaustion. He was so drained he could barely lift his 27kg weighted gear. He felt hollowed out, his steps heavy and unsteady.

"Damn," he muttered. "It really is a comprehensive boost—swimming is exhausting."

As he stumbled from the locker room to an electric massage chair in the lobby, a new notification popped up:

——————
【Ding~】
【You have completed an aerobic exercise beyond your limits. Your body is in a state of extreme fatigue.】
【Your stamina has dropped significantly, and various attributes have suffered temporary decay.】
【Please replenish your intake and arrange for proper rest to ensure your body returns to a healthy level.】
——————

Chen Jue checked his panel and saw that his Strength, Constitution, and Spirit had all suffered "–0.10" drops. Overwhelmed by a sudden, crushing wave of sleepiness, he sat in the massage chair, used the last of his energy to scan the QR code for payment, and fell fast asleep amidst the mechanical kneading.

He couldn't help it! He was just too damn tired!