After around 20 seconds, the swimmers reach the midway point with their froggy skills. The boy on lane 8, from Samadhi School for the Talented, was way ahead of the competition.
With the current second place being a boy from TYM and third from RF. It's not bad. Here, there isn't really a point to winning the qualifying.
You get a little medal that says "Q" and maybe the attention of some scouts, but that's all. It has literally no impact on your final standings in the actual tournament.
As the swimmers start the return to the starting point for lap 1, the family members and assumed friends and girlfriends of the competitors start cheering encouraging words.
"FIGHTING! GO GO GO, lane 3!"
"Wooowooowooo! First place for lane 8! Woohooo!!!!"
"GET IT!!! Wooohoooo!"
When they touch the start/finish point, lane 8 is in the lead, followed by the RF student in lane 1 and a transfer student from SG School of Sports in lane 9.
Most of the field isn't too far behind, but it's safe to say that they are probably not going to be qualifying for the A leagues. What a sad sight.
However, despite this intense drama brewing up at the pool, I can sense that some of the scouts are staring at me, who is just watching.
Isn't that sad? Imagine swimming your heart out, only to be ignored for a kid that's watching you swim. It's absolutely not cash money unless you are the kid watching.
In that case, it's very cash money.
However, it's understandable why they are staring at me...it's not because of my super hot body! I mean, my abs show through my loose shirt. How anime-like is that?
...I'm talking about myself again, aren't I? Anyways, they have most likely seen my performance in the past competitions.
For the middle school district tournament that I competed at when I was 13, I won first place in the 100 meter freestyle, 200 meter freestyle and 4th for the 400 meter freestyle.
Hey, even the system has its limits, alright? Not many people have the stamina to do all of those.
Likewise, in the next year, I won gold in the 400 meter medley, which is a combination of all four swimming styles, 100 meter freestyle and bronze for the 200 meter freestyle.
That is probably what put me on the watch list for these scouts.
The reason I didn't compete in the nationals when I was 14 was because of my parents. They took Jung and I to California for almost the entire summer.
It was to reward our good behavior and amazing efforts. Hey, Jung didn't do bad in his varsity, the wrestling team, either.
And thus, here we are. My long awaited middle school nationals debut in front of maybe 200 or so people. 40 of them, looking to advance some lucky swimmer's career.
And by "lucky swimmer", I mean swimmer with a swimming system...me. I'm talking about me.
After my long thoughts, the race finally ends with how it started. Lane 8 in front, lane 10 which had the TYM student and lane 1 with the RF students.
I look up to the balcony and see the scouts taking down notes while whispering about the swimmers. They're definitely talking about lane 8, aren't they?
Another hour of other qualifying races finishing and finally, finally, it's the 100 meter freestyle.
When I stood up from my seat, on the qualifying before the 100 meter freestyle quali, I'm pretty sure I saw the scouts fix their posture into a "serious gaming" posture.
I throw my shirt onto the chair with my name and the crowd goes wild...I guess they're excited about swimming? How nice, seeing the swimming enthusiasts.
While swinging my arms around my body and stretching, I stand up onto the diving board. My goggles on my forehead my hair pushed up by my goggles.
"Wooohooooo! M-I-N-C-H-U-L! Let's go Min-chul!"
"Beat their asses!!!"
'...the Mantas are really energetic about this particular qualifying aren't they? What about the previous qualifying races? Why were you sanding your nails and checking your phones'
Wryly smiling, I wave at them. Well, at So-young. Not that I particularly favor her, it's because I NEED to. I'm just too scared to ignore that girl.
I look up at the stands and I had a lot more fans than I thought. When I was 12, I started a social media account to promote myself and just last month, it reached 10,000 followers.
'Is this why? Are they my followers? If not, why the hell are they waving pictures of my faces? Wait, I don't remember taking those pictures though...oh well'
"Oy, you're Min-chul right?"
"Uhhh, yeah? What's up?"
The guy next to me in lane 2, someone from TYM, taps my shoulder. Looking at him, he looks really fit. Maybe he diets?
"I watched some videos of yours and I just wanna say that you're really talented"
"Oh! Thanks-"
As a regular polite person, I heard his praises and stuck my hand out to offer a handshake. However, what he says next slightly shocks me.
"But!...I'm gonna beat you right now. Got it?"
"Mhmm, good luck then"
While retracting my hand, some of the Mantas who are sitting closer to us, So-young included, saw our interaction and got pissed.
"OYYYY!!! You wanna disrespect Mr. Orca on HIS swimming pool?!?!"
"ORA ORA ORA!"
"...hmmm, Beom-sok, aged 16, goes to TYM, has two little sisters, father is a doctor and mother is a housewife- ah! So he is friends with one of my disciples? This should be good..."
While the members of the Mantas were defending me, So-young was weirdly closing her eyes like she was thinking of something.
It should be something important like swimming or what to eat for dinner. Definitely.
"GET READY COMPETITORS!...WE WILL START IN 5...4..."
The booming voice from the official echoes throughout the area and while most of the contestants are fairly nervous, I have trust in my body.
I am, after all, a steel set using person.
"2...1..."
Readying my arms and hooking my toes over the edge of the diving board, I look over at the TYM guy once more before focusing on my own race.
'...why did that piss me off so much? Ughh, I guess I'll have to show him why I'm better'
"AAANNDD...GO!!!"
The loud air horn blares and all of us push off from our starting platforms. Immediately, we all start using dolphin kick under the water to go further ahead.
Everyone here deserves to be here. There is no blunders or mistakes. They are all experienced swimmers who aren't as bad as they seem.
Once I surface my head, the TYM guy next to me is the only one right beside my face. The others are by my chest, feet and one guy on lane 6 is even behind my feet.
While kicking as hard as I can, I try my hardest to not splash too much. For one, it will waste energy and two, it's a pretty dirty tactic.
Though I'd like to win, I'm not going to win that way.....unless I absolutely have to. For now, there wasn't even a recommended quest from Feelie, so I'm good.
After a few more seconds of kicking, I touch the wall and do an underwater flip in the fetus position. Once my feet are perpendicular to the wall, I push off with all my strength.
Due to my thicc thighs, with that one push, TYM guy went behind, from being level with me to being by my legs.
...damn this guy's fast.
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(A.N) yo! Another chapter for you beautiful readers and I'd just like to take a second to thank all of you who regularly or even just voted once for this book with your powerstones.
It really means a lot that some people enjoy this book, and it motivates me to continue creating.
With that being said, if you are still enjoying this novel, consider dropping a vote with your powerstones or commenting on this chapter. Other ways to support are by reviewing and adding to library.
Again, you won't ever know how much I appreciate the support and for now, it's goodbye! Peace ✌️ and love ya!