Waking up
(Swimming stadium rooftop, 4:27AM)
"Augh" Michael groaned as he slowly awoke from his deep slumber.
'What am I doing here?' Memories of what happened rush into his head 'Oh, that's what happened'
As went to Michael sit up, he noticed all his clothes were damp with a red liquid, including a puddle of viscous dark red liquid underneath him.
'Thank god it's summer, otherwise I would've froze to death'
"Fucking system, you could've warned me about this"
...
"You don't talk?"
...
"Ok"
Michael looked forward and noticed a holographic screen notifying him of a 'starter pack' gift.
'Well let's see what this whole system is about'
"Status"
[SWIMMING SYSTEM
NAME: Michael Alexander
AGE: 22
SYSTEM LEVEL: 1 (0/100 sport points to level-up)
SPORT POINTS: 0
TALENT ASSESSMENT: F-
EVALUATION: A pitiful boy who can only dream of being an above average swimmer]
----
[USER MENU
*USER STATS*
*SKILLS*
*MISSIONS*
*SHOP* (locked)
*WHEEL* (locked)]
[To unlock more system functions, please increase the system level]
Michael understood the system interface from a single glance, after all it is very similar to popular video games and it is self-explanatory what each system function does.
Michael was a little disturbed when he got to the talent assessment and evaluation, no one would like to be called trash and pitiful.
Ignoring this, he pressed on the 'User Stats' page to find out about his stats.
[USER STATS
Strength: 0.9
Agility: 1.1
Stamina: 1.2
Constitution: 0.6
(1 is the average stats of a human who does light exercise and eats well)
(Constitution is a measure of how fast you recover, how injury resistant you are, and how well your body does against pathogens and poisons.)
'I hope the system has a way of helping me increase these stats in a short time' Michael hoped to increase the numbers in a short time, because there was another swim race in 2 months. If he was able to do well there, he could have a chance of getting picked up by high-performing clubs and academies with well-known coaches that have decades of experience and that have coached elite world-wide swimmers.
The swim race will be held in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. It wouldn't be too far away considering Michael lives in Alexandria, a coastal city of Egypt.
'Let's check the skills tab, I'll leave missions for last.' Michael pressed on the 'skills' tab.
[USER SKILLS
Freestyle technique: LV.2 (68/200)
Breaststroke technique: LV.1 (14/100)
Backstroke technique: LV.1 (94/100)
Butterfly technique: LV.1 (89/100)]
'I don't know if those are good numbers or not, let's just hope I can increase them quickly' Michael clicked off the user skills tab, then went over to the 'Missions' tab.
'Hopefully I get a mission that gives me a good reward.' Michael then got a excited as he noticed the missions tab was blinking red, as if notifying him of something new.
[USER MISSIONS
#NEW MISSION: Preparation to become a decent swimmer.
Tasks: Swim 35km in 1 week, speeds below 1.4 meters/second don't count. (0/50)
Do 15 pull-ups daily for a week.
Do 150 sit-ups daily for a week.
Do 1 round of full stretches for your shoulders every night before bed for a week.
Rewards: C-grade constitution enhancing elixir (slightly increases other stats)
Punishments for failure: Removal of system
(Note: Removal of system after integration leads to instant death)
'Instant death?! holy shit' Michael screamed in his mind as he read the note, he got an ominous feeling whenever he read the punishments for failure.
'It doesn't matter, I was about to die anyways if it weren't for the system. My only choice is to strive forward and become the best swimmer with the help of the system.' Michael thought in his mind.
Gaining newfound determination, Michael was about to go swim, then suddenly.
*GROWL*
His stomach growled in protest as if it sensed Michael was about to perform strenuous effort without even having breakfast or dinner the last night.
'Wai- OH SHIT' Thinking about him not eating dinner or breakfast, Michael remembered than he slept on a rooftop! He didn't even come home last night.
'Mother and Kai are probably dying from worry' Michael felt guilty as he completely forgot about them, even if crazy supernatural things happened to him.
He quickly got the starter pack that the system gave him.
"Open gift"
[DING]
[Obtained a bag with futuristic-grade swimming equipment, designed to always perfectly fit your body, even if your size changes.]
*THUMP*
Suddenly, a backpack materialized out of thin air, slamming onto the concrete, signifying it's heavy weight.
Michael opened the backpack, and saw goggles, a swim cap, fins, hand paddles, and a swimsuit.
As soon as Michael opened the backpack, he got assaulted by a unique smell, it was a smell that screamed all this stuff was super expensive and high-quality!
Michael remembered this smell from when he used to admire the high-tech swimsuits that offer zero friction against the water, making the swimmer so much more efficient.
Remembering that his mother is still worried about him, he hurriedly closed the backpack and wore it on his back.
Michael hurriedly got down from the rooftop, and sneaked out of the stadium without any security noticing him.
This was light-work for him as he knew the stadium like the back of his hand, he had come here many times after all.
But there was quite a big problem Michael noticed, all his clothes were ripped in multiple places and drenched in blood!
As soon as Michael got out of the stadium and walked in the streets, everyone was gawking at him, some people even ran away when they saw him, thinking he was some type of serial killer that was caught in the act and is running away from the police.
Michael didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he noticed all the gazes at him, but there was nothing he could really do, he had no cellphone, money, or change of clothes.
After walking for 40 minutes and running away whenever he would spot a police officer in the distance, Michael finally arrived at his apartment.