Chapter 23: Suspicion
(Mediterranean Sea, precise location unknown)
A humanoid like figure swam just above the sea bed. The figure had had long hair that trailed behind it in the water.
It seemed to have two arms and legs as normal, but at it's extremities it was shaped as fins, and it traveled at extremely unnatural speeds underwater. Other than that, nothing else could be seen as barely a speck of light could be seen at this depth.
The figure looked to be swimming towards a hill that was situated on the ocean floor. The hill was fully covered by dust, underwater plants, and a type of moss. It was impossible to guess what was under it.
The figure swam until it went through a hole that was situated at the base of the hill.
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During this week, Michael had spent quite a lot of time pondering about what to do about Rose, or more accurately 'Rosa'.
Michael thought about getting close to her just to get benefits from her family being incredibly rich, but eventually Michael decided against it.
His mother and father raised him to be a man of principle, and getting close to someone just for selfish benefit would weigh heavily on Michael's conscience.
He could completely ignore her, but that also didn't seem right. She had after all helped him win his last race and save his life. As a result, Michael felt quite a bit of gratitude.
In the end, Michael decided to drop the thought. He would leave the matter to naturally progress without thinking about it too much.
Getting back to more important matters at hand, Michael shook his head to clear his thoughts and continue swimming.
Because of the upcoming race, Michael's practices consisted of only swimming and it was very light. As a result, Michael tended to get lost in his thoughts while mindlessly swimming.
This was mainly because how much he swam and his part aquatic body. Swimming felt very natural for him and he didn't need to think about it to be able to swim, for him it became like walking. You don't need to think about how you walk, you just walk. And you can easily get lost in your thoughts while walking for extended periods of time.
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[THE DAY OF THE RACE]
(Sebastion's pool, 04:00 PM)
Michael was currently standing in the pool, with both his arms rested on the pool wall, With Sebastion standing in-front of him.
Sebastion said. "An open sea race is very different from your typical race. You will have to hop out of the water and look in-front of you to make sure you don't veer off course and swim more than 5km. So, you will do 4x100m where you will look at me every 5-10 seconds."
"But coach, why do I need to look forward when I can just feel it if I go the wrong way?" Michael asked.
"Stupid question, the waves will disorient you and make you unable to stay in a straight line, Unless you are an aquatic animal. Are you an animal? No, get back to work."
'Well, 20.1% of me is from an aquatic species. And it gave me all sorts of buffs for swimming, surely I have some type of sense of direction in an open sea right? I hope so.'
After finishing his warmup, It was 25 degrees celcius, So Michael dried himself off and wore only shorts and a t-shirt.
'It's 4:30, that should be perfect.' Michael thought as glanced at his phone screen.
The race starts at 5, so him finishing his warmup at 4:30 was almost perfect timing in his opinion.
Michael walked towards Sebastion's car, which was a huge looking SUV.
'I honestly couldn't think of a more suitable car for Sebastion's demeanor.'
After getting into the passenger seat, Sebastion turned on the engine and began to drive off.
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(Alexandria Port, 4:55 PM)
Michael had learned that the race will begin from Alexandria's Port, and end near a beach that was exactly 5km away. The finish line was set by 2 Buoys that were 20 meters apart, the location of the finish line was highlighted by a smoke signal that was coming from both Buoys.
As for Michael himself, he was feeling very confident in himself and his ability.
'I have to be careful not to over-exert myself early on in the race, while I might have a huge advantage from my physiology, I still can't get complacent. I can always mess this up and lose.'
Michael did some light stretches to get his blood flowing, and glanced at the 99 other swimmers that were beside him, all standing at the edge of the Port like him, ready to jump into the water whenever the timer begins.
'I wonder which of these people will give me the toughest challenge.' Michael thought excitedly.
He hadn't had a chance to compete with someone in a long time, and it was an itch that was dying to be scratched.
Unbeknownst to the 100 swimmers or the organizers of the event, a figure which seemed identical to the one that entered the hill was hidden below the water underneath all the swimmers. The only difference was that the figure was holding some sort of device to its eyes, seemingly looking through it like a telescope..
Author's Note: I couldn't update the past few days because I got appendicitis... my stomach was in pain for 2 days and I could barely get out of bed. Thankfully, I'm mostly better now after going to a doctor and taking anti-biotics and painkillers. And no removal of the appendix needed.
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