20.87

That was the time staring back at Dayo and the rest of the stadium.

For about five whole seconds, the entire arena went silent.

No breathing.

No movement.

Just shock.

Then—

A roar exploded through Lucas Oil Stadium so loud it shook the floorboards.

People screamed from every direction, the sound bouncing off the walls, echoing back, doubling. Even the fans outside who were watching on the giant screens screamed loud enough that their voices leaked inside.

"JDDDDDD!!!"

"20.87!! WHATTT?!"

"THIS GUY IS NOT NORMAL!!"

"OLYMPIC CHAMPION TIME IN THE TRIALS??!!"

The commentators were yelling all over each other. Cameramen were running like they forgot they were at work.

Even some officials stood frozen, staring at the scoreboard as if their eyes were playing tricks on them.

Dayo himself just stood there, blinking.

He looked at the time again.

20.87.

His fingers tightened around the pool edge.

His chest rose and fell.

He didn't understand how he managed it. He knew he pushed himself at the end, but this?

He looked around, confused, surprised, almost laughing from disbelief.

The crowd screamed louder when they saw his reaction.

He slowly lifted his hand to wave, and the arena erupted again like he just scored a game-winning goal.

Even the swimmers who finished were looking at him like they were witnessing something unreal.

Then Dayo turned and saw Alex.

Alex's face was twisted—shock mixed with anger, confusion, fear.

He muttered under his breath, his voice shaking:

"Why… why… how? How did he pass me? This doesn't make sense… I was ahead. I was ahead. I was ahead. How…?"

Dayo heard every word.

He wasn't even angry.

He just pitied him.

But the person he pitied the most wasn't Alex—

It was Evan.

This might be Evan's last ever chance to qualify for the Olympics. He was twenty-seven. His window was closing. He trained for years, sacrificed everything, stayed disciplined—and still fell short because of this madness happening around them.

The officials released the final results:

1. Dayo – 20.87

2. Alex – 21.45

3. Evan – 21.73

4. Michael Brooks – 21.81

5. Chase Warner – 21.90

6. Leo McKinney – 21.95

7. Tyler Rhodes – 22.01

8. Mason Hall – 22.05

The crowd went wild again at Dayo's number being displayed twice at the top.

Evan just stood there, staring at the screen. His eyes were red, not from water, but from pain—deep pain.

Dayo walked up to him.

"Yo," he said quietly.

Evan looked away immediately. "I'm not crying."

"Mm-hmm," Dayo replied, giving him a small side smile.

Evan let out a shaky breath. "This was it, man… this was my last shot."

Dayo placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Listen. There's always a surprise waiting somewhere. Don't close your mind."

Evan frowned. "What surprise?"

Dayo chuckled. "If I tell you, it won't be a surprise. But bro… don't give up. Stay in shape. A lot can happen before the actual Olympic lineup is sealed. Just stay ready."

Evan stared at him for a long second, then nodded slowly. "Thanks, man."

"No wahala," Dayo said, giving his shoulder a pat.

The stadium was still shaking from noise. People were jumping, hugging, waving shirts, recording everything, calling friends, messaging family.

NBC, ESPN, CNN, FOX, local sports stations—every major media outlet rushed like crazy people to send the footage back to their headquarters.

This wasn't just a great swim—

This was Olympic-level time.

This was world-class.

And it came from someone who had stepped away for years, returned, trained for a few months, and shattered expectations.

Some media houses were already typing headlines:

"JD THE PHENOM"

"20.87 — A STAR IS BORN AGAIN"

"AMERICA'S NEW COMET"

"JD BREAKS THE INTERNET AGAIN"

Fans started leaving immediately after Dayo left the pool area.

To them, the show was over—they came to watch Dayo, and Dayo gave them more than enough.

Backstage, the place was chaos.

Reporters were scrambling.

Coaches were whispering.

Officials were arguing about checking equipment, as if the timing system must be glitched.

But nothing was wrong.

Dayo simply swam out of his mind.

He took pictures, shook some hands, signed some autographs.

But he was tired. Everything had drained him mentally, not just physically. So the moment security opened a pathway, he slipped out with them and headed straight to the car.

---

Back at the hotel—

Dayo finally sat on his bed, towel around his neck, hair still wet.

His phone buzzed every second from mentions, tags, reposts.

But he ignored all of it.

He took a deep breath…

DING!

A familiar blue glow flashed across his eyes.

Dayo exhaled and sat upright.

"Alright… let's see what you're saying this time."

The system unfolded slowly, line by line:

[ Rank Upgrade Acquired ]

[ Swimming Skill Rank: A+ → S- ]

Dayo froze.

"Wait… what?"

He blinked twice.

S-?

He rubbed his eyes and checked again.

[ Current Rank: S- ]

It hit him then.

That moment in the race where everything went silent, where he stopped thinking and just moved, where something inside him snapped and pushed him forward—

That was when he broke through.

He remembered how it felt… unreal, smooth, like the entire pool became lighter for him.

He leaned back slowly, staring at the glowing text, a long breath leaving his chest.

"So… that's what happened…"

He kept staring, smiling without realizing it.

[STATS]

Name: Jason Dayo

Age: 22

Status: Regional Artist (Level 6)

Singing: A+

Writing: S−

Acting: A+

Visual: A+

Instruments:

• Guitar – SS+

• Flute – A+

• Piano – S−

• Violin – A−

Movie Production: A+

Scriptwriting: A+

Swimming: S-

Cooking: SS+

Computer: SS−

Music Production: SSS+

Video Editing: A−

Potential: SSS+

Skills:

• Prodigy's Instinct

• Status Viewer — Talent Vision

• Perfect Match

• Market Resonance

• Archive Vault

• Skill Integration Protocol

• Emotional Transduction

• Hypersonic Synthesis

System Level: 3

Active Effects (Mission 3):

Special Endorsement Buff — active

(+5% reputation gain; +5% brand interest)

[New Mission Unlocked — Olympic Trials]

Objective: Reach the Final Round of the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Bonus Objective: Set a new personal best under 21.30 seconds.

Reward: Unknown

Penalty: None

Status: Completed.

Seeing this Dayo smiled now let see what the unknown reward is.

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