Chapter 12: Getting Stronger [2]
Lionel looked at me with an odd expression on his face.
I remained silent, meeting his gaze.
I could sense his hesitation, yet at the same time, curiosity seemed to be creeping in as he turned to stare at the pond again.
"Don't you think that's a bit dangerous?"
"Perhaps, but our hands have been in the water for quite a while now and nothing has happened." .
"That's true," Lionel acknowledged.
I could feel his interest in the idea of entering the pond growing.
"From what we can see, this pond has the effect of raising our stats. We did nothing except put a hand inside, and our stats increased. So, what would happen if our whole bodies were submerged?"
I could hear his breath quickening.
At this point, I knew he was already on board with the plan and only hesitated due to lingering thoughts.
This was enough for me.
I could enter the pond myself and make myself stronger, but my plan for the tutorial floor wasn't exactly centred around me.
If I got stronger, I had to make my helper strong as well.
Jumping into the pond would make me suspicious because, just like Lionel, this is my first time in this world, so how did I know the pond wasn't dangerous?
Even if I were to pass it off as a coincidence, it didn't particularly feel reassuring to know you're in a team with an impulsive person.
Lionel might have jumped into the pond after seeing the benefits it had, but he'd be wary of me.
This would make it harder to use him.
I had to make him trust me.
It would be better if it were a blind trust.
While it was annoying I had to go about in a roundabout way to get the desired results, what mattered was that the end result was satisfactory.
Knowing that saying more would likely do more harm than good for me, I decided to give Lionel the final push.
I slowly took off my clothes.
I only had a plain brown shirt and grey joggers that had gotten dirty now.
They weren't particularly complicated clothes so I undressed easily under the occasional glances of Lionel.
Soon, I was only in my singlet and boxers like Lionel.
He didn't question me and just looked at me with worry.
He was probably wondering if jumping into the pond was a good idea regardless of the possible benefits.
I wasn't going to talk more about it and was going to show him instead.
"Is this really-"
Splash!
He hadn't finished speaking before I jumped into the water.
Though it was a precious resource that was even magical, its essence was still liquid, so it functioned more like water.
The pond wasn't deep either, and I could even stand with my head above the water a little.
Nothing happened….
"Are you okay?!"
"I'm okay. There's nothing wrong."
I replied to Lionel calmly.
Due to my calm demeanour, he was affected by it and relaxed a bit.
He then looked at me with interest.
"How's it?"
Though he did not specifically state it, I knew what he meant by 'it'.
Without immediately replying, I turned to look at my status.
'Status'
*
[Status]
[Strength: G3]
[Agility: G1]
[Endurance: G4]
[Mana: G3]
{Skills}
None in possession.
{Mana Art}
None in possession.
{Special Gift}
Bind[0/1]
*
As the cold, refreshing sensation of the pond enveloped me, I felt a warmth spreading through my body.
It was as comforting as being cradled in my mother's arms.
I wanted nothing more than to bask in this feeling.
But it was too early for that.
With an 'excited' expression on my face, I turned to Lionel.
"It's rising! It's rising!"
Splash!
It didn't take long before I had another participant joining me in the pond.
Lionel seemed just as motivated as I was to raise our stats.
My motivation stemmed from my goals, but it was likely different for Lionel.
It was probably because of 'that.'
He wanted to survive longer so he could return to Earth, and the only way he saw that happening in a dangerous place like this was by raising his stats.
He may not have known much about the tower, but he had already realised this much.
Strength was paramount here.
It was strength and power above all else.
As Lionel and I remained silent, each lost in our own thoughts while gazing at our status panels, I noticed that my stats were still rising.
'I wonder how high they will go.'
Given the grade of the mana water we were soaked in, I began to have expectations. I knew there would be a limit, but I hoped it would be high.
While I was confident about Lionel's potential, I wasn't so sure about mine.
His earlier performance of simply putting his hand into the pond and experiencing a stat rise indicated his high sensitivity to mana.
In a situation like this, where we were absorbing the mana from the water into our bodies, it was promising.
With an epic-grade mana water, Lionel was poised to become stronger than the original character in the narrative at the start by more than a level.
But what about me?
I had my hand in the pond earlier than Lionel, yet the results I obtained paled in comparison to his.
And this was despite the epic-grade mana water. If it had been a common grade, my performance would have been even more pitiful.
This realisation filled me with worry.
Was there a chance that I was just a worthless extra in this world?
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Renewed
Renewed What do y'all think of the current progress?
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone