Getting Stronger [3]

After finding myself in my favourite novel, I didn't entertain any nonsensical thoughts like trying to claim the tower for myself.

Being transported to this world felt like a fresh start to me.

Having had nothing on Earth, I was determined to make the most out of this new life.

I was confident that I could succeed.

After all, I had an advantage—the knowledge of the tower's future.

All I desired was to explore the world that I had immense myself every day through my own eyes.

To achieve this, I needed strength.

Having knowledge of future events didn't exempt me from this need.

So, how should I feel now that I discovered I have a mediocre body?

Sad?

No, I didn't feel sadness.

Rather, it was disappointment.

Yes, I was disappointed that I wasn't anything special in this world, like back on Earth.

There was no distinction except for the slight advantage I had here.

Though I stated I had no intentions of claiming the tower for myself, I'd be lying if I said I didn't desire to become a supreme overlord with immense power capable of shaking the earth.

In this world, such a feat was indeed possible, but there's only so much a body like mine can achieve on its own.

This left me disappointed, as I realised I was nothing special.

I had hoped for a different outcome in this world, but alas, it wasn't meant to be.

'Status'

*

[Status]

[Strength: G5]

[Agility: G3]

[Endurance: G5]

[Mana: G6]

{Skills}

None in possession.

{Mana Art}

None in possession.

{Special Gift}

Bind[0/1]

*

'It's truly a trashy body.'

Technically, I was dissing myself, but I was unable to hide my disappointment after seeing my stats.

They had increased significantly, but it would have been much more if I were an average person in the tower.

Mana sensitivity determined how much mana my body could absorb from the pond, and apparently, my sensitivity towards mana was abysmally low.

I was certain Lionel was absorbing at least three times the amount of mana compared to me.

Seeing the blissful expression on his face, I couldn't help but feel the urge to punch him.

"Ah..."

I sighed, accepting the reality of my situation.

It didn't matter if I wasn't special in this world; it wasn't my first time being ordinary.

Though it was disheartening, it didn't diminish the significance of my advantage.

It simply meant I had to work harder.

With nothing else to do but wait for my limit in absorbing the mana from the pond to show, I relaxed slightly and enjoyed the warmth brought by soaking in the mana water.

******

"These bastards!"

The tutorial floor master cursed, his frown deepening as he watched Leo and Lionel on the screen.

"As outsiders, they surely have no idea what they're wasting."

He lamented.

"If those old drug addicts calling themselves alchemists find out about this, and if these two manage to pass the tutorial and become players, they might end up in grave danger."

The value of mana water couldn't be overstated due to its rarity. An epic-grade mana water was even rarer than legendary items.

Yet, here were two tower participants bathing in it.

The tutorial floor master was torn between being amused and angry.

Wasn't this supposed to be the tutorial floor filled with danger?

Why did it suddenly feel like a vacation?

"These guys are pretty lucky though," he muttered to himself.

Though he felt it was a waste of precious mana water to be used as a medicinal bath, he wasn't too bothered about it.

The same would go for the old alchemists up in the tower.

After one became a player, there was no way for them to enter the tutorial floor. Only the tower's chosen ones could.

So if these two died because of their current actions, it was mostly due to the irritation of those monsters.

For the floor master, even though this was the floor he was given by the tower to manage, it didn't mean he could just take anything from the floor as he wished.

So he could only watch in disdain and do nothing.

After all, those two weren't doing anything outside of the tower rules.

After thousands of years of mana accumulation, this pond had transformed into mana water, yet it remained undiscovered by the tower participants.

There were several places in the tutorial floor, and this was just one of them.

When the chosen ones from the tower appeared here, their main concern was reaching the next level rather than exploring, which is why this pond had been left untouched for so long.

The tutorial floor master never thought it would be outsiders who would take advantage of it first.

However, he was unsure if this would end up being a blessing or a curse for them.

Even if those two lacked talent, bathing in the purple pond would make them as strong as the chosen ones from the tower.

After all, outsiders weren't known for their talent in mana, but in their special gifts, although such occurrences were rare.

Appearances of outsider participants were even rarer.

But if the chosen ones from the tower were to know that there were outsiders in the tower, chaos would ensue.

Outsiders were not welcome in the tower.

Not because the tower rejected them, but because those who held true power in the tower did.

Whenever a powerful outsider appeared, the power balance in the tower always shifted, and most of the most powerful inhabitants didn't like this.

Because of this, it was an unsaid rule among their descendants that if an outsider was spotted, they should be killed immediately before they grew too strong.

While it might have seemed like a blessing for the two to become stronger, it also meant that the difficulty of remaining unnoticed was high.

This caused the tutorial floor master to wonder if these two might even survive to pass the tutorial.

Little did he know that several catalysts of chaos had just appeared in this group of outsiders.

Chaos like no other was about to descend upon the tower.