Wizard: I'm leveling up by AFK in another world

The submarine slowly sailed through the dark depths of the sea.

Claire slumped in her chair, looking at Rhodes gripping the steering wheel tightly in the driver's seat, and once again suppressed the urge to slap him to death.

This guy's so-called "success" is merely that he can run.

As for advanced operations such as sonar and radar, they are obviously not available.

If it weren't for the deep-sea ghost's strong will to survive, repeatedly issuing warnings and assisting in avoiding collisions just before they were about to hit, the two people would already be buried at sea.

Behind them, explosions continued to come from the direction of the base, some so loud that they seemed to be right next to them.

"How about... we drive faster?"

"No! Focus on your direction, I'll control the speed."

"Oh." The red-haired youth reluctantly withdrew the wizard's hand from the control panel.

The cabin fell silent for a moment, with only the roar of the machinery breaking down.

I don't know how much time passed.

"We should be close enough." Claire glanced at the dial. "Prepare to surface; we're running low on oxygen."

"...Are you sure it's safe up there?"

"Pray."

"Isn't it wrong for wizards to worship gods?"

"Then what else can you do?"

Whoosh!

With the sound of water bursting, the submarine broke through the surface of the sea.

Claire turned the valve, and with a soft pop of air pressure being released, the hatch slowly popped open.

He braced himself against the edge with both hands, struggled to climb out of the cabin, and breathed a long sigh of relief.

In the distance, dazzling golden lines are slowly tearing apart the last sliver of indigo in the sky.

The morning sun casts its rays upon the layers of ripples on the sea, refracting a dazzling golden halo.

He subconsciously squinted and raised his hand to shield his eyes from the long-lost light.

The sound of waves crashing against the submarine's hull filled my ears; last night felt like a nightmare.

"Hey Claire, if you're going to be safe, at least let me know! I've been calling you from down here for ages..." Rhodes scrambled out of the hatch and immediately shut up.

"I suddenly feel that having a faith might be pretty good..." he murmured afterward.

The two remained silent, gazing quietly at the horizon where the sea met the sky, feeling their hearts pounding powerfully in their chests.

A cool sea breeze blew by.

"Alright, let's hurry back to Whale City."

"Wait!" Rod grabbed Claire, pointing to the side. "Look what's that?"

Claire turned her head and saw a milky white ball of light floating on the sea not far from the submarine.

It rises and falls gently with the waves, like a star lost to the mortal world.

The two activated their Wizard's Eye and saw what was inside the ball of light.

It was a girl, curled up in the center of the ball of light, her eyes closed, as if she were fast asleep.

She was about fifteen or sixteen years old and was wearing an exquisite silk nightgown.

Although the skirt was a bit messy, its expensive material was still evident.

"This is...a human?" Rhodes was somewhat bewildered. "How did they get here?"

Claire's gaze, however, fell on the girl's chest.

There was a badge pinned there, with a silver maple leaf on it.

"She has the Grey Amber Workshop badge on her," Claire whispered.

"The Gray Amber Workshop?" Rhodes was taken aback. "You mean, she escaped from there too?"

"I've never heard of a lifeboat that looks like this before..."

Claire interrupted him: "Use the Wizard's Hand to pull her over."

The two of them worked together to pull the ball of light closer and carefully moved it onto the deck.

Once it left the seawater, the ball of light seemed to have completed its mission, gradually dissipating and turning into specks of golden light that seeped into the girl's body.

The girl's eyelashes trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Upon seeing the two people, she instinctively shrank into a ball, her eyes filled with terror.

"Who are you? Where is my brother?"

So they really did escape from the base.

That ball of light must be some kind of escape magic, and it looks to be of a very high level.

Claire thought for a moment and said, "Don't be afraid, we escaped from the base too. We found you floating at sea and rescued you."

Upon hearing this, the girl relaxed, but still looked at the two warily.

Claire, unconcerned, asked, "As for your brother, could you tell me his name?"

"...Manuel."

Claire looked at Rhodes, who shrugged, indicating that he did not recognize him.

"I'm sorry, we don't know your brother. Since things have come to this, let's go back to Whale City."

The girl hesitated for a moment, as if she wanted to say something.

But in the end, she simply nodded and silently followed the two down to the cabin.

……

……

"You mean, you and your friends skipped your day off party and went to visit a lab?"

"That's one way to understand it."

Leonard laughed in exasperation: "Do you think I'd believe such a lame excuse?"

"Please let me finish," Rhodes said without changing his expression. "Here's the situation. My friend and I made a bet on whether there were more men or women staying in the lab."

"And the result?"

"We were all wrong, there was no one in the lab."

"That's a real shame," Leonard said coldly. "Mr. Weasley, the reasons you give completely fail to explain your and your friend's behavior."

"Do you know that while you and your friend were escaping in a submarine, others were fighting on the front lines, and most of them died?"

"Of course, I deeply regret this tragedy, and at the same time, I am very fortunate that my friend and I were lucky enough."

"You are not lucky at all..."

“Investigator,” Rod interrupted him, “you seem to have misunderstood. My friend and I are just ordinary employees, and we are also victims of this disaster.”

"Does criticizing ordinary people like us with no combat experience really help us figure out why the base was destroyed?"

"Shut up!"

Leonard slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his face ashen.

Just as he was about to reprimand him, a message from his subordinate reached his ears.

"You wait."

He snorted coldly and slammed the door shut as he left.

The subordinate waiting outside noticed his boss's expression and quickly offered him a cigarette.

Leonard took a deep breath, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and looked at the red-haired youth in the interrogation room through the one-way glass.

"Go and write an application; I'm going to use some underhanded tactics."

Leonard's more than 30 years of investigative experience told him that the red-haired youth and his friend must be hiding very important information.

The higher-ups are taking this incident very seriously.

If they can pry it out, his promotion...

"I'm afraid that won't work, sir."

Leonard whirled around: "What did you say?"

The subordinate shrank back in fright and shakily handed over the letter.

Leonard snatched it away, glanced at it, and felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

"How is this possible..."

He angrily tore the letter to shreds, then punched the one-way glass.

Unexpectedly, the glass was surprisingly hard, causing him to cry out in pain upon impact, which startled his subordinates.

"Sir, are you alright?"

"What is this thing? Is it newly replaced?"

Leonard was feeling humiliated when he suddenly noticed the red-haired youth on the other side of the one-way glass smiling at him, as if he could see him.

In a daze, he seemed to hear what the other person had said before:

"...My friend and I are lucky enough."