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

This poisonous fog not only obscured visibility but also carried a nauseatingly sweet odor.

Wherever it passed, even the weed-like fungi on the ground withered quickly.

Just as Claire was about to dodge, she saw Cecilia's petite figure stand at the very front.

She slammed her ice crystal wand heavily on the ground, and a gray-white halo radiated outwards from her.

The surging green sea of ​​fog seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall.

The hot, humid toxic gas came into contact with the extremely cold ice ring and instantly condensed into countless tiny green ice shards, which fell to the ground with a swish.

"here you go!"

Silas praised his sister, pointed his wand, and three fiery balls arranged in a triangular pattern shot out and smashed into the purplish-red tumor on the left.

"squeak!"

The guardian on the left let out a painful scream—it had taken a blow for the tumor, its skin charred black and oozing foul-smelling yellow fluid.

It tried to fight back by swinging its tentacles, but Cecilia, who arrived shortly after, pinned it to the ground with a giant ice spear, rendering it unable to move.

the other side.

Lacking cover, the guardian on the right quickly noticed Claire's lone advance.

Its bloated belly suddenly split open, and dozens of barbed thorns shot out like a machine gun.

The offensive was swift, but it was still too slow for an intermediate-level apprentice.

Even without combat experience, Claire easily dodged the thorns' attack.

He aimed carefully, pointed with his right index finger, and the blue seed passed over the guardian and shot into the tumor.

The tumor trembled violently for a moment, then deflated like a punctured balloon, shriveled up by the seed.

Interestingly, as the tumor disappeared, the guardian also stiffened, its waving tentacles drooping helplessly to the ground, quickly turning black and rotting.

The battle lasted less than three minutes.

With the tumor gone, the hundreds of sporelings around them, who were only good at carrying things, instantly fell into chaos and were quickly wiped out by Grote, who rushed up to them.

The basin returned to its deathly silence, with only the crackling sound of the fire burning the fungal corpses remaining.

"Hey, so this is what they call a 'priest'?"

Silas stepped forward and kicked the guardian's corpse, which had already begun to dissolve.

"Aside from being a bit big and being able to spray some poison mist, they're utterly useless. I think they're only at the level of a novice apprentice, the kind who's brainless."

"It's indeed weaker than expected." Cecilia walked over as well, the chill emanating from her wand still lingering. "Its spellcasting method is very simple, relying entirely on instinct, without any spiritual characteristics."

"It's better to be cautious," Kyle said. "After all, it's our first time here, and nobody knows what the situation is. What if we happen to encounter a juvenile?"

He looked at Claire: "Can you dissect it now? I think we should examine this guy's anatomy."

"Say it earlier next time." Claire pointed to the Guardian's corpse, which had turned into a puddle of water.

"…All right."

But they can't come for nothing.

With the five people guarding her, Claire completed the dissection of the "Nest" fungus and the spore people.

The two tumors were blasted to smithereens by him and Silas, a regrettable missed opportunity.

To Claire's surprise...

The first thing he dissected was the "nest" of fungi, which contained only dark green pus and clumps of tangled white fibers.

The same applies to the Spore People.

Claire frowned slightly, unable to understand for a moment.

Could this "nest" of fungi and the spore-man be the same thing? That's absurd.

"How is it?" Kyle asked.

Claire stood up, shook the slime off the scalpel, and told the other five people about her findings.

"The same thing?" Cecilia, who seemed to know the most, was taken aback. "How is that possible?"

This "nest" of fungi and spore-men have absolutely no similarities in size, appearance, or abilities.

"Let's go check on that tumor again," Kyle realized. "Even though you blew it up, the foundation underneath might still be there."

Silas summoned a ball of fire, burning the pus and lumps of the guardians on the ground to ashes.

"There really is!"

Directly below the tumor, there were rings of yellowish-brown strips, resembling some kind of root.

"It looks like it's stuck quite deep, Grote. Dig a little deeper."

Grote's hands, covered in rock-patterned textures, glowed crimson, and then, at full speed, easily tore through the surrounding fungal carpet and began digging downwards.

As the excavation deepened, a surge of intense energy suddenly erupted.

"This is……"

Several meters underground, among the tangled, yellowish-brown roots, one semi-transparent root was slowly wriggling.

It was much thicker than its "companions" around it, and beneath its crystal-clear skin, a golden, viscous liquid could be clearly seen flowing inside.

"Life essence?!" Silas exclaimed, "It's this thick? Could there be one under the other tumor too?"

These were supplies that O'Brien specifically ordered the entire legion to collect.

Although O'Brien did not release any other information besides his appearance.

But judging from the name alone, and the scale of the entire legion's search, it must be no ordinary object.

Kyle stopped Grote from reaching out to touch it, then turned to Claire: "Quick, take a sample and test it to confirm its quality."

Claire nodded, took out a specially made alchemical needle, and carefully approached the root.

The moment the needle tip pierced the translucent outer layer, the golden root twitched violently.

Everyone's eyes widened instantly.

"run!"

hum!

Just as everyone was reacting, they were met with an invisible mental shock.

Claire, who was at the front, felt as if her brain had been hit hard by a sledgehammer. She fell backward and blood instantly flowed from her nostrils.

The sampling needle in my hand shattered into powder.

"Claire!" Cecilia exclaimed, quickly summoning her wizard's hand to hug Claire.

"Run!"

Before he could finish speaking...

Rumble!

The entire basin began to tremble violently.

The thick fungal carpet beneath everyone's feet was suddenly torn apart like fragile fabric.

Large amounts of foul-smelling gas gushed out of the crack.

Within the widening fissure, a massive shadow is slowly rising.

Then, the fungal carpet surged, and a massive, sky-covering fungal body rose from the ground.

As soon as the six people withdrew from the basin, they felt a suffocating pressure sweep over them, making it almost impossible for them to breathe.

"How can poking it summon such a huge thing!" Silas's face turned pale, his previous disdain completely gone. "This thing is a priest? This magical fluctuation... it's almost at level one!"

The fungal body, suspected to be a "priest," made no further move. The group stopped and looked back with lingering fear.

This creature, even larger than the "nest" fungus, was covered in specks of golden light—those were the roots containing vital sap!

What chilled everyone even more was that the tips of the tentacles that the "priest" was waving in front of him were actually purplish-red fleshy tumors.

Next to each tumor, just like before, was a "guardian".

"The energy fluctuation analysis identified me as a mid-level apprentice, but it turns out I'm just a tentacle of someone else's," Kyle said with a wry smile. "This intelligence is way off!"