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

The Throne of the Underworld starship, lower deck, maintenance workshop number five.

Besides the machinery and steam, there was also a foul odor from a mixture of various lubricants, corrosion inhibitors, and exhaust gases.

Claire was bending over, inserting a tire-sized piece of high-energy amethyst into the power unit's slot.

Click.

As the latches locked, the power unit emitted a low rumble, and a wave of scorching heat hit you, making your eyebrows curl.

"This is the three hundredth already..."

Rhodes sat slumped on the ground beside him, sticking out his tongue in a completely unseemly manner. His brand-new Legion-style robes were already stained with grease.

"My magic is almost depleted. This is inhuman work! Where did all those iron lumps go?"

"Save your energy for complaining." Claire wiped the sweat from her brow. "The puppets have all been reassigned to transport strategic resources, so our job is relatively easy."

"But this isn't the kind of job we're supposed to do!" Rod grumbled, unconvinced.

He then lowered his voice: "I heard that Balman, the second-level wizard in charge of our logistics department, has been in a bad mood lately."

"So they make the apprentices do these meaningless dirty jobs as a way to vent their frustrations."

"How do you know all the news?" Claire asked, somewhat exasperated. "Do you know why he's in such a bad mood?"

"Of course!" Rhodes's face lit up immediately. "It's said that he's a wizard directly under the Wizard Tower, originally sent to serve as Saros's deputy."

"It seems that the two had a disagreement over whether it was about operational deployment or strategic objectives. He was directly transferred to the logistics department by Salos, thus removing him from the most important front line."

"The front-line legions are advancing with unstoppable momentum, so he can only stay in the logistics department doing nothing. He certainly won't get much of a share when the campaign ends."

"He naturally dared not provoke Saros, so he vented his anger on us."

Claire listened as he recounted the rumors of an apprentice being oppressed in a certain workshop, while checking the next slot.

Just then, a series of heavy metallic footsteps sounded.

A black iron golem, nearly three meters tall, walked over.

After scrutinizing Claire and Rhodes from head to toe, the puppet emitted a emotionless, mechanical, synthesized voice:

"Intermediate Apprentice Claire Lewis, Intermediate Apprentice Rod Weasley, please cease your current tasks."

Rod's face lit up with joy: "Are you going to rest?"

The single eye on the golem's head flashed red: "Emergency orders received. Some extension modules on the port side of the starship are experiencing magical turbulence, and the rune array is overloaded."

"I hereby order you two to immediately exit the cabin and manually repair the malfunctioning runes."

"Exit the cabin?!"

Rhodes's joy froze on his face: "Now? During the descent? Outside is the void turbulence layer!"

The Throne of Hellfire is currently traversing the shattered dimensional barrier.

The outer void contains not only spatial fragments, but also energy turbulence generated by the collision of world rules.

For a mere wizard apprentice to leave the cabin at this time is no different from suicide.

"That's an order."

The puppet coldly raised its metal arm, electricity crackling in its palm: "Those who disobey military orders will be imprisoned and handed over to a military court for prosecution."

Rhodes immediately became obedient.

"Your equipment for extravehicular activity is ready. Get ready quickly and exit the spacecraft in ten minutes."

……

……

Accompanied by the hissing sound of pressure equalization, the heavy gate slowly slid open.

Claire and Rod, dressed in their work clothes, crawled out of the cabin.

call--

Despite the energy shield blocking their way, the chaotic gales from the void still lashed at their work clothes like knives.

Claire tightened the safety harness around her waist, her magnetic boots clinging to the cold ship's armor, and looked back at Rhodes, who was shivering.

"Stay close to me, and don't look down."

Having experienced the deep spirit world, Claire had little reaction to the chaotic scene in the void.

The two men, like tiny geckos, struggled to crawl along the massive ship that stretched for several kilometers.

When they finally arrived near the damaged extension module, the sight before them made them gasp in horror.

It was a huge metal pillar with a diameter of over five meters, inscribed with intricate runes.

What was originally covered by a silver-white protective plate has now turned charred black, with blue arcs of electricity constantly shooting out from it.

The two braved the turbulent currents to reach the damaged area.

Upon closer inspection, this sophisticated flow-guiding module had completely melted into a lump of scrap metal, still hissing.

"Damn it, it's all fused together!" Rod shouted. "How are we supposed to get it off?"

"Just dismantle it."

Claire pulled a heavy crowbar gleaming with runic light from the tool slot at her waist and tossed one to Rhode.

"Get to work! Pry open those melted clips!"

"good!"

Rod gritted his teeth and plunged the crowbar hard into the sintered crevice.

"One, two, three, go!"

The two exerted their strength simultaneously, and the hydraulic system of the exoskeleton armor emitted a buzzing roar, coordinating with the burst of magic power within their bodies.

With a crisp snapping sound, the several-ton discarded module was pried off.

It was then swept away by the energy turbulence and instantly disappeared into the void below.

Unstable magical aftershocks still lingered within the exposed slots.

"Quick! Install the new one!"

Claire summoned a brand-new metal pillar from the storage artifact, and the two of them lifted it together, aligning it with the slot.

"The magic flow has stabilized!"

"Very good, begin docking."

"Here it comes!"

"Align with the interface... Hold steady..."

"One, two, three, go!"

With a pleasant click, the new module was successfully pushed into the slot.

On the originally dim module, blue rune lines lit up one by one, eventually forming a perfect cycle.

"It's a success!"

Rhodes leaned against the armor plate, utterly exhausted. Through his fogged-up goggles, he looked at the rekindled blue light, his eyes filled with the excitement of surviving a close call.

"Haha! Claire, did you see that? The timing of my magic infusion just now was absolutely perfect!"

With the crisis resolved, his confident personality returned.

"Do you think I might have a talent for this? When I get back this time, maybe I should take a course in magic; it seems more interesting than potion-making!"

"That's really good." Claire also breathed a sigh of relief. "Your affinity for gold and amethyst makes this more suitable than potions."

"Hehe, that's right! Archmage Rhodes, that sounds really impressive!"

"I'm going to build a puppet army too, and send them out every day to earn me some extra money... Hey Claire, what do you think...?"

boom!

A muffled rumble suddenly came from the void below.

The sound even penetrated the soundproofing layer of the exoskeleton armor, causing both of them to experience ear pain and chest tightness.

"What happened? Did the starship engine explode?" Rhodes' smile froze on his face once again.

"No, it's the Ring of the Silver Tree!"

As soon as Claire finished speaking, an extremely dazzling blue beam of light shot out from the direction of the Silver Tree Ring, reaching straight into the void.

The beam of light vanished in the blink of an eye.

"What...is that?" Rod exclaimed in horror, his mouth agape.

Claire didn't have time to answer.

Rumble!

A series of deafening explosions rang in their ears.

The space around the Silver Tree Ring was exploding.

All the starlight in the distance went out at that moment, turning into a deathly darkness.

The Throne of the Dead, which was within the blast radius, was like a lone leaf caught in a hurricane.

The steel behemoth, several kilometers long, emitted a strange roar, then its hull tilted violently and plunged wildly toward the world below.