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

The two walked quickly through the camp and headed towards the sacred pool deep in the forest.

The closer they got to that area, the more Elian frowned.

As an elf who has forged a deep connection with this Silvermoon Tree Forest, his perception of the surrounding magical environment is far more acute than that of ordinary elves.

Originally, the magic around the sacred pool should have been the purest and most tranquil place in the entire camp, like the dew hanging on the tips of the grass in the morning, exuding an ethereal vitality.

But now, that ethereal quality has vanished.

Instead, there was an extremely thick, humid, and intensely aggressive smell.

Moreover, there was a faint fishy smell in the air, like the smell of rotting soil mixed with some kind of animal entrails.

With each breath, it felt as if a warm wad of cotton had been stuffed into my trachea, making me feel suffocated.

"Your Highness, can you feel it?" Ella's hand unconsciously rested on the hilt of the curved sword at her waist. "The environment here has changed since about half an hour ago."

"The Silvermoon Trees patrolling the perimeter have also become somewhat...slow, as if they are concentrating on digesting something."

Elian didn't say anything, but quickened his pace.

When they pushed aside the last dense vine and reached the edge of the sacred pool, the sight before them made them both gasp in astonishment.

The water in the pool was no longer the clear, bright blue it used to be, but had turned into a murky grayish-green.

Bubbles rose from the water's surface from time to time, and when they burst, they released a pungent, sour smell.

The Silver Moon sapling that carried all their hopes had completely changed.

It still stands in the center of the pool, its height not significantly increased compared to before, but its texture has undergone a complete transformation.

The tree trunk, which was originally as smooth as if cast in silver, is now covered with a gray substance that resembles a fungal carpet, undulating rhythmically like breathing.

Dark red veins are faintly visible through the cracks in the bark, and those veins, like animal blood vessels, are pulsating in a certain rhythm.

And the silver leaves on the tree crown had a ring of fine gray down growing around their edges.

The veins of the leaves turned a deep purple, and tiny gray dust particles kept falling from the leaves into the pool below, making a soft hissing sound.

What made Elian and Ella most uncomfortable was the roots of the sapling.

The thick roots no longer burrowed deep into the soil, but a large portion of them rose to the surface of the water.

These roots can no longer be called tree roots; they look more like giant, skinned leeches, with an unsettlingly fleshy texture.

The surface of the roots was covered with fleshy growths of varying sizes, which opened and closed greedily, swallowing the murky liquid in the pool.

"What... what the hell is this?" Ella couldn't help but take a step back, her stomach churning.

She had spent years traversing forests and seen all sorts of exotic plants, but the plant before her was completely beyond the scope of "plant" and was more like a deformed monster disguised as a tree.

Elian walked to the edge of the pool with a gloomy expression, enduring the fishy smell in the air, and stared intently at the sapling that had undergone earth-shattering changes.

"Its vitality has become terrifying..."

He closed his eyes, trying to feel the sapling.

The sapling's magical properties still felt familiar to Elian, a natural magic. He felt somewhat at ease and was preparing to delve deeper when a greedy desire suddenly surged through his magical connection.

Elian grunted and immediately severed the magical connection, his forehead instantly covered in cold sweat.

"It wants to eat me?" Elian muttered to himself.

"Your Highness, is this truly a sapling of the World Tree?" Ella's voice trembled slightly. "Even the most primitive ancient plants described in the Church's scriptures don't depict this form. Was the World Tree like this from the beginning?"

Elian remained silent.

he does not know.

In the oral history passed down by the saints, it is only said that the Father God encountered a sapling with incredible vitality and intelligence in a desperate situation. But what exactly the sapling looked like is not described in detail in history.

In the subconscious of all elves, the World Tree is a symbol of purity, holiness, and light; it should be born radiating a soft silver light, purifying all impurities.

But this thing in front of us, no matter how you look at it, has nothing to do with "purity" or "holiness".

"I don't know," Elian finally gave a dry answer.

"Then what should we do? Should we continue to rely on it?" Ella asked anxiously.

This bizarre change terrified her instinctively.

As a ranger who fights using the power of nature, she could clearly sense that the power emanating from this sapling was full of destructiveness and pollution.

If left to grow unchecked, will the entire Silvermoon Tree Forest eventually become a habitat for these monsters covered in tumors and fungi?

Elian gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing with a struggle.

The Silver Moon Sapling did not reject his connection; the power that could elevate him to the Saintly Realm or even higher remained open to him.

But reason told him that this power was extremely dangerous and unstable. Using it rashly could lead to irreversible consequences.

But without the protection of this forest, without the strength provided by this sapling, where could the less than a thousand remnants of the army in the camp go?

Does the purity of power matter when a race is on the verge of death?

"Your Highness Elion! Captain Ella!"

Elder Karl rushed out of the woods in a panic.

Because he ran so fast, the bandage he used to bandage his severed arm had come undone, and dark red blood seeped out again, dripping onto the grass along the way.

"Elder Karl, what happened?" Elian composed himself.

"Enemy attack! It's the wizards' army!" Elder Karl exclaimed breathlessly. "They're coming from the east, less than two kilometers from the forest!"

"East? Where's the reconnaissance team? Why wasn't there any advance warning?" Ella asked immediately.

The camp was surrounded by numerous sentries, so it was impossible for the enemy to get so close before they were discovered.

"The reconnaissance team is probably doomed," Elder Karl said in a deep voice. "Not a single one has sent back any news. If it weren't for the attack on one of the Silvermoon Trees, we would still be completely in the dark."

Elian's heart sank.

To be able to silently wipe out their well-trained reconnaissance squad, this was definitely not the kind of scattered, uncooperative soldiers they had encountered before.

How many of them are there?

"There aren't many wizards, only about twenty. But... they brought puppets. Lots of puppets."

Upon hearing this, Elian's expression turned extremely grim, while Ella remained puzzled: "A puppet?"

"That's a killing machine made by wizards specifically for war. It only appeared during the war at the Bridge of Sighs. It's normal that you don't know it, Ella," Elder Karl explained.

"They are covered in magical armor, impervious to our ordinary magic and arrows. Moreover, their magical power seems inexhaustible; only complete destruction can stop them..."

"The poison vine traps and spikes we set up on the perimeter had no effect on those golems; they were simply crushed by them."

Elian closed his eyes.

He had planned that the camp would be small enough not to attract the wizards' attention for a while.

Unexpectedly, they attracted the enemy's elite forces so quickly, preparing to wipe out the forest.

But just as I expected.

Without the protection of this forest, where else could they go?

"Notify everyone to prepare for battle!" Elian drew his longsword, his eyes hardening. "Ella, you lead the archers into the forest and look for an opportunity to shoot those wizards protected by the puppets. That should be their only weakness."

"Elder Karl, you should organize the mages to be ready to deal with those strange witchcrafts at any time."

"We must not let them get close to the camp!"

"Yes!" the two replied in unison, and quickly turned and left.

Elian took a deep look at the mutated sapling in the center of the pool.

At this moment, he had no time to hesitate.

……

……

By the time Elian arrived at the front lines, the battle had already begun.

The situation was worse than he had imagined.

Through the dense forest, Elian saw a despairing scene.

Ten metal golems, each nearly five meters tall, were lined up in a row, advancing slowly and steadily through the forest.

They are made entirely of some kind of black alloy, with complex defensive runes engraved on their surface.

The puppet's left arm is a huge tower shield, while its right arm is a heavy, serrated greatsword that gleams with a cold light.

They were like ten mobile metal fortresses, carving out a wide passage through the once dense forest.

"Release the arrows!"

At Ella's command, the elven rangers hidden in the treetops simultaneously released their bowstrings.

The enchanted arrows rained down like a storm, but as they approached the golem, the runes on its surface lit up instantly, forming a visible pale yellow energy shield.

The arrows struck the shields and the golem's armor, producing a dense metallic clang and sending sparks flying.

However, this level of attack did not even slow down the puppet's advance by the slightest.

Seeing this, Elder Karl in the distance knew that if they waited any longer, they would only face certain death.

"Magic support! Focus fire on the first unit on the left!"

The elven mages chanted spells, and vines, wind blades, and fireballs roared as they slammed into the puppet on the far left.

The only high-level mage in the camp was Elder Karl, but he had lost his ability to fight.

These ordinary spells have already been proven useless against the puppets at the Bridge of Sighs, so Elder Karl can only hope that concentrated fire might bring about a miracle.

Rumble!

Various elemental spells exploded on the golem's shield, kicking up a cloud of smoke and dust.

However, after the smoke cleared, the puppet remained standing.

It simply raised its tower shield, which blocked most of the impact, with only minor damage to its surface armor.

After a brief exchange, the golem was almost unharmed, while the elven mage group exposed their valuable position.

"It's our turn."

Behind the puppet, in the wizarding ranks, a high-ranking apprentice raised his wand with a cold smile.

The surrounding wizard apprentices poured energy into his wand, and the tip of the wand immediately emitted a dazzling red light.

Dozens of dark red fireballs condensed in mid-air, passed over the golem's head, and hurtled towards the elven mage group at an astonishing speed.

"Scatter! Scatter now!" Elder Karl shouted desperately.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Violent explosions echoed through the forest.

Soil flew everywhere, trees were uprooted, and burning wood fragments were scattered all over the place.

"Damn it!"

Elian finally arrived, only to find charred corpses scattered everywhere, one of which was missing an arm.

He looked around and saw that the rangers hidden in the treetops were also affected. Many of them were shaken off the trees by the aftershocks of the explosion and were mercilessly crushed to death by the puppets before they could even stand up.

From the very beginning of the battle, the elves were at a complete disadvantage, practically shattering at the slightest touch.

Guerrilla tactics and traps proved utterly ineffective against this elite squad of wizards equipped with puppets.

"Keep pushing forward and destroy this forest. Leave no survivors," the advanced apprentice ordered.

The puppets wielded giant serrated swords, cutting down the burning trees that blocked their path.

At this rate, the wizards could storm the camp in less than half an hour.

There, too, were hundreds of elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people who were completely unable to fight.

Elian stared at the crumbling defenses, his eyes bloodshot.

He tried, as before, to connect his will with the surrounding Silvermoon Trees and manipulate them to block the puppet.

Several silver moon trees bent over under his urging, their thick branches lashing at the puppet like whips.

boom!

The tree branch struck the puppet's tower shield and broke into several pieces.

The puppet simply swung its sword and cut the Silver Moon Tree in half.

No.

Since arriving here, these Silvermoon Trees have helped them greatly and punished many wizards who despised nature.

But now, they are powerless against these metal behemoths built specifically for war.

They will be slaughtered, just like the days when the Bridge of Sighs and the Royal Court fell.

A feeling of despair spread through Elian's heart.

He turned his head, his gaze passing over the burning forest and looking towards the direction of the sacred pool.

There is no other choice.

He closed his eyes.

After the usual gentle warmth, that greedy and aggressive consciousness arrived as expected.

This time he didn't resist...

"what!"

Elian looked up and let out a long, mournful howl.

He felt every blood vessel and every muscle in his body being torn apart and then glued back together.

The indescribable pain nearly caused him to lose consciousness.

But along with the excruciating pain came power.

Elian floated into the sky, his moon-white robes fluttering and rustling even without wind.

The silver halo that originally surrounded him had now turned into an eerie gray-green.

"What is that?"

The advanced apprentice also noticed the strange phenomenon ahead.

He looked at Elian, who exuded an eerie aura, and instinctively sensed danger.

"Level 1 life fluctuation detected." The notification from the puppet made him raise an eyebrow.

"Is it some kind of secret technique? This aura is so different from the silver tree spirits I've seen before..." He vaguely sensed that this extermination mission was deviating from the expected situation.

This is not a good thing.

"Lock on that guy emitting the grayish-green glow, kill him first!"

The puppets immediately changed direction, their heavy footsteps echoing across the ground, and they raised their greatswords, advancing towards Elian.

In the forest, Ella dodged several arcs of electricity, and when she saw that Elian was still motionless in the sky, her expression changed instantly.

"Your Highness! Let's go!"

Elian ignored her, slowly raised his right hand, palm facing the puppet at the front, and clenched it tightly.

The soil beneath the puppet's feet suddenly exploded, and several thick, dark black vines burst forth from the ground.

They deftly dodged the puppet's chainsaw sword and entangled the puppet's limbs.

A low rumble emanated from the core of the puppet, as it tried to exert force but could not break free from the seemingly soft vines.

Meanwhile, the barbs covering the vines were piercing through the puppet's surface shield at a visible speed.

Soon, the seemingly indestructible energy shield under the magical bombardment began to crumble.

The vines tightened, completely binding the puppet's movements.

Followed by.

crunch--

A twisting sound came, and the several-ton puppet was twisted at the joints by several vines, and its huge body crashed to the ground.

"..."

Both the wizard apprentices preparing to continue their attack and the fleeing elves were deeply shocked by this scene.

"This is impossible! What kind of magic is that?" The advanced apprentice's eyes widened. "Free-for-all attack!"

The wizard apprentices waved their wands, and magical lights of various colors rained down on Elian like a storm.

Elian was also casting a spell.

Centered on him, a thick gray fog spread out.

If Claire were here, he would recognize that this was the [Withering Poisonous Mist] deduced by the spore clone.

However, compared to the zero-ring sorcery he had learned, the magic contained in this poisonous fog was far more powerful.

The gray, poisonous fog spread at an alarming rate, engulfing the incoming witchcraft.

The colorful magical glow flickered a few times in the gray poisonous fog before disappearing without a trace.

The poisonous fog continued to surge forward like a tsunami, engulfing the group of wizard apprentices.

They immediately activated their protective robes and various magical artifacts, creating semi-transparent shields that enveloped them.

However, they underestimated the terror of this poisonous fog.

"Cough! Cough cough!"

A wizard apprentice suddenly clutched his throat and began to cough violently.

He was horrified to discover that his coughing phlegm contained grayish-green mycelium.

Then came the second place, the third place...

"Something's wrong, I can't gather magic power anymore..."

"Something has entered my mental sea!"

The tightly organized wizard squad collapsed instantly. They fell to the ground, their faces ashen, convulsing.

The unstoppable puppets also stopped in their tracks, helplessly entangled by the vines that emerged from the ground.

The poisonous fog quickly covered the entire area. Accompanied by a series of eerie gurgling sounds, the flesh and machines of that otherworldly realm transformed into nourishment for the forest.

The wizard apprentices spent nearly half an hour tearing through the elves' defenses, while Elion destroyed them in just a few minutes.

The Silvermoon Forest has returned to peace.

The surviving elves peeked out from the bushes, staring blankly at Elian standing in the center of the scorched earth.

No one dared to step forward, and the prince, who was always gentle and kind, did not turn around.

Elian looked at his hands.

My skin is smooth and new, and seems no different from before.

The pain of being torn apart and reassembled all over my body seemed like an illusion.

But the power that accompanied the pain was real and still surges within him to this day.

Even after the vines devoured the wizard apprentices and puppets, he felt the power increase.

When he calmed down, he could feel an invisible barrier around him, binding his body.

Elian knew that this was probably the barrier above the Sanctuary that his teacher had mentioned.

Step over it, and you can ignite the divine fire and achieve immortality...

"Your Highness..."

A slightly trembling voice came from behind.

Elian turned around and saw Ella.

She was looking at him with a complicated expression, her hand gripping the scimitar tightly.

"What kind of magic is that? That's not the power of nature..."

Elian looked at her calmly: "But it saved us. Without it, we would all be corpses on the ground by now."

"But what's the price?" Ella's voice rose involuntarily. "Look around! Is this still the Silvermoon Tree Forest we know? That power is distorting this land!"

"If we rely on this power, how are we any different from those wizards who use evil witchcraft?"

"The difference is that we survived."

Elian walked past the stunned Ella and looked at the elves in the forest whose faces were full of fear and confusion.

"The World Tree has withered, and our Father God has disappeared. Our prized natural magic is utterly useless against enemies from another world!"

"This is a life-or-death moment unlike anything the Silver Tree Spirits have experienced in tens of thousands of years!"

Elian's voice echoed through the silent forest, striking the hearts of every elf.

"Do you want to experience another massacre at the royal court? Do you want to watch your own people being captured like prey?"

The elves all lowered their heads, and none of them dared to answer.

"This power is indeed strange, not belonging to the nature we are familiar with, but it belongs to us!" Elian spread his arms wide. "It can destroy those demon puppets, making their witchcraft no longer invincible, giving us hope of turning the tide of the war!"

He turned his head and looked coldly at Ella: "Survival is the most important thing. If we don't even have our lives, what can the pristine forest give us?"

Ella bit her lip, her eyes reddening. She knew Elian was telling the truth, but a deep unease lingered in her heart.

"No matter what you think, my decision will not change."

Seeing that Ella didn't speak, Elian ignored her.

"Everyone, follow me to the Sacred Pool immediately!"