Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

Levi thought of someone else.

No one else but Old Bar, the spy from the Kingdom of Amtyr who had been lurking in the border city of Zelantu of the Kingdom of Francis.

That tavern owner—the very one who had stolen the Magic Table and the Gold-Spitting Donkey from the fairy tale The Table, the Donkey, and the Stick.

Of course.

Levi had already sent him to meet God.

Or perhaps not God—maybe Hell instead.

But that wasn't important.

What mattered was that, through Detection, Levi had learned from him that the prince of the Kingdom of Amtyr had gone missing. The king of Amtyr had long suspected that the Kingdom of Francis was behind it, and the two nations had been in friction for years. Old Bar had infiltrated the Kingdom of Francis precisely to investigate this matter.

After seeing that piece of intelligence, Levi couldn't help but wonder—

Could this really be the doing of the Magic Mirror Queen?

But why?

Levi didn't understand.

Based on his understanding of the Magic Mirror Queen, she was certainly malicious—but not particularly ambitious. She was obsessed with her peerless beauty and paid little attention to anything else.

Unless, of course, someone threatened her beauty.

After Snow White's father died, and before Snow White had fully grown into her beauty—before she posed any threat to the Queen—Snow White had actually lived quite well. She truly lived a princess-like life.

Only after Snow White took the title of the fairest in the land from the Magic Mirror Queen did the Queen move to eliminate her—sending Levi, a powerless common-born attendant, to deal with Snow White.

And that was how Levi's current story had begun.

But that was beside the point.

Was the Magic Mirror Queen really the mastermind behind the Frog Prince arc?

Levi had his doubts.

After a moment of silence, he decided to keep the question to himself.

Time would reveal the answer.

Levi closed his eyes and began his daily meditation and spell practice.

He hadn't forgotten—the Magic Mirror Queen had sent a powerful witch after him.

Although he was now a Second-Ring Wizard, he still felt his strength was insufficient. He couldn't afford to waste even a single moment. He needed to grow stronger—fast.

...

Seven days later.

Levi transformed into a Night Demon Owl and flew high above the Moonshadow Forest, eventually locating a road leading to the nearest city.

This task had originally been handled by Miss Nightingale Odelle.

But the Moonshadow Forest was filled with dangers—especially for a small nightingale.

During several scouting attempts, Odelle had encountered danger multiple times. Once, she had barely escaped with her life.

There was no helping it—Levi had to take over.

In truth, with Detection, Levi didn't need to scout like this to find his way forward.

But he needed to train his spells.

He needed to become stronger—to be ready for the powerful witch mentioned in his intelligence reports.

At this point, Levi's Magic Power had exceeded ten thousand points. He was a genuine Second-Ring Wizard now, and his spell training efficiency had increased dramatically.

[You have cast Polymorph: Night Demon Owl. Experience +1. Current EXP: 400/400.]

[Polymorph: Night Demon Owl has reached the upgrade threshold. It can now level up.]

The moment this notification appeared in Levi's mind, he didn't hesitate.

After all, all his effort had been for this moment.

Instantly, within Levi's soul sea, the spell crystal belonging to Polymorph: Night Demon Owl began to change—becoming more complex.

At the same time, high in the sky, Levi's transformed Night Demon Owl underwent a dramatic evolution.

The newly formed creature had a wingspan of ten meters—double its previous size.

Its standing height reached five meters—more than twice what it had been.

Its bones were hollow yet extraordinarily dense, covered with dark-purple keratinous scales.

Its entire body was cloaked in shadow-feathers that seemed to devour light itself. When it flew, it made no sound—silent and invisible, even in daylight.

Its head had an inverted triangular shape, with eyes like molten gold fissures. Its vertical pupils resembled those of a serpent and could rotate a full 360 degrees.

Its beak curved like an obsidian dagger, its edges serrated.

Its talons were covered in bone spikes, with claws up to 50 centimeters long—capable of tearing through iron armor with ease.

At the center of each claw was a suction-pad-like structure, allowing it to cling to rock surfaces—or even prey.

Its tail feathers split like a scorpion's stinger, with a paralyzing venom gland hidden at the tip, capable of firing thread-thin toxin needles.

The most distinctive feature was the faintly glowing crystal embedded in its chest.

This was the creature's power core—

And its only weakness.

At Level 4, Polymorph had reached the level of a First-Ring Spell.

The Night Demon Owl it produced was now vastly larger than before.

Perhaps it shouldn't be called a Night Demon Owl at all—but rather a Greater Demon Owl!

Flying high in the air, Levi had a thought and immediately gave this transformed creature a new name.

And not only that.

After advancing into a First-Ring Spell, Levi was surprised to discover that not only could he freely transform himself, but he could also curse others—permanently turning them into a nightingale, a Night Raptor, a Night Demon Owl, or even a Greater Demon Owl.

Just like Miss Nightingale Odelle.

However, casting such a permanent curse required far more Magic Power than even a Second-Ring Spell.

And that was only for turning someone into a nightingale.

If he wanted to curse someone into a Night Raptor, a Night Demon Owl, or a Greater Demon Owl, the Magic Power cost would be even more terrifying.

Of course.

If Levi had the ability to curse others into nightingales, then naturally, he also had the ability to lift such curses.

That meant turning a nightingale back into a human!

The moment he realized he had this ability, Levi immediately thought of Miss Nightingale Odelle.

Thinking about it, she was quite pitiful.

With a single thought, he transformed into a small nightingale and returned to the alchemical carriage.

Levi immediately looked toward Miss Nightingale Odelle.

However, his instincts told him that he currently lacked the ability to lift her curse.

Because the wizard—or perhaps some artifact—that had placed the curse on Odelle was stronger than Levi in his current state.

Only if Levi surpassed that wizard or that artifact in strength would he be able to remove Miss Nightingale Odelle's curse.

But that would have to wait until Levi became a Third-Ring Wizard—or reached an even higher level.

He didn't tell Miss Nightingale Odelle about this.

Instead, he decided that once he was strong enough, he would simply lift the curse for her directly.

Otherwise, if he told her now, she would spend her days worrying about it, constantly caught between hope and fear—and that would only make things worse.

With that thought, Levi closed his eyes inside the carriage and began meditating to recover his Magic Power.

Two more days passed.

When Yalina drove the alchemical carriage out of the Moonshadow Forest and finally saw a proper road, her expression was on the verge of tears from sheer relief.

The paths inside the forest were extremely difficult to traverse.

In many places, there was no path at all.

If not for Levi—a Second-Ring Wizard—occasionally transforming into a Night Demon Owl to scout ahead, and sometimes using Wizard's Hand to remove obstacles, they would have barely been able to move at all within the Moonshadow Forest.

And difficult terrain wasn't the only problem.

The forest was filled with all kinds of threats.

Bloodsucking insects.

Black bears.

Snakes.

Goblins.

Gnomes.

Even kobolds.

From time to time, they would be ambushed.

Yalina often had to grab her sword and fight them off.

It was exhausting.

Fortunately, when it came to lodging and food, things were manageable thanks to Levi.

With a single Gathering Technique, he could clear out a clean space.

Campfire.

Tent.

Roasted meat!

Wild vegetable soup!

Desserts!

Ale or wine!

Levi never held back.

Although they couldn't bathe, Levi would use the Gathering Technique to clean her, keeping her body fresh and dry—so she never ended up too disheveled.

Physically, things were tolerable.

But mentally, she was utterly drained.

Yalina couldn't wait to find a proper city—somewhere with an inn where she could finally sleep soundly.

And not just her—the horse needed rest too.

After all, it had labored alongside them in the Moonshadow Forest for so long, constantly exhausted and frightened by repeated attacks.

So, the moment they left the forest, Yalina spurred the horse into a gallop, racing along the road toward the nearest city.

Levi knew his coachwoman was exhausted, so he let her be.

A few hours later.

With stops along the way—

They finally arrived before a town.

It was near dusk.

The twilight hung over Graystone Town like a piece of coarse linen soaked in dirty water, pressing heavily down upon the sky.

This town, near the border of the kingdom, was less a city and more like a stubborn stone forgotten at the edge of the wilderness.

It had no grand walls—only a crude defensive ring built from rough, uneven gray boulders.

Between the cracks of those stones, withered yellow weeds forced their way out, trembling in the evening wind.

The walls weren't tall, yet they gave off an indescribable sense of oppression.

As if the entire town were holding its breath—

Wary of the unknown threats lurking beyond the wilds.

Unlike the adventurer towns around the Moonshadow Forest, this place lay at the very edge of the forest. Beyond it stretched an even harsher swamp.

Past that, roughly a hundred kilometers further, was the border—where it met the Kingdom of Valeria. However, the two only touched through a narrow, elongated corridor.

From a bird's-eye view, the borders of the Kingdom of Amtyr and the Kingdom of Valeria formed two sides of a triangle.

And within that triangle lay the Duchy of Silverbrook, wedged between the two kingdoms.

The Duchy of Silverbrook was surrounded on three sides by the two kingdoms, with only one side facing the sea. The pressure it endured had always been immense.

But that was beside the point.

Back to Graystone Town.

The city gate consisted of two massive oak doors whose original color could no longer be discerned. They were studded with rusted iron rivets, like a festering old face covered in sores.

The gates stood open, but at the entrance, a crude barricade of sharpened logs blocked most of the passage, leaving only a narrow gap wide enough for a single person.

Several town guards, clad in filthy leather armor and wearing crooked iron helmets, lounged lazily against the barrier. Their weapons—rusted halberds and chipped shortswords—were planted carelessly into the ground.

Yet their eyes were as sharp as vultures, scanning every person attempting to enter.

As for those entering the town—

They were either pale-faced commoners, penniless adventurers, or simply vagrants.

Among them, Levi's group stood out like a crane among chickens.

A carriage that looked luxurious and spotless—yet bore no noble crest or insignia.

Yalina, stunningly beautiful, with a voluptuous figure.

And the carriage wheels themselves, which looked sturdy and powerful.

All of it made the guards smell a fat sheep.

In front of Levi's carriage stood a freeman pushing a creaking flatbed cart loaded with mud-stained farm produce.

A guard with a fleshy face, who called himself the "captain," stopped him.

"Old man, don't you know the rules? Need me to teach you?"

The captain tapped the cart with his spear, producing a dull thud. "Entry fee—ten copper coins."

The freeman hunched his back, his voice trembling. "Sir, please show mercy… These are just flax and cabbages from my own field. I have to sell them before I can earn anything. Look—I haven't even eaten lunch yet…"

Flax, when processed into linen, was one of the primary clothing materials of this era.

Freemen typically grew flax themselves, retted and spun it at home, then sold it to weaving guilds for higher profits.

Some, seeking convenience, sold raw flax fiber instead, earning less.

But either way, flax cultivation brought in far more income than grain, making it a crucial source of livelihood for many freeman families.

As for vegetables like cabbage, they were often a side business. Many freemen cultivated small kitchen gardens around their homes, growing such produce to sell in markets or towns to supplement their income.

The old man before them was exactly such a case.

Faced with his pleading, the captain had long grown numb.

He cut him off impatiently. "Enough nonsense! No food? Then don't come in! You think the walls of Graystone Town built themselves? You can sell outside the town—no entry fee. That is, if those damn bandits and wolves decide to spare you! Five copper coins—not one less! Otherwise, get lost back to your mud pit!"

The old man had no choice.

With trembling hands, he pulled out a worn cloth pouch from his chest, counted out five copper coins, and handed them over.

The captain snatched them away, casually tossing them into the pouch at his waist before roughly lifting part of the barrier to let him pass.

Pushing his cart, the old man practically fled into the narrow streets.

Next, it was Levi's carriage.

A group of guards gathered around on their own accord—some eyeing the carriage greedily, others staring at Yalina with undisguised lust.

"Well, well, look who we have here? A proper gentleman, with such a beautiful lady. Could it be some young lord eloping for love?"

The captain deliberately dragged out his tone as he approached them. A strong stench of alcohol wafted toward Levi and Yalina.

"This carriage of yours is quite something… sturdy enough, eh? Won't collapse no matter what you do inside..."

Levi remained calm, his expression unchanged.

But Yalina's face darkened immediately.

These past days in the forest had hardened her considerably.

Not to mention—with Levi's help, she had already broken through to the level of a knight.

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar

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