Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

Seeing these five pieces of intelligence, Levi's eyes shifted slightly.

First were Intelligence One and Intelligence Two. Snow White had ultimately been discovered by the Magic Mirror Queen. Given her obsession with beauty, the Magic Mirror Queen's focus would remain on Snow White for the near future, which meant Levi could finally breathe a little easier.

As long as the Magic Mirror Queen did not spend every day asking the Magic Mirror about Levi, he would be much safer and more secure.

Then came Intelligence Four.

This piece of intelligence had appeared because Levi had obtained the [Blessed Golden Plate] and become connected to the fairy tale of [Sleeping Beauty], which allowed Detection to uncover this information.

To be honest, Levi was somewhat surprised.

Across the entire continent, wizards did not have a very good reputation.

That much could be seen from the Magic Mirror Queen.

Even as the queen of a kingdom, the Magic Mirror Queen did not dare reveal lightly that she was a witch.

How much more so for other wizards?

Levi had not expected that the reason wizards could not walk openly under the sun was actually tied to [Sleeping Beauty].

But thinking about it carefully, it did make some sense.

From the perspective of a fairy tale reader, [Sleeping Beauty] was nothing more than a city frozen in time. Once the curse was lifted, everything would return to normal.

But if one placed oneself in the position of the people of that era, the realization became terrifying.

A dreadful witch had cast magic upon the royal city and swallowed up everyone inside it.

They did not know those people were still alive.

In fact, the curse of [Sleeping Beauty] had only been lifted more than a hundred years later. Everyone in that royal city could be said to be alive, but in a certain sense, they were no different from the dead.

That was an entire city.

Nobles and commoners alike.

If such a thing happened before ordinary people who did not have an omniscient reader's perspective, how much panic would it cause?

If a witch could kill everyone in one city today, then tomorrow, could she kill everyone in another city?

No wonder the Church had seized the chance to issue the [Witch-Hunting Decree]!

No wonder the witch hunts had spread across the continent like wildfire.

The Church's pressure was one factor, but public support was also extremely important.

And by "public," this did not refer to commoners, but to the lords who held power and controlled the land. Their support was the real key.

Before the fairy tale of [Sleeping Beauty], wizards could still be honored guests of kings.

But after the turning point of [Sleeping Beauty], wizards became the continent's hated outcasts.

Because everyone had been frightened.

From Levi's point of view, what that wizard had done was indeed excessive.

Add to that the fact that witches had a habit of casually turning people into small animals, and often frightened children by saying they would eat them.

With all these factors stacked together, the image of wizards could hardly be good.

And so it had become the current situation.

Levi sighed inwardly several times.

Then his attention shifted to the other two pieces of intelligence.

Intelligence Five represented the approaching start of the fairy tale plot of [The Frog Prince].

However, the protagonist, [The Frog Prince], was currently locked by him inside a dark basket. Even if he wanted to set up the daughter of the Grand Duke of Silverbrook, he no longer had the chance.

The Grand Duke of Silverbrook was not a king, and the territory of the Duchy of Silverbrook did not meet the standard of a kingdom. However, his daughter could still be called a princess. Strictly speaking, in terms of noble rank, she was half a step below a "king's daughter," but in everyday forms of address and diplomatic etiquette, she still enjoyed the honor and title of a princess.

That was beside the point.

Leaving aside the matter of [The Frog Prince], Levi's attention was drawn to Intelligence Three.

A small wizard gathering?

At the public tombs?

Although wizards were treated like hated outcasts on the continent, they had not gone extinct.

Like weeds, they were still tenaciously surviving.

Levi immediately became interested.

Especially because the intelligence showed that one of those wizards possessed [Stardust]…

Light flickered in Levi's eyes. Perhaps… no, not perhaps. He should make contact with the people at this wizard gathering. If possible, he should trade with that wizard and obtain [Stardust].

But before that, Levi first needed to understand the situation surrounding this wizard gathering.

For some people, that might be rather troublesome, perhaps even impossible to begin with. But Levi had [Detection]. If he set his mind to searching, it would not be too difficult.

With that thought, although Levi only had about half of his Magic Power remaining, he still prepared to leave the room and search outside for traces of the wizards of the Duchy of Silverbrook.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, the long-silent [Frog Prince] began to slam wildly against the inside of the basket.

"Let me out!"

"You damned bastard!"

"You shameless scoundrel—just like a witch!"

"Please, I'm begging you, let me out!"

"I don't want to eat bugs, wuuuu…"

"Let me out…"

"..."

The [Frog Prince]'s voice instantly drew Yalina's attention.

She looked at Levi with a questioning gaze.

Levi remained unmoved. "Ignore him."

"Who knows whether he's really a prince or just a frog?"

Yalina nodded at his words, then turned and continued training her Moon Wolf Knight Breathing Technique.

As for Miss Nightingale Odelle—well, she was catching up on sleep.

Levi turned around. His form shifted, and he quickly transformed into a small nightingale, flying out through the window.

From his vantage point, one luxurious noble carriage after another had packed tightly around the [Golden Fleece Inn], leaving no room to pass.

"Heh…" Levi's gaze flickered. Without stopping, he flew toward the public cemetery outside the royal city.

According to the intelligence, the wizards of the Duchy of Silverbrook held a gathering here. That meant he didn't need to wander around like a headless fly searching for traces of wizards—he could begin his investigation from here.

...

The nightingale Levi had transformed into flew across the sky and soon arrived at the public cemetery outside the city.

The gravestones here were low and crowded, mostly made of rough gray stone. After long exposure to wind and rain, the names engraved on them had long since become blurred and illegible.

The air was filled with the damp scent of moss and a faint odor of decaying soil. Several dead black brambles stood crookedly among the graves, like withered hands stretching toward the sky.

Though it was called a public cemetery, in truth only fallen nobles and the wealthy class were qualified to be buried here.

Ordinary people could not afford to purchase burial plots here, nor could they spare the money for gravestones. Since ancient times, anything related to the dead had always been expensive.

Their final resting place was often on some hillside—a shallow pit dug into the earth, the body wrapped in a burial cloth and laid to rest. At most, a simple wooden cross might be placed above it. More often than not, there was not even a cross—no marker of any kind.

As time passed, the wooden crosses would rot away, and the exact burial locations would be forgotten.

Compared to the graves of the poor, those buried in this public cemetery were already considered fortunate.

Of course, there were better options—true nobles had their own family burial grounds. But that was another matter.

Returning to this public cemetery—though crowded, it at least had gravestones, and even a gravekeeper.

Levi perched on a tree branch, his gaze directed toward the edge of the cemetery.

There stood an inconspicuous stone hut. A figure sat on a dead wooden stump in front of it, busy with something.

The man wore a dark gray robe, washed to a faded pallor, with frayed cuffs. His hair was graying and unkempt, his nose hooked, his eyes gloomy—giving off the impression of someone difficult to deal with.

In truth, unless necessary, no one wanted to deal with a gravekeeper who lived among corpses.

Levi felt that this gravekeeper was not simple.

At the moment, he was in nightingale form and could not use the various spells of his true body, so he had no way to confirm it.

After a moment of thought, Levi flapped his wings and silently flew away.

The gravekeeper suddenly raised his head, frowning as he looked around. For a brief instant just now, he had felt an extremely unpleasant sensation—an innate talent of his. Yet after searching for a while, he found nothing unusual, and with a frown, he lowered his head again.

Meanwhile, Levi flew to a concealed spot, dispelled his nightingale form, and returned to his human body.

Levi tightened his linen cloak. His boots stepped on withered leaves and soft, decaying soil, producing faint cracking sounds.

He looked toward the gravekeeper. A blue light flickered in his eyes—that was him activating [Detection].

Information about the gravekeeper appeared before him:

[Orodo Gutley, Second-Tier Wizard Apprentice, specializes in necromancy. On the surface, he is the gravekeeper of the Duchy of Silverbrook. With so many corpses here, it is convenient for his training. At the same time, he guards this gathering site on behalf of the Duchy's "Mentor."]

[The wizard gathering will be held at dawn one day later. Participating wizard apprentices or wizards will conceal their appearance with masks and cloaks, addressing each other by codenames, and conduct trades under the supervision of the "Mentor."]

[There are seven burial passages leading to the underground catacombs where the gathering is held. Each passage is controlled by a wizard apprentice or wizard. Only with the approval of these gatekeepers can one pass through the passages and enter the underground trading site.]

[The underground catacombs are located at...]

[The positions of the seven burial passages are respectively at...]

[The method of contact between the gravekeeper and the "Mentor" of the wizard gathering is…]

[…]

Good.

Very good.

Level 5 [Detection]—in other words, Second-Ring Spell-level [Detection]—was indeed powerful, uncovering a great deal of useful information.

From this information, a vague idea began to take shape in Levi's mind.

But before that, Levi wanted to know more—most importantly, the strength of the participants in the wizard gathering.

If any of them possessed power beyond that of a Second-Ring Wizard, then Levi would have to reconsider whether it was worth taking the risk to attend such a gathering.

After all, inside the underground catacombs, his abilities would be greatly restricted. If danger arose, even escaping by transforming into the Greater Demon Owl would be severely limited.

Levi had to consider everything carefully.

Thus, he set his sights on that [Mentor].

According to the Detection results, this [Mentor] was the host of the wizard gathering.

In that case, this [Mentor]'s strength—if not the strongest among the group—would at least be at the top tier.

Through him, Levi could gauge the overall level of this wizard gathering.

With that in mind, Levi didn't even bother interacting with the gravekeeper, the Second-Tier Wizard Apprentice. Instead, he transformed back into a nightingale and flew off.

Because after a round of Detection, Levi already possessed a wealth of useful information—more, in fact, than the gravekeeper himself knew. There was no need to approach him to gather intelligence.

The gravekeeper, a mere Second-Tier Wizard Apprentice, never even had the chance to grow suspicious.

To Levi, no secret could remain hidden.

Levi shook his head inwardly. This [Detection] was simply too overpowered… oh right, only I can use it. Then it's fine.

With that thought, Levi once again turned into an utterly ordinary nightingale and flew toward the location where the gravekeeper and the [Mentor] had agreed to leave their mark.

Along the road leading into the city, beneath a certain birch tree, Levi arrived.

This was the place where the gravekeeper and that [Mentor] exchanged signals.

Sunlight pierced through the mist, illuminating the tall, straight birch.

Its trunk shone silver-white, like a pale candle standing upon the earth.

The bark of this birch was paper-white, dotted with black horizontal lenticels, like countless small eyes.

Unlike the sturdiness of oak, birch branches were slender and flexible, their leaves small and triangular. When the wind passed through, they produced a faint rustling sound, like whispers.

It was the "all-purpose tree" of the poor. Its bark was smooth and waterproof, suitable for writing and recording, as well as for roofing, or crafting buckets, shoes, and hats.

Not to mention that birchwood was rich in oils—even when damp, it could still burn, producing a bright flame.

Birch bark was also excellent tinder, and the fragrance it released while burning was believed to repel insects.

According to rumor, parts of the Church's [Holy Scripture] were written on birch bark, which gave the tree a sacred association.

Commoners would hang birch branches above doorways or place them beside a baby's cradle to ward off evil spirits, witches, and lightning. In some places, herdsmen would deliberately drive their cattle between two rows of birch branches to protect them from sorcery.

The Church would never have imagined that two individuals they considered heretics would use this very tree to exchange signals!

But what the Church could never imagine was laid bare at a glance under Levi's [Detection].

Through the [mark], Levi uncovered even more information—information related to that [Mentor].

His gaze passed through the birch leaves and turned toward the central district of the Duchy of Silverbrook's capital—the Grand Duke's castle.

According to the information Levi had detected, that [Mentor] resided within the Grand Duke's castle, existing under the identity of a court tutor.

"Interesting." Levi let out a soft chuckle.

From the intelligence, it was clear that behind this [Mentor] stood the Grand Duke of Silverbrook.

In an era when wizards were hunted and persecuted, this Grand Duke was secretly supporting a wizard.

In truth, this was not an exception.

Many kings and great lords did the same.

Faced with the overwhelming power of the Church, these rulers also needed the services of supernatural forces.

Levi's thoughts stirred. Once again, he transformed into a nightingale and headed toward the Grand Duke's castle, preparing to take a look at this [Mentor]!

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

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