Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

Although a small accident had occurred, after Levi hanged Lawrence, the town bully, he instead won the support of many people.

To describe it in gaming terms, Levi's prestige as a lord had gained a [Prestige +30].

Then, by distributing gold coins, bread, and roasted meat on the spot, Levi's prestige as the new lord increased again, [+20].

As a result, the recruitment process that followed went extremely smoothly for Levi, and he easily recruited one hundred people.

Most of them were the children of fishermen, though there were also homeless drifters living in even harsher conditions. Because their families were poor, their siblings numerous, they could barely fill their stomachs, much less afford wives, so they joined Levi's guard force—even knowing that a violent storm was coming next, that the threat from the Silverclaw Viscount might very well cost them their lives.

But they still chose to gamble on it!

The overwhelming majority of them, after receiving the one gold coin settling allowance, immediately handed it over to their families.

Some even split their bread and roasted meat in half to leave part of it for their households.

After having Yalina register all of them in the records, Levi instructed the Sky Knight Rune, along with several original members of the castle guard, to organize these new recruits into two lines before leading them back to the castle.

Although Coldwind Keep was not large, it still had several communal bunkrooms, enough to squeeze in one hundred people.

Of course, if their numbers expanded further in the future, it would no longer be enough.

But that was a matter for later.

After Levi and the Sky Knight Rune arranged lodging for everyone, he divided them into ten squads, with each squad selecting a temporary squad leader on their own.

Once the ten temporary squad leaders had been chosen, Levi had them come to the castle hall to meet him.

Meanwhile, during that short window of time, Levi slipped into the empty castle warehouse alone. With a thought, magic power was consumed as Synthesis activated.

The threat from the Silverclaw Viscount was already looming overhead. Levi had neither the time nor the conditions necessary to slowly commission military supplies from tailors and blacksmiths.

He could only rely on himself.

Creating objects from nothing!

Actually, if he had base materials available for Synthesis, Levi's magic power consumption would have been reduced considerably.

But again, time was too tight. Levi did not even have the spare time to collect base materials, so he could only rely on synthesizing things directly out of thin air, just like how he had previously created various delicacies from the memories of his past life.

Food came in relatively small quantities, so while the consumption was not minor, it still remained within a tolerable range for Levi.

But now, Levi needed to directly Synthesize more than two hundred sets of uniforms, caps, boots, and various other military supplies out of nothingness. The consumption was absolutely staggering.

Even though Levi's Spiritual Power had already reached the limit of a Second-Ring Wizard, because he had overused both his magic power and mental energy today, his face still turned somewhat pale, while the magic power within his body dropped to a dangerously low level.

Still, after seeing those two hundred complete sets of uniforms, Levi felt it was all worth it.

Deep gray coarse-patterned guard uniforms—durable and wind-resistant, with the pointed horn emblem of Hornreach embroidered along the collar. The inner lining was padded with thin fleece to resist the cold sea winds, accompanied by thick cloth leg wraps, anti-slip cowhide combat boots, and wide leather belts.

All of them had been custom-made by Levi. During recruitment, he had already memorized everyone's measurements through Detection, so the clothes produced through Synthesis fit perfectly.

Besides that, Levi also synthesized additional military supplies:

Single-handed short hunting blades, thin and sharp, suited for close-quarters defense!

Oval wooden shields wrapped in leather, lightweight and easy to handle, capable of blocking slashing attacks!

One pair each of bracers and shoulder guards to protect vital areas!

Even the personal water pouches and ration bags were synthesized together!

At this point, the originally empty castle warehouse had become packed to the brim with military supplies.

Levi called Yalina over to handle the written records. Seeing the warehouse filled to the ceiling with military supplies, Yalina was not surprised in the slightest—she had long since witnessed Levi's miraculous methods.

Levi then had the ten temporarily selected squad leaders collect the supplies for their respective squads and distribute them accordingly. Naturally, when receiving these supplies, the squad leaders all had to leave fingerprint marks as records.

This was to establish procedures and workflow habits right from the beginning.

At worst, it would only mean making Yalina suffer a bit more.

Then came bathing.

Levi opened every bathhouse in the castle, including the private bath originally reserved for the lord, and provided soap so they could thoroughly wash themselves.

Fortunately, it was summer now, and the weather was hot, so rinsing directly with cold water was enough.

If it had been winter, things would have been far more troublesome.

Levi ordered the castle's original personnel to haul bucket after bucket of cold water from the moat to help clean the newly recruited guard members.

No one knew how many days it had been since these people had last bathed.

At any rate, the water that washed off them came out black.

It took a very long time before all hundred or so of them finally finished bathing and changed into the uniforms and boots Levi had provided. Some were even reluctant to wear them, wanting instead to keep wearing their own filthy old clothes. When Rune saw that, he immediately kicked them and cursed them out harshly.

Only then did they stop trying to hide the new clothes away, instead putting them on carefully, as though they were priceless treasures.

By the time all the guard members had finished bathing and dressing themselves properly, it was already deep into the night.

Levi gathered them together once more and began explaining the various Guard Regulations to them. Once the rules were violated, punishment would follow. If the offense was severe enough, they could even be executed directly, with all their gold coins confiscated. But if they performed well, there would likewise be rewards.

In short, rewards and punishments would be clearly distinguished.

Levi laid out the rules for them.

Looking at Levi's stern expression, all the guard members felt their hearts tighten.

...

Harsh training began at dawn the next morning.

The horn sounded precisely on time, not delayed by even a moment.

Levi personally supervised everyone getting up and assembling into formation. No sleeping in, no dawdling. Dressing, folding blankets, and forming ranks all had to be completed within fifteen minutes. Three people were just a little slow on the first day and were immediately ordered to run ten laps around the castle. Even when they were gasping to the point of collapse, they were not allowed to stop.

Levi valued this greatly, because formation drills were the first lesson of discipline.

The rows had to be straight, the columns aligned. Toes lined up, shoulders level. Hands pressed tightly against the seams of their trousers. Heads raised, chests out, eyes facing forward. No whispering to each other, no looking around, no casually swaying their bodies. They stood there for an entire hour. Even if the wind stung their faces and their legs became numb and trembling, they still had to remain perfectly motionless.

Levi held a short solid wooden rod in his hand as he paced back and forth between the lines, his gaze sweeping across every person. Whenever someone's posture tilted or their eyes wandered, the short rod would lightly tap against their shoulder. There was no shouting, yet it carried a pressure that tolerated no disobedience. After several rounds, no one dared move carelessly anymore.

Rune followed nearby, watching Levi's behavior with complete confusion.

He could not understand it at all. If Levi wanted to improve these guard members' combat ability, shouldn't he be training them directly?

Why engage in such flashy yet impractical things?

Levi noticed the confusion in the Sky Knight Rune's eyes, but he did not explain.

Because time would give him the answer.

After the formation standing drills came physical conditioning.

Levi did not dare push them with high intensity right from the start. Most of these guard members came from poor families and were completely different from the sons of knightly houses who had trained since childhood.

They needed time and nutrition.

So Levi merely led them in running exercises. They ran uphill along the coastal slopes outside Coldwind Keep all the way to the seaside before turning back. The total distance was roughly five kilometers. Walking was forbidden—only running was allowed. The squad with the fastest overall time would receive extra food.

This was to cultivate their sense of teamwork.

During the morning run, several individuals ran extremely fast, but it was useless. Some members of their squads had fallen behind.

Meanwhile, the squad that Little John belonged to was not the fastest in speed because they supported and helped one another along the way, but they still ranked first as a group and received Levi's extra meal reward.

The other guard members only received bread and vegetable soup.

Their squad, however, received a slab of roasted meat.

The sight made the other guard members drool with envy, while certain thoughts quietly began taking root in their minds, waiting to sprout.

After formation drills and running came strength training.

The training plan itself was provided by Levi, while Rune supervised its execution.

Lifting stone locks, carrying logs, squats, push-ups, and basic sparring practice in pairs. No flashy techniques were taught—only blocking, punching, and dodging. Every move emphasized practicality. They trained until everyone's arms ached and swelled, their legs trembled, and sweat soaked through their clothes and streamed down their faces, continuing all the way until noon.

Lunch would be far more substantial.

After finishing lunch within the allotted time, afternoon training began immediately afterward.

The afternoon training shifted its focus back toward discipline and coordination.

The ten squads were managed layer by layer. If one person made a mistake, the entire squad would share the punishment.

He drilled them on obeying commands. At a single order of Turn Left, everyone had to move in perfect synchronization. If even one person reacted half a beat too slowly or turned in the wrong direction, the entire squad would be punished with standing drills.

At a single order of Squat Down, they had to crouch simultaneously in perfect unison, without making any unnecessary noise.

Even their marching pace had strict requirements—the stride length had to match, and their footsteps had to sound uniform. Only when no chaotic footfalls could be heard would it be considered acceptable.

The process was exhausting and mentally grinding.

After repeatedly suffering punishments because of the team, several people grew resentful and secretly began slacking off. However, Levi, with Detection active, spotted them immediately with a single glance. Their punishment was direct: twenty laps of weighted running, and they were forbidden from entering their rooms at night. Levi said, "If you think you don't need them, then they don't need you either!"

Levi made them stand outside the castle under the sea wind to reflect on themselves. By the next day, their wildness had been completely restrained, and they obediently resumed training.

This kind of training continued until dusk, only ending once the castle's original personnel brought over the prepared dinner.

Afterward came bathing within the allotted time, as well as washing their own clothes.

Even at night, they still could not immediately rest. Instead, they were gathered in the castle hall for Ideological Education—to put it bluntly, brainwashing.

Actually, Levi did not need to do this. The treatment he provided these squad members was already enough for them to devote themselves wholeheartedly.

But Levi felt it was still not enough.

They needed further education and heart-to-heart guidance.

Because what he wanted was—loyalty!

Moreover, besides Ideological Education, the evenings could also be used for literacy education.

They could not learn anything too complicated in such a short time, but something simple—like writing their own names—should at least be manageable.

Of course, Levi had no intention of teaching that personally.

He handed the task over to Yalina.

After Levi piled more responsibilities onto her shoulders, Yalina—already busy enough as it was—now had yet another duty added to her workload. She hated Levi to death for it.

Wouldn't it have been perfectly fine to just continue wandering around and enjoying different scenery?

Why did he have to become some lord instead?

But there was no helping it.

Lord Wizard Levi had spoken. No matter how unwilling Yalina was, she still had to come over and serve as a teacher for a while.

As for Levi, he needed to return to meditate and recover his magic power.

Besides that, he also had another matter of even greater importance to handle.

...

In the blink of an eye, four days passed.

Although the time was short, under Levi's relentless drilling, this castle guard force that had only been established a few days ago now wore identical deep gray uniforms, moved in complete unison, and had completely shed the slovenly laziness they once carried. Their spirit and bearing had visibly improved.

Even the Sky Knight Rune felt somewhat surprised when he saw them.

Still, deep down, he believed it was merely superficial appearance.

As time went on, the intensity of training only increased rather than decreased, with basic armed drills and guard duty exercises added into the regimen.

These guard members wielded synthesized short blades and shields while practicing basic slashing, blocking, and formation advances.

Levi personally demonstrated every movement, using Detection to correct each improper posture. He demanded swift attacks and stable defenses, allowing no sloppy or sluggish motions.

At dusk, they conducted fortress guard drills—rotating shifts, lookout duty, message relays, emergency assembly, and simulations of sudden incidents. The moment an order sounded, everyone had to assemble within the required time limit. Even the slightest delay resulted in doubled training punishment.

Nor were they free to relax at night. After dinner, besides ideological education, they also had to review the day's training and memorize command regulations. Only once the moon stood high overhead were they allowed to return to the barracks and rest. Every day, they slept for less than three hours, so exhausted that they would fall asleep the instant their heads touched the pillow.

Yet no one dared complain anymore.

Because from beginning to end, Levi trained alongside them the entire time.

He wore no special clothing. He woke up early together with every guard member, ran together with them, trained together with them, leading by example personally. Coupled with the fact that food was never withheld—in fact, it could even be considered plentiful—this strict yet fair attitude earned the wholehearted respect of everyone.

After seven days, Levi had already forged this guard force into a unit with relatively strict discipline and unquestioning obedience to orders.

Dressed in uniform deep gray guard attire and armed with military equipment, they stood with firm posture. Simply forming ranks there created a silent sense of oppressive pressure.

After evaluating them, the Sky Knight Rune could not help but say, "If we exclude knight-level existences, then ordinary guard units and defense squads are already inferior in combat power to the force you trained in just these seven days."

However, he still added one more sentence: "But it's useless!"

"On a real battlefield, a single knight leading a charge could easily punch straight through this force you spent such a great cost training."

"And if you want to maintain them, you'll have to continue spending enormous sums to support them." The Sky Knight Rune voiced his opinion.

"You're right. Right now, it's only a superficial force. It can't withstand a knight's charge. But that's only temporary," Levi said.

"You're relying on those alchemical firearms, aren't you?" the Sky Knight Rune said. "Although I don't fully understand them, I can tell that producing those alchemical firearms can't possibly be easy for you either. You must have to pay some kind of price, just like how I pay a price when using those foods."

"So how many can you actually produce?"

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

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