Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

This new Human-Faced Demon Owl possessed even more powerful abilities—

Soul Howl.

All three heads emitted sound simultaneously, generating a terrifying resonance.

It was not merely physical noise—it directly assaulted the soul itself.

The attack covered an enormous area. So long as either the body or the soul proved insufficiently resilient, the victim would suffer catastrophic damage. Ordinary people would have their souls shattered instantly upon hearing it.

This was the greatest ability possessed by the Human-Faced Demon Owl as a Third-Order peak magical beast. Even among Third-Ring Spells, it belonged to the category of exceptionally powerful spells.

The Human-Faced Demon Owl's second ability was Shadow Traverse—

By utilizing the phosphorescent glow upon its feathers, it could perform short-range teleportation between shadows. Whether for offense or evasion in battle, the ability was extraordinarily effective.

But neither of those abilities was the true reason why the Human-Faced Demon Owl was classified as a Third-Order peak magical beast.

The reason Detection recognized the Human-Faced Demon Owl as a Third-Order peak magical beast was because of the human-faced head at its center.

Because of that head, Levi could cast every spell available to him in his human wizard form.

Including the Third-Ring Spell Detection, as well as abilities like Gathering Technique and Wizard's Hand.

It could be said that once transformed into the Human-Faced Demon Owl, Levi had entered his strongest state.

His strongest state—for now.

Although he had only just stepped into the realm of a Third-Ring Wizard, after transforming into the Human-Faced Demon Owl, Levi finally possessed the confidence to contend against veteran Third-Ring Wizard-level existences.

A few days earlier, Levi had tested the functions of the Third-Ring Spell Detection.

Using his own power at the level of a newly advanced First-Ring Wizard as the baseline value of 1, he had determined that First-Ring Wizards possessed combat values ranging from 1–9, while Second-Ring Wizards ranged from 10–19.

But Third-Ring Wizards were completely different.

Levi had scanned himself, and his displayed combat value was 20.

After raising Nightingale Polymorph to the standard of a Third-Ring Spell, his combat value rose to 28.

That was because Nightingale Polymorph not only allowed him to transform into the Human-Faced Demon Owl, but also granted him the power to curse others into becoming nightingales or other magical creatures. As a result, his combat value increased by a full eight points.

But that still was not Levi's limit.

When Levi transformed into the Human-Faced Demon Owl and used Detection on himself, his combat value displayed as 89.

The Human-Faced Demon Owl could use all of his human-form wizard spells.

Levi did not know what the absolute upper limit of a Third-Ring Wizard's combat value was.

But he knew one thing for certain—

A value of 89 was by no means weak among Third-Ring Wizards.

And yet, even this was not Levi's true limit.

As Levi's original body continued to grow stronger in the future, his combat value would rise even further.

But that was a matter for another day.

With a thought, Levi activated Shadow Traverse.

He leapt directly into the shadows, traveling through a bizarre and dazzling tunnel of darkness. In the blink of an eye, he appeared above the castle.

Still in his Human-Faced Demon Owl form, he cast the Second-Ring Spell Wizard's Hand and snatched Miss Odelle straight into his grasp. Before she could even react, he activated Shadow Traverse once more and brought her back to the place where he had previously practiced his spells.

The entire process had taken less than a second.

By the time Miss Odelle finally reacted, she was no longer inside the birdcage within the castle. The moment she saw Levi in his Human-Faced Demon Owl form, she nearly jumped out of her feathers and screamed in terror.

"That's enough. Quiet," Levi said to her.

Hearing the familiar voice, Miss Odelle finally realized who it was.

"It's you, Lord Levi."

"You… what are…"

"That's not important. What matters is you, Odelle," Levi said.

"What's wrong with me?" Miss Odelle froze, uncertainty filling her eyes along with growing unease.

"Do you want to become human again?" Levi asked.

Miss Odelle opened her beak, but no words came out.

For a moment, her eyes seemed to lose focus entirely.

Only after a long pause did she finally come back to herself and ask blankly: "I… can?"

"As long as you want to," Levi replied calmly. "Otherwise, you can continue living as a nightingale."

"I don't want that!"

Miss Odelle suddenly shrieked emotionally.

"I don't want to be a nightingale anymore!"

"I want to become human again."

"Lord Levi… Lord Wizard… please… please turn me back into a human."

"Then your wish shall be granted."

Levi cleanly raised one hand. A radiant halo of light blossomed within his palm, enveloping Miss Odelle entirely.

A heaven-shaking transformation immediately began occurring within her body.

Levi continuously poured more Magic Power into the spell, forcefully dismantling the curse placed upon Miss Odelle by the witch's magical castle.

The witch was even stronger than Levi had originally imagined.

Levi nearly exhausted all of his Magic Power before he finally heard a faint cracking sound—

Like glass shattering.

It was as though some invisible magical barrier surrounding Miss Odelle had been broken apart.

And where the nightingale had once stood, a tall woman now appeared.

Her long hair cascaded downward like a waterfall, shimmering with a moonlight-like silver-white glow. Her eyes were the color of violets. Her features were delicate yet not fragile, with a graceful nose bridge, sharply defined lips tinged with a natural pale pink, and a uniquely composed temperament lingering between her brows.

She stared blankly at her own hands as tears unconsciously streamed down her face.

But she quickly wiped them away.

Looking toward Levi, she bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Lord Levi."

"You have given me a new life."

Levi had not merely restored her human form—he had severed her connection to that castle entirely.

In every sense, he truly had given Odelle a new life.

Levi simply nodded faintly before asking: "Now that you've become human again, what do you plan to do?"

"Will you return home?"

Odelle shook her head with a bitter smile.

"The current me… cannot go back, Lord Levi."

"I wish to continue following you."

"Mm."

Levi was not surprised.

His Detection swept across the former Miss Odelle, and he unexpectedly discovered that she actually possessed wizard talent.

He suddenly remembered the promise he had once made to the Candy House witch Margaret.

Thus, he nodded and said: "Of course you may follow me."

"You possess the talent of a wizard. Do you wish to become one?" Levi asked.

"I… can?" Odelle froze once more.

"You can. Are you willing?" Levi asked directly.

"I am!"

Odelle answered almost immediately.

The terror and helplessness she had once felt after being transformed into a nightingale had always lingered in her heart.

She, too, wanted the power to control her own fate.

Even if that meant becoming a witch hated and feared across the continent.

Levi nodded upon hearing her answer.

With a thought, he used Synthesis to condense a parchment scroll into existence, its surface covered in dense, intricate writing.

The parchment scroll landed gently in Odelle's hands.

"This is the Candy House meditation method, Sweet Corridor. Take it back and study it for now. Later, I'll guide you through how to meditate properly."

"But there's one thing you must understand," Levi said. "Wizards can only rely on themselves."

"Yes, Lord Levi." Odelle nodded heavily.

After a brief pause, she added again: "Thank you, Lord Levi."

"You should already understand this—we each gained what we needed," Levi said frankly. "I owed the Candy House a promise. By inheriting this Sweet Corridor method, you are effectively inheriting the Candy House itself."

Odelle already knew about these matters.

Aside from the existence of Origin Energy, which Levi had never revealed to Odelle or Yalina, he had hidden nothing else from them.

There was simply no need.

Odelle nodded once more.

"I understand, Lord Levi."

"That's good."

Levi said nothing further and brought Odelle back to the castle.

Inside the castle, Yalina had just returned from negotiations with the two merchant groups. The moment she saw a beautiful young woman standing beside Levi, hostility instantly appeared in her eyes.

But before she could say anything, the beautiful girl smiled and spoke first.

"Yalina, it's me. Odelle."

Yalina froze.

Disbelief flashed through her eyes, followed immediately by joy.

Looking at Odelle, she murmured: "It's really you, Odelle?"

After all, the two of them had become extremely close friends during their journey together.

"Yes, Yalina. Lord Levi broke my curse. I can finally become human again."

Odelle could not suppress the smile on her face.

"That's wonderful, Odelle! I knew it!"

Yalina was equally overjoyed.

The two women immediately began talking nonstop.

But Levi had no interest in listening further.

He directly said to Yalina: "Odelle is in your care now. She's human again, so if there's work you can't keep up with, hand it over to her."

After saying that, Levi simply left.

He still needed to return and meditate to recover his Magic Power before continuing to practice his other spells.

He had not forgotten—

Odelle's matter was only one problem.

The other threats were already on their way toward him.

The Church.

The Inquisition.

A high-ranking inquisitor.

At the thought of that intelligence report, a faint glimmer flickered through Levi's eyes.

Behind him, Yalina and Odelle exchanged helpless looks.

Still, they had long since grown accustomed to the behavior of Lord Levi, the wizard.

...

Deep within the dense forest—

Beneath layers of lead-gray clouds—

Stood a grotesque castle.

The entire structure was built from black stone that shimmered with a dark green luster. The walls were covered in everlasting wisteria vines, and upon those vines bloomed tiny blood-red flowers.

At night, the flowers would open tiny eyes and silently observe their surroundings.

The castle's crooked spires twisted upward toward the sky. Not a single structure was properly symmetrical. Hanging atop one of the towers was a bronze bell that was never rung, yet from time to time it emitted low, mournful wails—

As though countless resentful spirits were whispering together.

There was no gate surrounding the castle.

Only a flowing barrier of black mist.

And once one crossed through the black mist barrier and entered the castle grounds, they would discover that the courtyard contained no flowers or grass—

Only grotesque leafless trees.

Their branches swayed like living arms.

And the direction of those swaying branches pointed toward a certain room.

Inside that room were countless birdcages.

Some cages were empty.

But far more of them each contained a single nightingale.

At least six or seven hundred of them.

The sight was horrifying.

The outside of the castle was even stranger.

There was no moat.

But roughly a hundred paces away from the castle stood numerous stone statues shaped like young men.

These statues were astonishingly lifelike. Some wore confused expressions, others terrified ones, as though they had once been real people frozen in stone.

A flaming-eyed owl flew in from the outside, passed through the black mist barrier, entered the castle grounds, and transformed upon landing into a grotesquely obese witch with a gaunt, sharp-featured face.

This fat-bodied, thin-faced witch had not the slightest trace of blood color on her face. Sinister light flickered within her eyes, while her pointed nose and chin nearly connected together.

She looked utterly furious, practically foaming with rage.

"Who was it?!"

"Who broke my curse?!"

"When I find you, you damned bastard, I'll make you understand the price of angering me!!!"

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

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