Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

More than twenty days later, the atmosphere within the Mist Swamp had grown increasingly dense and deadly.

Unfortunately, even Levi's Third-Ring level Detection still could not uncover the reason behind it.

That left Levi with a vague but growing sense of unease.

Meanwhile, the kobolds had become even more frenzied.

Thousands of kobolds had already died beneath the walls, yet they still had not collapsed. Not only the kobolds, but the other magical creatures within the Mist Swamp had also joined forces with them, launching relentless assaults against the walls as though some horrifying monster behind them was driving them forward, ready to devour them if they stopped.

Among them were certain magical creatures that, while few in number, possessed terrifying individual strength. Covered in scales and weighing several tons, their destructive power rivaled that of First- and Second-Ring Wizards.

The first wall was even smashed open at one point after they concentrated their attacks on a single section, allowing them to charge inside.

However, by then, the second wall within Hornreach was already nearing completion, while several side walls had also been constructed to connect with the first wall.

The kobolds surged in excitedly, believing they had finally broken through Hornreach's defenses.

Instead, what greeted them was an even taller and sturdier wall.

At the same time, the two walls formed a deadly crossfire.

Especially devastating was the gun squad's firepower. Over these past dozens of days, the gun squad had expanded as well, now possessing two hundred firearms and three hundred personnel. Firearms were incredibly lethal, and that remained true even against magical creatures.

A single gun might not have been especially powerful, but once they fired in volleys, the destructive force became extremely considerable.

Not to mention that Levi had also been secretly taking action himself, specifically targeting the powerful kobold shamans and magical creatures.

Under such conditions, the kobolds and the other magical creatures naturally suffered catastrophic casualties.

In the end, they broke.

Leaving behind over a thousand corpses, they fled in terror.

Of course, Levi's side had not escaped losses either. Over the course of the fighting, several hundred people had been wounded or killed. Fortunately, most of the wounded only suffered light injuries. After resting in the rear for a period of time, they would be able to return to the ranks as veterans with battlefield experience.

As for those who died from their injuries, along with the noncombat personnel who perished, the total came to around eighty people.

As usual, Levi provided generous compensation and properly arranged for the care of their families.

At the same time, he began considering the establishment of a medical clinic.

After all, once many soldiers were injured, they could only grit their teeth and endure it. If they survived, they lived. If they could not hold on, they died.

And Levi himself was not a doctor, nor did he possess any healing-related spells.

Even if he did, he would have no way to spread them among ordinary people for widespread use.

So doctors were still necessary.

Thus, he summoned the local heads of the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild and the Sword and Flower Caravan.

Levi knew that, because of the Whale Brain Oil affair, both of them had already gained considerable attention within their respective organizations.

He presented them with his request—

Doctors.

That immediately put both men in a difficult position.

Doctors were not like bread, armor, longswords, or linen cloth. They were far too precious.

And what Levi wanted was not some quack physician. He wanted genuinely skilled doctors, which made things even harder.

The two of them racked their brains for a long time before suddenly thinking of someone.

"My lord, I do know of one doctor who might satisfy your requirements," said the head of the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild.

"Oh?" Levi's gaze shifted slightly at those words. "Who?"

Even though he had not intentionally done anything, the pressure of a Third-Ring Wizard alone was enough to make the two men feel a faint sense of unease.

The Sea Serpent Merchant Guild's representative did not dare keep him in suspense and immediately replied, "My lord, I do not know his real name. Everyone simply calls him the Miracle Doctor."

"It means that no matter the problem, he can solve it. No matter the illness, he can cure it."

'No matter the illness, he can cure it!'

Levi's eyes immediately sharpened.

Because he remembered a fairy tale in which the protagonist obtained an eraser from a monster. With a single rub, it could heal any wound completely.

What else could that be if not curing every illness?

More importantly—

That eraser itself.

Levi was certain he could obtain a brand-new spell ability from a treasure like that.

His interest was instantly piqued.

So he looked toward the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild's representative and said, "Find a way to bring him here and have him treat the soldiers who have bled and fought for this territory."

"No matter the cost," Levi said.

"That certainly will not be a problem. I believe the Miracle Doctor would also be willing to come. However..." the representative hesitated.

"However what?"

"We will need some financial support," the representative admitted.

"No problem. Withdraw one thousand gold coins from the castle treasury first. Will that be enough?" Levi asked.

"That will be more than enough, my lord. I will definitely bring the Miracle Doctor here as quickly as possible to treat your soldiers," the representative replied with a smile.

Seeing this, the head of the Sword and Flower Caravan immediately rolled his eyes thoughtfully before hurriedly speaking up as well.

"My lord, a single doctor will not be enough. I can also help you recruit physicians. Their skills may not compare to the Miracle Doctor's, but they make up for it in numbers. One doctor alone cannot possibly handle that many patients."

'No, if it's that overpowered doctor, then he absolutely can. It's basically one second per patient.'

Still, Levi nodded at those words.

"In that case, you may also withdraw one thousand gold coins," he said.

"Yes, my lord," the Sword and Flower Caravan's representative responded.

At that exact moment, the corner of his eye happened to meet the gaze of the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild's representative.

The two men left the castle in silence.

What greeted them outside was the chaotic sight of the new city below, sprawling like an enormous construction site.

The first thing that immediately drew both of their attention was the Central Plaza.

It was also the core of the entire new city, positioned on elevated ground. The plaza measured one hundred and twenty meters long and ninety meters wide, entirely paved with layered cement that had been leveled smooth, while the edges were reinforced with fitted bluestone borders.

At the center of the plaza stood a three-story building rising from the ground. It too had been constructed from cement and bricks. Although it was still little more than a rough shell and looked rather crude, the main structure had already been capped, giving it the basic functionality required for use.

They had heard that this place would eventually become the new City Lord's Manor.

Beside it stood the public well platform. Though still unfinished, its outline had already begun to take shape.

From the entire Central Plaza outward, the whole new city had been divided into several planned districts, including the prime central district, residential districts, commercial districts, industrial workshop districts, military defense districts, and even farmland enclosed within the city itself.

As a result, the scale of the new city was enormous.

The original Coldwind Keep Town had covered only half a square kilometer and could house roughly three thousand people. Many fishermen had even lived outside the town itself.

But the new city Levi intended to build—just the area enclosed, or soon to be enclosed, by its walls—already exceeded twenty times the size of Coldwind Keep Town.

In other words, more than ten square kilometers.

A city of that scale would be considered massive even across the entire continent, capable of housing hundreds of thousands of people.

Of course—

Theoretically being able to house hundreds of thousands of people did not mean it could realistically sustain them.

Once a population reached that scale, the demands placed upon the city became extraordinarily high.

To say nothing else, sanitation alone was enough to collapse an entire city.

Even the great cities of the current era could barely maintain hygiene standards within their core districts. As for the other areas, they were little better than pigsties.

Most water sources were heavily polluted, which was why people in this age would rather drink alcohol than water whenever possible. The water simply was not clean.

Keeping a city of several hundred thousand people functioning had never been an easy matter.

However, the representatives of both the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild and the Sword and Flower Caravan quickly noticed something keenly—

Levi's new city was not prioritizing houses or castles.

Instead, every district was first digging sewage systems and drainage pipelines.

And Levi possessed that miraculous Alchemical Powder capable of turning decay into wonder, which ensured the quality of those sewage and drainage systems would be extraordinarily high.

Neither representative doubted that in the slightest.

Both men shared an intense premonition—

Once Levi's city was truly completed, it would become the cleanest and most beautiful city on the entire continent.

It might even become the most prosperous city as well.

Perhaps it would attract vast numbers of people eager to settle there.

This place...

Would become one of the continent's centers.

And when that day came, just how much power would Levi wield as the ruler of such a city?

How immense would the profits he could generate become?

At that thought, the breathing of both representatives quickened.

They suddenly realized that they should increase their support for Levi far beyond merely satisfying his trade demands.

The two men exchanged a glance and immediately saw the same gleam in each other's eyes.

Neither wasted any more words.

Both hurried away at once.

They each intended to return and persuade their headquarters to invest even more resources in order to earn greater favor from Levi.

...

After sending off the representatives of the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild and the Sword and Flower Caravan, Levi resumed practicing his spells.

The two he focused on the most were Gathering Technique and Synthesis.

Gathering Technique allowed him to collect all sorts of useful construction materials and greatly accelerate the development of the territory—for example, secretly gathering enormous amounts of clay.

Because of the kobold threat, the territory's clay collection teams could no longer safely operate and had instead been reassigned to quarrying stone.

But Levi's Gathering Technique did not suffer from that problem.

He could simply stand within the city walls and gather clay directly from the Mist Swamp, after which the territory's workers would transport it away to be used for firing bricks or producing modern cement.

Since the entire territory had effectively become one gigantic construction site, with everyone focused on their own duties, nobody noticed anything strange about the sudden appearance of so much clay.

As long as there were materials available, they simply used them.

And that was exactly what Levi wanted.

Thanks to Levi's constant use of Gathering Technique, its proficiency was skyrocketing, and it was already nearing the threshold for advancement.

Aside from Gathering Technique, Levi was also using Synthesis frequently.

He synthesized large quantities of weapons and military supplies—items that Gathering Technique could not obtain.

Among them, everything related to alchemical firearms became Levi's primary focus.

Although alchemical firearms possessed tremendous firepower, prolonged use caused the barrels to overheat and eventually become damaged. Moreover, both lead bullets and gunpowder were absolutely essential.

Without those, they were nothing more than metal clubs.

And the importance of alchemical firearms on the battlefield was growing greater and greater.

Without them suppressing the kobolds and those powerful magical creatures with concentrated firepower, no matter how sturdy the two walls were, they still would have been breached.

Thus, alchemical firearms and all related supplies were resources Levi absolutely had to guarantee and prioritize through Synthesis.

However, regardless of what materials he synthesized, as long as he continued using Synthesis, the spell's proficiency would continue increasing. It too was already approaching the level of a Third-Ring Spell.

Levi's current plan was to raise each spell he possessed to the Third-Ring level as much as possible.

The process of strengthening those spells was not only a process of increasing Levi's own power, but also one of continuously strengthening his Sea of Souls.

Once it had been strengthened to a sufficient degree—surpassing the standard of ordinary Third-Ring Wizards—Levi's meditation efficiency would undergo a significant improvement.

Only then would he focus all his efforts on pushing a single Third-Ring Spell toward the Fourth Ring, while also advancing toward becoming a Fourth-Ring Wizard himself.

But that was a matter for the future.

---

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

---