Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

Hornreach.

There were no heavy storm clouds overhead, nor any blazing, oppressive sun.

The sky was a clear, pale blue, as though washed clean with pure water, spotless and without a trace of impurity.

Even the wind had turned gentle. It drifted lazily past the pointed tops of the twin-ring walls, brushed over the newly sprouting vines in the farmland, carrying with it the damp, slightly salty scent of fresh earth as it lightly stirred the hems of the laboring townsfolk's clothes.

A few fluffy white clouds floated across the horizon in loose, lazy shapes. Some looked like torn pieces of cotton, others like plump little dumplings drifting leisurely through the sky. Their shadows moved slowly across the cement walls, scattering patches of shade over the dark green farmland below.

The sunlight was mild rather than harsh—a warm golden glow. It filtered through gaps in the clouds and broke into countless tiny flecks of light that landed upon the castle's stone windows, gently brushing across Levi's eyes.

If not for the terrifying aura lurking deep within the Mist Swamp, this would have been the perfect kind of weather to drag out a beach chair onto the terrace, prepare a few glasses of juice and wine, then spend the morning leisurely flipping through parchment books filled with tales of continental treasures and strange wonders in this fairy tale world.

What a shame.

Standing beside the castle window, Levi sighed inwardly.

He looked up toward the sky, where several snow-white doves as pure as angels drifted lazily overhead. They circled past the two great walls, curiously glancing at the soldiers carrying alchemical firearms before finally flying beyond the Grayrock Mountains.

That was where Hornreach directly bordered the Kingdom of Valeria.

The Grayrock Mountains belonged to Valeria's territory.

In truth, it was not only Hornreach that shared a border with the Kingdom of Valeria. Silverclaw Territory did as well. However, because of the mountain barrier, it was far more difficult for Valeria to invade their lands directly.

Within Silverclaw Territory stood a narrow mountain pass—easy to defend and hard to assault. A fortress had been built there to seal the route shut, preventing the armies of Valeria from breaking through. Left with no alternative, Valeria had launched its attacks through another bordering territory instead—the direct domain of the Duke of Silverbrook...

Levi mused lazily to himself as his gaze followed the distant doves.

"So in the end, birds really do have it easy. They can go wherever they want..."

The moment the words left his mouth, several birds of prey burst out from the Grayrock Mountains and swooped toward the doves with ruthless speed and precision.

In an instant, several white doves were stained red with blood and became the raptors' lunch.

The remaining doves scattered in panic, each fleeing for its own life.

"..."

Levi fell silent for a moment before finally muttering: "Actually, being human isn't bad either. With bows and weapons, dealing with wild beasts and predatory birds is no problem at all."

"But humans can't fly."

"If humans had wings... huh. Wouldn't that make them birdmen...? Uh, no... I mean... angels..."

Levi's expression became exceedingly strange.

...

Kingdom of Valeria.

Royal palace garden.

The middle-aged king, famed throughout the continent for his grand ambition and vast knowledge, listened to the chirping birds in the trees with an increasingly unpleasant expression.

Birds constantly flew in and out of the garden—white doves and all kinds of small birds.

Some arrived.

Others departed.

Their endless chatter continuously delivered the latest intelligence to the king of Valeria.

Sometimes, before human spies had even uncovered anything useful, the king already knew everything.

"That was terrifying just now! You have no idea—I was wandering around the seaside and saw so many interesting things. But just as I was heading back, several horrible big monsters suddenly burst out of the mountains. A few of my poor brothers and sisters died right there!"

"Really? That sounds awful! I've never been to the seaside before. What's it like there?"

"Oh, let me tell you—the scenery is absolutely beautiful! That endless ocean is unbelievably attractive to birds. I almost wanted to keep flying forever just to see where it ended!"

"Then why did you come back?"

"Because the humans over there are unfriendly! They built huge walls—two of them! I got tired from flying and just wanted to rest on top for a while, but the humans chased me away."

"Humans can't catch you anyway. What are you scared of?"

"Oh, you don't understand! Those evil humans have these long things in their hands. They stuff powder and round little objects into them, and then they make a sound so loud it feels like the world is exploding! The poor dog-headed creatures over there drop dead the moment the sound rings out. It's terrifying! Humans are so evil!"

"Really? Did those evil humans invent some new evil thing again?"

"I don't know! But there were one, two, three, four... a full three hundred of them! Gods above, I was scared to death!"

"I don't believe you. I'm going to see for myself."

"Don't go! I'm afraid if you do, you'll never come back! There are far too many of those evil humans carrying all kinds of weapons... And you have no idea! There's a place there like a volcano that gives off heat every single day, enough to roast me alive. It feels like the territory of devils! It's absolutely terrifying!!!"

"No way. You've successfully made me curious. Even if I die, I have to see it with my own eyes. Once I come back, I'll prove whether what you said was true or false! Goodbye!"

"Don't go! That place is dangerous! They have—"

The birds in the trees continued chattering noisily without end.

Meanwhile, the expression of the king of the Kingdom of Valeria grew darker and darker.

From the conversations of these birds, he had learned that the strength of Hornreach was expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Its population had already surged to nearly twenty thousand.

Just after welcoming a bountiful agricultural harvest.

Damn it, how could that patch of land even grow crops?

And then there was the military strength. The number of soldiers had risen to over a thousand. After fighting the kobolds, these men had all seen blood. They might not qualify as elites yet, but at the very least they would not collapse the moment battle began.

More importantly—the alchemical firearms.

The firearm corps had reached three hundred men.

What did that signify?

The king of the Kingdom of Valeria knew very well, having personally witnessed the destructive power of southern alchemical firearms before.

He remained silent for a long time before turning and heading toward a hidden underground chamber.

Blue-glowing ores were embedded throughout the subterranean hall. Several men dressed in black robes, their auras strange and unsettling, were conducting all sorts of research inside.

These were the wizards and wizard apprentices he secretly maintained.

The strongest among them was a Second-Ring Wizard whose strength approached the Third Ring. There were also three First-Ring Wizards, while the rest were high-level wizard apprentices.

In this regard, the king of the Kingdom of Valeria far surpassed the Duke of Silverbrook. The duke only supported a single First-Ring Wizard, though even that already placed him above many kingdoms.

The king of Valeria had been born a commoner. He lacked the deep-rooted foundations of centuries-old noble families. These wizard resources had not been inherited from the former king.

They had been gathered almost entirely through his own efforts.

Naturally, that was all thanks to the White Snake meat.

It was simply that no one knew.

Through the voices of animals, the king of the Kingdom of Valeria had uncovered enormous amounts of information. He had also discovered many wizards and brought them under his patronage, having them handle matters inconvenient for him to deal with personally. They were also one of the foundations supporting royal authority against powerful religious authority.

As soon as the king entered, the black-robed wizards all turned toward him.

He wasted no time with pleasantries. Knowing how valuable a wizard's time was, he immediately stated his purpose.

"Travelers of the Sea of Knowledge," he asked, "I wish to know—what level of strength would someone capable of producing three hundred alchemical firearms possess?"

The expressions of the black-robed wizards immediately sharpened, their brows furrowing slightly.

After a moment, an aged voice echoed from the depths of the underground chamber.

"The forging difficulty of alchemical firearms is not particularly high. The process is merely tedious. For an alchemist, even an experienced alchemy apprentice could manufacture them, though the success rate would not be very high."

"Generally, only First-Ring Alchemists would be willing to waste time producing such things."

"Once an alchemist reaches the Second Ring, they usually lose interest in them. They would rather create more interesting objects."

"To produce three hundred alchemical firearms, I am inclined to believe there is a sizable but relatively weak team of alchemists operating behind the scenes. Possibly a particular alchemical school."

"My guess is that their strongest alchemist would not exceed the Second Ring."

"But that is not absolute. Who can truly say for certain in matters like these?"

A flicker appeared in the king's eyes upon hearing this.

After carefully considering it, he asked again: "If—and I mean if—they were to launch a wizard war, would you be able to resist them?"

"Matters of wizards belong to wizards. If they attack you, we will honor the contract we forged back then."

The aged voice once again echoed from deep within the underground chamber.

The other black-robed wizards voiced no objections.

"In that case, I'm relieved."

The king of the Kingdom of Valeria nodded.

After a brief pause, he asked once more: "Regarding the kobold uprising within the Mist Swamp... do you know anything about it?"

This time, the aged voice did not answer immediately.

A long silence passed before it slowly spoke again.

"I once saw a few fragmented passages in an ancient book. It claimed that deep within the Mist Swamp slumbers a terrifying existence."

"It possesses seven heads."

"And when it awakens, the world will be buried beneath its flames."

"Only the Child of Destiny will be able to raise the legendary Sword of Christ and slay that horrifying being."

The king's expression changed drastically.

"You mean... that terrifying existence is about to awaken?"

"I cannot confirm whether the legend itself is even true. And even if it is, then the ones who should be worried are not us."

"They will take action."

"Annoying as they are, tending the flock is supposedly the mission their Lord entrusted to them. As sheepdogs, they will not allow wolves to devour the sheep."

The aged voice from deep within the underground chamber spoke calmly.

"And what about you?"

After a moment of silence, the king suddenly asked.

"Heh..."

"To the sheepdogs, we are merely troublesome foxes. They dislike us as well, but we are not the first targets they seek to eliminate."

"And you, Your Majesty... you are the lead sheep among the flock—the one that refuses to obey and wants to escape the pen. They do not like you, but neither will they casually dispose of you."

The king of the Kingdom of Valeria remained expressionless upon hearing this.

"I understand."

"No matter what, I need to start making preparations."

"Three hundred alchemical firearms... this Levi is not someone who lets others rest easy."

"Then I wish you good fortune, Your Majesty."

The aged voice gradually fell silent once more.

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