Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

The tiny figure sitting at the center of the flower had translucent fair skin and was only slightly larger than Thumbelina. A magnificent golden crown rested atop his head, while a pair of glowing wings sprouted from his shoulders.

He was a Flower Fairy, born within this special secret realm.

The crown upon his head further highlighted his extraordinary status. Only the king among the Flower Fairies could be born as such a being.

He was a First-Order magical creature, but possessed very little combat power. He probably couldn't even defeat a swallow.

That was because the abilities of Flower Fairies were almost entirely support-oriented, particularly in matters related to plants.

When Thumbelina saw him, she was astonished.

It was the first time she had ever met someone so similar to herself, and an inexplicable sense of familiarity immediately welled up inside her.

Especially since this Flower Fairy was incredibly handsome. The sight struck directly at Thumbelina's preferences... or rather, it was love at first sight.

She whispered to the swallow beside her, "My God! How handsome he is!"

The swallow glanced at him and didn't find him attractive at all. He wasn't nearly as appealing as a female swallow, so it offered no opinion.

Meanwhile, on the Flower Fairy King's side, he was equally surprised to see Thumbelina and the swallow communicating with each other.

In truth, he was quite afraid of the swallow. To someone as tiny as him, a swallow was practically a gigantic monster.

But when the Flower Fairy King's gaze fell upon Thumbelina, the mysterious power radiating from her deeply captivated him.

That attraction helped him overcome his fear of the swallow, and he immediately became delighted.

Thumbelina was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life.

Standing beside Thumbelina, the Flower Fairy King felt as though he possessed endless strength.

In reality, it was the aura ability of Thumbelina, the Barley Fairy, amplifying and strengthening him.

But the Flower Fairy King believed it was love.

So he removed the golden crown from his head and moved to place it upon Thumbelina's.

This gesture symbolized that the Flower Fairy Kingdom was willing to offer her everything it possessed.

The sudden action left Thumbelina stunned.

Her heart pounded wildly.

Her face flushed red as though she were drunk.

Her entire body stiffened as if a paralysis spell had been cast upon her.

At that moment, the Flower Fairy King spoke.

He asked for her name and then asked whether she would be willing to marry him.

If she did, Thumbelina would become the Queen of All Flowers.

...

Outside the Flower Fairy Secret Realm.

Riding atop the Cloud Territory, Levi had also arrived in this warm kingdom.

Along the way, he had used Gathering Technique to collect numerous plants—grapes, oranges, peaches, lemons, and more.

All of them had been planted in the cloud fields.

Rapunzel's godmother had applied a bit of magical potion to them, allowing the plants to maintain vigorous vitality even after leaving their familiar environments.

The entire Cloud Territory now had rivers, flowers, grass, and trees.

At last, it possessed a little life.

All it lacked now were birds, small animals, and insects.

That could come later.

At this moment, Levi's expression was serious.

Blue light flickered within his eyes as he scanned the landscape below.

The marker he had placed on the swallow was clearly in this location.

Yet no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find either the swallow or, more importantly, Thumbelina.

Even Detection provided no useful information.

That made Levi realize that there was probably some kind of barrier here.

And not just any barrier—a high-level concealment barrier powerful enough that even Detection couldn't penetrate it.

Levi immediately thought of the white palace and the kingdom of the Flower Fairies described in the fairy tale Thumbelina.

But if that really was the place, then why could the swallow enter it while he couldn't even find the entrance?

Levi remembered it clearly.

The fairy tale explicitly mentioned that the white palace's columns were covered with countless swallow nests.

That meant the swallow carrying Thumbelina away wasn't a special case.

All swallows could freely enter and leave that barrier.

But why?

Levi frowned and pondered the question.

Rapunzel noticed something unusual about him.

After hesitating for a moment, she finally walked over on her own initiative and stopped a short distance away.

"Lord Levi... what are you looking at?"

"I..."

Levi thought for a moment before asking in return, "What do you see down there?"

"Down there? Just a forest."

Rapunzel blinked in confusion and looked through the clouds below.

"Only a forest? You don't see anything else?" Levi asked.

"Lord Levi, what exactly are you referring to?" Rapunzel asked.

Levi shook his head without answering.

It seemed the problem wasn't unique to him.

Even someone as pure-hearted as Rapunzel couldn't detect anything unusual.

That meant access to the barrier had nothing to do with a person's character.

Levi was quite self-aware when it came to his own moral standards.

He fell silent.

Rapunzel felt somewhat embarrassed.

So she quickly said, "Lord Levi, I'll go help my godmother organize the supplies."

Then she hurried away.

Inside the wooden cabin.

Rapunzel's godmother watched the scene unfold and shot Levi a cold glance before lowering her head again.

Levi vaguely sensed it, but paid no attention.

His focus remained fixed on the world below.

The sun rose and the moon fell.

Several more days passed like this.

Levi still had nothing to show for it.

Then, suddenly, a swallow flew out.

Blue light flashed in Levi's eyes, and he immediately noticed it.

[A swallow whose intelligence has been permanently enlightened!]

This was the one.

Levi beckoned with his hand.

An invisible Wizard's Hand materialized out of thin air and effortlessly grabbed the swallow, pulling it back.

The swallow was completely dumbfounded when it was caught.

Only after being dragged in front of Levi did it come back to its senses and begin shouting, "Let me go! Let me go!"

Miss Nightingale, Odelle, curiously walked over.

In fact, everyone else's attention had been drawn over as well.

Odelle exclaimed in surprise, "A swallow can talk? Is it under a magical curse too, like me?"

"It isn't," Levi briefly answered Odelle's question before looking at the swallow and asking, "Tell me, where is Thumbelina, the one who was with you?"

"You mean Maggie?" the swallow replied directly.

Animals didn't possess the scheming nature of humans.

"Maggie?"

A flicker crossed Levi's eyes.

That was the name the Flower Fairy King had given Thumbelina.

So this really was the Flower Fairy Secret Realm.

"What do you want with Maggie?" the swallow asked.

"I'd like to ask her for a favor. And I'd also like to ask whether she'd be interested in moving," Levi said.

The swallow shook its head.

"You can stop dreaming!"

"Maggie's the Flower Fairy King's queen now. She has lots of friends!"

"She's happy every single day!"

"She'll never abandon her friends, and she definitely won't move!"

"..."

Levi was speechless.

Were all animals in fairy tales this straightforward?

Even after gaining intelligence, the swallow hadn't learned any of humanity's habits of deference and diplomacy.

Of course, Levi wasn't about to argue with a swallow.

He simply said, "How about this? Take me inside. I'll talk to them myself."

The swallow looked at him strangely.

"Isn't it right here?"

"Why don't you just go in?"

Levi frowned.

"I don't seem to be able to enter."

"You can't get in?"

The swallow gave Levi an odd look.

"You're not trying to trick me, are you?"

"You humans are the most cunning creatures."

"..."

Levi was speechless again.

"I'm done talking to you. Let me go. I need to fly farther south for the winter."

The swallow sounded thoroughly dissatisfied.

"..."

Levi found himself speechless once more.

Even the Magic Mirror Queen was afraid of him now, yet this tiny swallow dared to yell at him.

Still, he quickly laughed bitterly.

Why bother competing with a swallow?

After thinking it over, he released it.

The swallow circled once above the Cloud Territory before saying, "This place of yours looks pretty nice. If I get the chance next time, I'll come stay here for a while."

"Anyway, I'm leaving now."

With that, it flew away without a backward glance.

The sheer arrogance of its departure made Levi's eyelid twitch.

A self-mocking expression appeared in his eyes as he quietly shook his head.

Then he turned his attention back to the scenery below.

Now he could be certain.

The Flower Fairy Kingdom from the fairy tale was here.

The only question was how to enter it.

According to the swallow, the Flower Fairy Kingdom was right in front of him.

The swallow could see it and enter it.

Levi could neither see it nor enter it.

So where exactly was the problem?

Levi pondered deeply.

Without making a sound, Rapunzel's godmother walked over and stopped beside him.

Expressionless, she asked, "You've been lingering here all this time because of that Maggie? Or because of the Flower Fairies?"

"You can see the Flower Fairies?" Levi turned and asked.

Rapunzel's godmother shook her head.

"What I see is no different from what you see."

"Perhaps the world looks different through the eyes of humans and birds."

"That's why they can see it, while we can't."

Her words flashed through Levi's mind like a bolt of lightning.

Suddenly, he understood.

That's right.

If human eyes couldn't see it, why not try looking through the eyes of an animal?

Coming back to himself, Levi said, "Thank you."

"Thank me for what?"

Rapunzel's godmother looked puzzled.

Then she watched as Levi transformed before her eyes into a high-tier Third-Order flying magical beast—

Human-Faced Demon Owl!

From this terrifying magical beast, Rapunzel's godmother sensed a deadly threat.

Her eyelids twitched wildly, and a complicated look appeared in her eyes.

Then Levi transformed back into his human form and landed beside her.

His brows remained tightly furrowed.

Because he had discovered that even after becoming a Human-Faced Demon Owl, the result was exactly the same.

He still couldn't find the Flower Fairy Kingdom.

Had his guess been wrong?

Then Levi thought about it more carefully.

A Human-Faced Demon Owl was still a magical beast.

Perhaps the barrier surrounding the Flower Fairy Kingdom welcomed neither humans nor powerful magical creatures.

Levi remembered that the fairy tale described the Flower Fairy Secret Realm as an exceptionally peaceful place.

He understood.

Levi began transforming again.

This time, he didn't become a Human-Faced Demon Owl or any other magical creature.

Instead, he transformed into—

A Nightingale!