I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

And so the Big day had come, and with it were the jovial hues of youthful excitement and tension.

The sky was as high as ever, with the ambient rays of the sun cascading down upon the Homeric Academy of Gifted Children.

At the far corner of the Academy, where the gates stood was an open portal, visitors walking out in numbers as conversations of the events to occur were played on replay.

News of the exciting events that occurred in the Academy had travelled far and wide, attracting visitors of every kind.

Perhaps even Beyonders may find themselves drawn to the news of the events.@@novelbin@@

Of course, some came to prove the rumours wrong. After all, the Academy had never let visitors in even during their festivals.

The 65th festival came with a change and one major change would be the entry of visitors of every kind, invited and uninvited.

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For what purpose you may wonder? Well, I hope to find out as well.

On the other side of the School, in the cafeteria, the students were receiving their last speech from the Principal himself.

This would be the second time Raph actually met the man, despite the far distance between them. It still counted.

He was seated with his cohort, a palpable tension in the air as they listened quietly.

"My Dear students! It is that time of the year, once again".

Principal Dreau announced, his tone laced with tension and the palpable vibrancy hidden within the students.

The festival was a time to express themselves, their moment to shine. The period where system users usually duked it out with the system users, but this year was different.

"Bonds Over Conflict! Our motto for this year's festival proves to show the humanity left in us. Sometimes humans tend to forget that we are the same. We serve the same goddess, we breathe the same air, and we're internal copies of one another.

System users and Non-system users alike are

brethren of the same heritage. Let us foster that bond during our weekly activities and show the world we are more than just an Academy that fosters strength but Bonds also".

His speech, short and concise, contained everything they needed to hear, but in the end, humans choose what or who they listen to.

Raph was aware of this, so despite hearing the Principal's speech, he couldn't help but glance at the staff members who stood behind him.

One in particular, the only one he was aware of but didn't have the evidence to prove it.

'At least according to Mart Thrombone'.

Professor Katherine Starblaze. There was no telling if the System Uprisers, as they were called, would act at the moment, but he certainly wasn't planning on sitting on his ass until it showed up.

'With these eyes of mine, I shall see through all lies'.

He chuckled at the thought. 'Or at least try to'.

The speech went on for a few more minutes until the Principal finally dismissed the students.

Now, it was all left to the students to make it a success, or at least try to.

The first day was usually more or less the introductory phase.

Class events are showcased in the Lecture halls. Thus, visitors are given entrance to Lecture Theaters, and visit the hall, the fields and the training hall.

Other than that, Academy events are showcased on the notice boards of each Theatre, revealing the time for specific fighting events.

Raph walked down the cafeteria, expectations at an all-time high.

There were a few people he expected to come and see the Academy, or at least visit on short-term notice, but he didn't expect much.

Next to him was Elsie, with a red band wrapped on her right arm.

A black imprint saying Disciplinary Officer was on it and it suited well with her stern expression at the time.

Raph glanced at her, a smile forming on his lips.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

She looked up at him, returning the smile and turning away. "Yup. How about you? You have community cleaning soon".

Raph grunted in displeasure as he looked away.

The Community cleaning encompasses him and some other unprivileged students in cleansing up the Academy by the end of the day for the next week of the festival.

Festivals tend to be dirty because snacks and food items are usually brought from outside the School while students, or some of them at least provide food stalls in their classes.

'Just thinking about it gives me a headache'.

Just then Darell and Jane walked up to them, their hands in their pockets.

"Did you talk to Ciara about it? I don't think she knows she's been added to the mix" Darrell said with a loud yawn.

"Geez…Darrell, did the Principal bore you that much?" Raph teased, a smirk forming on his face. "She'll join in eventually. She's not the type to run from responsibilities".

Jane scoffed. "Responsibilities that you forced on her".

Raph shrugged his shoulders in response. "there was no way I was gonna let her pass by. She's the strongest mage in our class….heck, in the Academy if she learns properly. We have to use our big guns".

"speaking of mages….you added yourself in the Mages Afront? You want to test out your magic?" Elsie asked, her tone laced with curiosity.

Raph nodded in reply. "After our little trip, I guess you could say, I'm a lot better at my swordsmanship than I ever was while I was in school"

Elsie giggled. "Yeah, you did kill two level 100s at the same time".

Darrell and Jane nearly tripped over their foot on hearing Elsie. They whipped their gazes towards Raph, an expression of shock and curiosity.

"Level 100s?! Two of them?!" Darrell repeated.

"Well, sort of…." Raph muttered with a slight discomfort in his tone. "There was a lot of inconvenience during the whole thing…it's not as simple as it sounds".

He explained, a sigh escaping his lips as he did so. He could understand their surprise, after all, they were basically the same level when they entered the Rankings Match.

Darrell was a Seventh circle at the time, but he had somehow reached the Master's level before starting the Academy. Marian was a Sixth Circle, Ciara, an Eighth Circle Mage and Jane, who uses holy mana, was a Seventh Circle.

The others, including the Son Gou twins and the Teras household, were both Eighth Stars and Eighth Circle, respectively.

In general, out of all the participants of the previous Rankings battle, Raph was the first to enter the 9th star.

A level that was a step higher than that of Jang Kang Lin at the time.

Though defeating one, not to mention two level 100s, wasn't something they were capable of, at least at the moment.

"Well, if you did that….then I'm guessing you've reached a higher level again," Jane said, his tone riddled with displeasure. "How far do you plan on going, Raph?"

Raph stared at him for a moment then looked away.

"Ever heard of the Sword Grand Saint?"

Darrell and Jane glanced at each other before Jane replied.

"It's a legendary level never once reached before. It's the 15th star isn't it?"

"Yes….but you're wrong in thinking no one has reached it. The Grand Saint is akin to a demi-god…..a mastery of the Sword so perfect that the Mind Sword is mastered". Raph said, a smile on his face as he thought. 'The only man that reached it was the First Jun Patriarch…'

Something he learned by chance after conversing with the KING OF SNOW progenitor.

"The mind sword?" Darrell repeated a slight intrigue in his tone. "I see. Now I know why you strive to gain strength".

A scowl formed on Raph's face at the statement by Darrell.

Just then, they had gotten to their Lecture theatres, the visitors coming in clear view as they approached from the opposite side, leading from the Visitors Hall.

There was usually a fair distance of road between the Gate and the first building of the School, the Hall of Remembrance.

They call it so because images and statuses of prestigious figures, who had made an impact in society while in the school were put there.

After that was a fair distance of cemented road, covered by a roofing which was surrounded on both sides by cleanly trimmed fields.

The Visiting Hall stood next, and a few meters at the opposite side of the road was the Staff Building.

After the Staff Building were the first-year Lecture Building, then the second till the fifth, the cafeteria, and the training hall at the opposite side of it.

Behind that would be the Hostels which were restricted from Visitors.

Raph paused, his gaze scanning the incoming people before turning towards Darrell.

"The reason I grow stronger is to protect….and kill whoever disrupts what I wish to protect".

It was evident that Raph's line of people he wished to protect would only continue to grow bigger and that was why he needed to grow stronger. Until he reached the very top of the chain.

"Is that so….Now I sort of wish I was amongst those people you wished to protect". Darrell laughed out loud, tapping Raph on his back as he walked in.

Jane followed next while Elsie remained next to him for a few minutes.

"You good Hubby?" She asked.

Raph's gaze flickered as he shook his head, memories of his death in his past life replying in his head.

He had forgotten the feeling for a long time, or more like he chose not to linger in it. The feeling of revenge, the hot sensation of anger that continued to push you through the edge.

Was that really a path he was willing to choose?

'It doesn't matter. What's the point of revenge when the world is an endless sum of it. Protect what I have, kill who disrupts it, get stronger and then kill the stronger beings that will disrupt it….'

What more did he need?

With a pleasant smile on his face, he wrapped his arm around Elsie's waist, pulling her into the building.

The first line of visitors arrived, two familiar figures lurking within with unrecognizable faces.