I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

And so, morning came and with it, the splendour of the sun and the skies. Its rays basked its ethereal glow upon the earth as the darkness was banished for its temporary slumber.

While this went on, the people of the earth began their daily duties and proceeded to their various tasks. Amongst these people were the group of mercenaries that were currently on their path to their destination, the Eastern-Western Border Town.

Amongst the carriages that were left, only one remained functional and fixable. After all, there weren't any Cartwright or Coachmakers to repair the others so they had to make do with what they had, and luckily for them, Raph had kept an insurmountable amount in his Storage Ring.

The carriage was currently on the road, with four horses pulling it. Azby sat at the front with the reins while Rodrick and Colyn sat beside her.

At this point, they were left in silence and to their thoughts after making their decision on Cruz this morning. Now, they were down by one member, and morale was at its all-time low.

Azby especially couldn't keep her head from straying off the clouds, as it helped with the pain.

Watching over the three figures from atop the carriage, Raph sighed inwardly. 'It's not like they killed him. They only took him off the team,' he thought as he glanced at Elsie, who was sleeping sheepishly on his lap. 'She does nothing but sleep these days'. He thought as he turned towards the end of the carriage.

His gaze locked on Neuj and Rafi, who were tied up by a rope connected to the Carriage and were currently riding their horse together.

An awkward silence descended upon them as they simply stared at each other until Neuj found it rather annoying.

"....do you want something?" He asked with a raised brow.

"Oh? Me, No….not really". Raph replied with a smile as his gaze flickered for a moment, only to return to the Neuj. "What level are you?" He asked.

Neuj raised a brow while Rafi poked her head from the side, as she sat behind him on the horse.

"Why do you need to know that?" Neuj asked with a raised brow.

"....well…" Raph muttered as he stared at the screen on top of Neuj's head.

'A level 90 Merchant…..you don't see that every day…and those stats…'.

MAYURA SYSTEM WINDOW

–--------------------------◇~◇

Name: Neuj Rakarf

Race: Human

Profession: Merchant

Level: 90 / 6 Circles.

–--------------------------◇~◇

STRENGTH: 60 [+]

AGILITY: 58 [+]

CONSTITUTION: 70 [+]

INTELLIGENCE: 200 [+]

MP: 1500

AVAILABLE POINTS: 0

–-------------------------◇~◇

<SKILLS>

•Merchant Eye (passive) >

Rank: Master level

•Best bargainer (passive) >

Rank: Master level

•Incredible Speech (passive) >

Rank: Master level.

<TAP TO SEE MORE>

'...this is impressive'.

Since Raph had gained the ability to see the system, he had been using it nonstop. Especially to find the differences between the combat classes, non-combat classes and the Non-system users.

He had to admit, there was a major difference in power scale between them.

'Mayura didn't do as good of a plan as she thinks she did'. He thought, but then again, if it weren't for the system used by the commoners, then there would have been nothing else for them to use.

'....that's just one way of thinking about it though…' Raph thought. 'If the system had not existed, the Great family would have simply monopolised power'. Something that was meant for whoever reached out to it the most would have become privileged for certain individuals.

'.....the system….has its perks'.

He thought with a sigh as he looked away.

"Nevermind. I can see it all" he said with a slight devious smile that took the man off guard.

Neuj simply frowned his face as they continued on their merry way.

****

The journey was long but it had to come to an end eventually. The group had fought their way or struggled to get here unexpectedly, but they had somewhat made it to their destination wholly.

Nothing particular occurred along the way either, other than Raph's content observance at the system users and how they used their system.

He had noted down a lot of things and hoped to find more along the way. There was no telling whether or not studying it the way he did would bring some sort of gain, but his curiosity made him constantly observe.

And so, two days passed, and the group found themselves on a sandy texture atop a hill, arid and bare of plants and life.

Far ahead from them, or not so far ahead at last was their destination.

Raph looked up from his meditating position while Elsie shifted from his lap due to his sudden movement.

"We're here?" Raph asked as he stood on top of the Cabin.

"Yeah,"Rodrick's voice pierced through the arid, dry, dusty air that suffused them in a cloak of discomfort.

"It's about goddamn time, too," he added with a slight chuckle as Azby pulled on the reins, turning the direction of the horses towards a better, more transport-ready road.

Elsie stretched her body on all fours before standing to her feet. "So this is where you were off to," she said as they glanced at the town ahead.

"Yeah" Raph replied with a sigh. 'Now I can finally get rid of this regal chain'.

He thought as the carriage descended a sloppy, Sandy path that led to the town.

It steadily descended and joined in a line of people travelling to the same destination. The Border Town.

Merchants, entertainers and even adventurers could be spotted from their position atop the carriage, and the once tranquil silence of the hot wind was dismantled by the loud conversations of the people gathered.

The group didn't pay them mind and simply followed the line on their way.

"I thought this was a lawless town?" Raph asked as he approached the edge of the carriage and sat down with Elsie.

"It is," Rodrick replied with a chuckle. "This payment isn't for the city but the thugs that live in it". He explained.

Raph raised a brow for a moment and then glanced at the gate ahead, where four men were collecting payments from the people who went in.

He frowned slightly and then turned towards Azby, who was staring at it at the same time. He froze from the slight fright but quickly slapped it off.

"What?" He asked.
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".....Don't" she replied with a stern voice as she looked away.

'.....don't What?' Raph wondered when he noticed Colyn's gaze and his expression gave away the answer to his question.

'...Oh? She doesn't want me to start a fight'. He thought in realization. '....I see'.

He remained still afterwards and had not moved an inch until their carriage had finally got to the gate.

Its entrance was like any other, only a lot less maintained and damaged beyond repair, with logs of wood holding up the top to prevent it from falling over.

It was a wonder that something like this still held, but it was moments like this that you had to complement the creativity of man.

"Oi! If it ain't Azby and her Lackeys". A man with dirty blonde hair and lost incisors said as he and another in a fine suit of armour approached their carriage.

"Yael! Zick! It's been awhile" Azby greeted as she pulled the horses to a halt. Her gaze scanned through their armour, and a slight curve appeared from the tip of her lips. "I see you're still flourishing in the business". She said with a slight chuckle.

"Oh, you old girl! You know how it is in the Eastern borders". The second guard spoke up, with a devilish grin as he observed their carriage. He had deep brown hair and a brown complexion. "Looks like you were up against some strong ones this time. You came back with only one carriage".

"You know how this job rolls. Things like this happen a lot in this part of the world".

The two guards laughed out loud in unison as they nodded. "That's right, girlie,", the brown-haired guard said as he patted one of their horses. "You're good to go, lass. Let's not keep you waiting".

The two guards stepped back as Azby smiled and pulled the reins.

"See you lots in the Nasty Crib tonight?"

"You know It!" The first guard, Yael replied with an intense laughter that followed right after.

The guards watched as the Carriage entered the town, and their smiles lingered from the conversation until they looked up to find the crimson eyes of a beauty with long fluffy ears, seated crossed-legged with a wagging tail.

Their smiles faded for just a second before something sinister replaced it.

"Azby?!" Yael cried out as Zick rushed and tapped the back of the cabin to stop the carriage yet again.

It stopped, and Azby glanced back at the guards. Her gaze flickered between them and Neuj who was still tied up on the horse.

"Oh? Did you stop us because of the merchant? We have business with him" she said, but the two guards glanced at each other and turned around in confusion.

"Oh?" Yael muttered in realization. "Is that you, Old man, Neuj?" He said with a slight chuckle when Zick tapped Yael back into focus.

"Oh rig–right. That's not it". He replied to Azby, as his gaze shifted towards Elsie.

At that moment, Raph glanced at the man as he asked.

"How much for the beast folk?"