CHAPTER 281: THE ROAR OF GILGAMESS [PART 1]

"Hah..." A long, heavy sigh escaped Chuck’s lips as he looked at the calendar in front of him.

Tomorrow was the Joint Magical Training of Class C up to Class A.

Mages from the three classes would use that opportunity to spar with each other, enhancing camaraderie and boosting sportsmanship.

At least, that was the vision of whoever thought of it. Unfortunately, reality was not all that great.

Nobles tend to use this opportunity to attack commoners "legally," and it has long become a common practice for them.

He wasn’t classmates with Nessia in the past, but he still considered her one of his comrades in the club.

Before Alex dealt with the discrimination from the bullies eyeing them, the young lady had been the target practice of these stuck-up nobles. Naturally, Chuck stood up to them, which made him the new target of these bullies.

After Alex became the Blackmail King, the bullying stopped... but only for a while.

When they returned from their trip to Mount Heracles, another Magical Joint Training had been announced.

Although Nessia no longer suffered as many hardships as she had in the past, the students who switched to targeting Chuck once again used the training practice as a legitimate cause to gang up on him in a three-versus-one battle.

Of course, these battles were allowed, and those who could win against such a disadvantage would be given bonus academy points as a reward.

Chuck didn’t back down from these challenges because he believed that as a man, he should not let the bastards get their way.

Unfortunately, while he was gifted with magic, Chuck’s timid personality got in the way. Because of this, he suffered magical injuries and was sent to the infirmary.

Nessia had told him that they should tell Alex what was happening, but the teenage boy rejected her proposal.

He even said that they shouldn’t always rely on their club president for everything. Also, the injuries he received weren’t that serious.

Nessia was still very angry, but Chuck managed to dissuade her and promised that he would be more careful in the future.

"Whether it be in the trial or the real world, there are people who enjoy the suffering of others," Chuck muttered as he headed to the clock tower. "But don’t worry, Sir Gilgamess. I will not let them trample all over me ever again."

The laboratory that Alex had added on the floor below their main clubroom was now equipped with the necessary tools to perform alchemy.

There, he vowed to recreate a potion—the fruit of his and Sir Gilgamess’ blood, sweat, and tears.

A few hours later, Chuck finally finished creating five batches of the golden potion he learned from his trial.

But due to how tired he was after the potion creation ended, the teenage boy decided to rest inside the laboratory room. Soon, he started dreaming of the time when he was taking the Azgral Trial.

———

The throne room of the Kingdom of Azgral was adorned with expensive decorations, matching the polished marble floor. But contrary to the luxury of it all was an air thick with something far less noble.

It reeked of greed.

"The rainy season is about to come, so I propose that we build a dam at the Southern River," said with a smile by a Noble whose body would put a sumo wrestler to shame. "Of course, the kingdom can purchase stone from my quarry for a modest price."

Chuckles and giggles from the other nobles spread inside the room, simply too familiar with how this game was played.

"That’s right. As for the workers... I’m sure we can find volunteers," a noble lady commented.

"I agree. The peasants will be more than happy to work for free, and we can use some of the money from the project for more... important matters," an old man played with his beard, his words earning smirks from his compatriots.

Naturally, they planned to build a dam using an exaggerated budget and put the majority of the money inside their pockets.

It was a very common occurrence in the Azgral Kingdom, and the reason why they could do such a thing was simple...

In their eyes, the thirteen-year-old King, Aurelian III, was no more than a puppet ruler. The young king was a very timid person, and regardless of what opinions he truly held in his heart, all he would do was clench his fist on his lap while staring at the marble floor of his throne room.

His Prime Minister, who stood on the right side of his throne, Lord Gilgamess, gripped his staff in both anger and shame. Just like the King, he was also a very timid person.

A King and his right-hand man, the ones who should be ruling their kingdom together, were treated as nobodies by the nobles who ran the kingdom according to their wishes.

Knowing that things couldn’t continue like this, Lord Gilgamess coughed lightly to catch everyone’s attention, but he was completely ignored by them.

"Perhaps we should hire more villagers and pay them accordingly for their trouble..." Lord Gilgamess said in a very low tone, as if fearing that confidently voicing his opinion would earn him nothing but disapproving glares.

"The Prime Minister is wise," The noble with a rotund body clapped his hands. "But our Kingdom has limited funds right now. I’m sure the people will be happy to serve for free, right?"

"That’s right, Sir Alfred."

"Since they are the subjects of this kingdom, they should strive for our prosperity!"

"I second this motion!"

"I third it!"

———

Synchronization Rate increased by 10%

Current Synchronization Rate: 60%

———

’These damn bastards!’ Chuck cursed internally. ’All of you are the reason why this kingdom has limited funds right now!’

The Prime Minister then glanced at the young King. The child’s body trembled out of anger, visibly against the opinions of the greedy nobles. However, all he did was continue looking down at the marble floor, his gaze piercing through it as if it were the enemy he wished to tear into pieces.

Chuck couldn’t help but see himself in King Aurelian’s pitiful form. After all, he had suffered the same treatment in the Duke’s household.

Since his mother was not of noble birth, the servants, as well as the retainers of the Duke, treated him like air and ignored his orders.

Whenever his repressed emotion burst and resulted in him making a scene, his brothers, especially Caspian, would berate and intimidate him in front of their servants, making them look down on Chuck even more.

Two hours later, Lord Gilgamess escorted King Aurelian III back to his room.

The young king had a sickly body, and the stress he felt during court sessions was making his condition worse.

"Your Majesty, you don’t have to join tomorrow’s session," Chuck said. "I’ll deal with them myself."

"Lord Gilgamess, do you know what my father said to me a week before he died?" Aurelian asked.

"No, Your Majesty," Chuck answered.

"He said that a King is not someone who sits on a throne... but someone who can stand for his people, even when the whole world tells him to kneel."

Aurelian’s pale hands tightened as he looked at the view of his kingdom from the hallway. "But every time I try to speak, my voice feels like a whisper in a storm. I cannot... stand."

Chuck looked at him quietly. Somewhere deep inside Gilgamess’s body, a low, controlled growl built in Chuck’s chest.

"That’s because you’ve been caged for too long, kid. A lion born in a cage forgets the taste of the hunt."

———

Synchronization Rate increased by 5%

Current Synchronization Rate: 65%

———

"Your Majesty," Gilgamess said after a pause, "if you truly wish to stand, then let me sharpen the claws for both of us."

Aurelian tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"Tomorrow... you will see."

Later that night, the Prime Minister’s private laboratory lit up with the warm glow of crystal lamps.

Rows of jars filled with rare herbs lined the long oak tables.

The pot in front of him created golden smoke as he added one ingredient after the other.

Chuck then wrote down a recipe on the table, while a voice inside his head gave some advice.

"The Phoenix Herb is too strong, so you need to use the Snow Lily to counter its effects," Gilgamess advised.

"Gramps, if we use the Snow Lily, it will just weaken the effect of this potion," Chuck replied. "We need something strong."

"But Chuck, if we do this, things might go out of control."

"That’s exactly what we need, Sir."

"Excuse me?"

Chuck smiled faintly. "What we need is to go out of control."

"A-Are you crazy?!" Gilgamess, who shared the same body as Chuck, gasped. "You madman! Why are you adding the Berserker Flower to the mix?! You fool, this will not make you go out of control, it will make you roar!"

"Sir, have you ever felt like shouting against the world because it isn’t treating you fairly?" Chuck inquired as he reviewed the recipe that he had created with the help of the brain of the smartest Alchemist of the Kingdom of Azgral, Lord Gilgamess.

"I do... but Chuck, there is a big difference between bravery and stupidity!" Lord Gilgamess replied firmly.

"Sir, both of us live in denial," Chuck closed his eyes, feeling the anger in his chest rise up to the surface. "We always think that if we endure, things will get better. We think that if we just let those nobles do their thing, they would change their minds.

"But that’s not how the world works, Lord Gilgamess. Sometimes, I wonder, why is it always the good people who suffer? Why do bad people get away with hurting, harassing, and taking advantage of others?

"In this dog-eat-dog world, where is justice? Where is the fairness? Then I realized that the perfect world that I have in mind doesn’t exist."

Chuck then wrote a few lines in the scroll in front of him.

"Arrogance without power is not arrogance... It is stupidity."

Chuck’s quill scratched across the parchment.

"Mercy without teeth is not mercy... it is submission."

"Patience without action is not patience... it is decay."

He paused, staring at the shimmering gold liquid slowly swirling in the flask before him.

"A man who endures injustice without resistance is not noble... he is prey."

"A ruler who fears his servants is no ruler at all."

"The meek inherit nothing unless they learn to bare their fangs."

His hand trembled slightly, not from fear, but from the flood of images in his mind.

Peasants whipped for refusing to pay false taxes, servants beaten for speaking the truth, children robbed of their food in the name of "duty to the crown."

"The oppressed who accept their chains will raise children who think chains are normal."

"The lion who forgets the hunt will bow to the hyena."

"Silence is the sharpest blade of the tyrant, for it cuts the spirit before the flesh."

Lord Gilgamess was quiet in the back of their shared mind, and when he finally spoke, it was almost a whisper. "...You’ve thought about this for a long time."

Chuck didn’t answer. He dipped the quill again, ink pooling like black blood.

"The day will come when the world gives you a choice. Kneel or roar. If you choose to kneel, you will spend your life staring at the boots of lesser men."

He set the quill down. The potion on the table glowed brighter, as if it had heard his words and approved.

Chuck reached for the flask, swirling it once more.

"Tomorrow, Sir Gilgamess... we roar."