Chapter 203

Here’s the English translation based on your provided glossary:

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### Episode 203

Named Monster: Gogriad of Greed (#2)

Surprisingly, the uncivilized Gaia Continent has quite a few attractive people.

Just around me, there are plenty of beautiful women—like the cute Luna or the radiantly healthy Hippolyte—enough to make you turn your head if you pass them on the street. There are also many handsome men, but since I have terrible luck, I don’t particularly feel like mentioning them. That’s not what’s important now anyway.

At any rate, while there are many good-looking people, there are also those who look like absolute abominations. In fact, the latter are far more numerous, and the number of bizarre-looking individuals who leave a lasting impression is overwhelming.

If I had to pick the most uniquely ugly man I know, it would undoubtedly be Malco—his enormous nose, tangled mess of red hair—yet his eyes burned with passion, and his voice was oddly pleasant. Frankly, he might be the ugliest guy I’ve ever seen.

But even someone like Malco could be considered handsome compared to a goblin, a monster.

Goblins are truly, disgustingly hideous. Ugly ears, ugly nose, ugly mouth, ugly skin—just pile everything revolting onto a skinny, dwarf-like body, and you’ve got a goblin.

”Tch. What a goddamn eyesore.”

Even the leader of these grotesque creatures wasn’t exempt from nature’s cruel design.

The only differences were that this guy was massive—so big I had to crane my neck just to look him in the eye—and bloated with so much fat that he looked swollen compared to the usual lanky specimens.

Still, the sheer unpleasantness of his appearance remained unchanged.

However.

His size and bulk matched the immense strength he seemed to possess.

Crunch.

With a single grip, he crushed the neck of one of my Bone Goblins and let it drop to the floor. To one-handedly crush even a lowly minion stronger than most monsters…

He’s got quite the strength.

This is a Hobgoblin.

An evolved, stronger variant of a goblin.

In other words, he’s a Silver Tier among goblins.

”An intruder, huh? Letting even a single rat slip in leads to this mess. Are you the accomplice of that thief who came by earlier?”

An irregular creature that could communicate like a human, despite being nothing more than a filthy monster brat.

Swoosh.

With that, I drew my cudgel from my waist and steadied my stance. Behind me, the glowing blue eyes of my undead minions clattered as they occupied the area.

By the time the entire space was filled with eerie blue glows, Paranoi shouted:

”Monster! How does it feel to be surrounded by the very subordinates you once controlled?!”

”Hoh. Impressive. A nymph necromancer, huh? And the big guy’s a warrior? Necromancer and warrior—now that’s a classic combo.”

Even in this unquestionably dire situation, the bloated monster showed no fear or hesitation. Instead, he seemed to grow even more at ease, a lazy smirk curling on his lips.

”More importantly, a nymph… a pure-blooded nymph. I never thought I’d see one in a place like this.”

”HiiiSSSS—!!”

The Hobgoblin suddenly flicked out his tongue, licking his parched lips. Paranoi, who had been following behind me, trembled furiously, her anger about to erupt.

”You—!! How dare you act so arrogant! Who do you think you are?! Get down from that chair and kneel—!!”

What?

”Y-You see, this person right here is Hassan, the son of Lord Pluto, the Lord of Hell!!”

Lord Pluto’s son?

Thud. Creak.

The obese goblin, previously slumped lazily on his seat, straightened his neck and chin slightly, as if suddenly interested in the conversation. His greasy voice sounded almost surprised.

”Lord Pluto’s son, you say?”

”Greenskins are descendants of hell! Therefore, you must kneel before the heir of hell, Lord Hassan, and pledge your loyalty!!”

For Paranoi, she was unusually eloquent. Her voice carried authority, and her words sounded surprisingly convincing.

I was almost impressed—did she always have this ability? And it wasn’t just me who was stunned by her speaking skills.

The green mass of flesh before me also began to tremble.

Lord Pluto’s son.

Had the dreadful weight of that name reached even this creature? Maybe things would wrap up faster than I thought.

But the bloated goblin only let out a booming laugh—”Puhuhu, Fuhahaha!”

His bony throne rattled as if it would crumble under his massive rear, but he didn’t stop laughing.

”Pffft—! If that guy’s really Pluto’s son, then I must be the child of Earth and Hell combined! Anyone can see he’s a warrior—not even close to a necromancer!”

”Y-You b*stard…! Lord Hassan, show him his place—!!”

Though the insult was directed at me, it was Paranoi who snarled in fury. I grabbed her shoulder and steadied her.

I assumed he was just some muscle-headed brute—nothing more than a strong, oversized goblin leader.

But surprisingly, he seemed sharp.

Maybe even smarter than Paranoi.

”Well, it’s not uncommon for those who think they’re special to claim to be the children of gods. I, Gogriad, have lived for nearly 300 years and seen countless humans!”

A goblin who’s lived for 300 years? d*mn, that’s more than ten times my lifespan. And with a name like Gogriad on top of that.

I suddenly recalled a conversation I once overheard between Elpride and her party members.

They said that monsters who survive reversals of fate sometimes gain names, and those named ones are far trickier to handle than one might expect.

So-called Named Monsters.

Just as Hippolyte had mentioned, this thing looked strong enough to warrant a Silver Tier extermination rating.

The proper way to safely eliminate him would be to bring a team of Silver Tier adventurers—or someone like Hippolyte or Actaeon, who stand among the ranks of heroes.

But I didn’t do that.

Me—a struggling weakling—becoming a Gold Tier adventurer in this world?

Let’s be honest, even I know that’s impossible.

But to achieve the impossible, you have to challenge it first.

So, I decided to fight this giant Named Monster myself.

Frankly, it’s frustrating—right now, he’s the champion, and I’m the challenger. That’s why I can tolerate him sitting high on that massive throne, looking down on me. Of course, in the end, I’ll be the one looking down.

As I steeled my resolve—

”Hmm. You do look like a strong warrior. And those blue-eyed undead controlled by the nymph… I haven’t seen blue-glowing undead since Pluto’s Temple fell.”

Gogriad, the King of Goblins, examined me with his beady eyes.

”But I am a descendant of Tartary, blessed by the Lord of Hell himself! The only one who can make me kneel is Lady Mezaire!”

”M-Mezaire…?”

At the mention of that name, Paranoi—who had been grinding her teeth just moments ago—jolted in shock. So, was this an incredibly important name? I got that feeling.

”What’s that!?”

But Paranoi seemed genuinely clueless as she asked again. I thought that maybe, if she was really a former cultist, she might understand—but apparently not.

Now that I think about it, she was only a cultist apprentice.

She knows what she knows and is utterly ignorant of what she doesn’t.

Still, her question was a welcome one. In response, the obese goblin, Gogriad, tilted his head as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

”You lot talk big about being the son of Pluto but… Don’t tell me you don’t even know about the Seven Lords of Hell? They are Gigas—no, I don’t need to explain this to you.”

Swoosh. Clatter. Creak.

Gogriad, who had been about to say more, suddenly heaved his massive body from the bone throne. Then, he grabbed a strange staff-like object beside him.

Sssss—

The staff exuded an ominous aura. It looked like something between a rod and a cane.

The artifact appeared to be a shriveled tree with a large orb embedded into it, wrapped in an unsettling energy.

”You’re going to d*e now. Go to Hell yourself and tell the Lords I sent you—Puhuhu!”

Whoosh. Huff—!

The grotesque creature lunged at me with a strange wheezing sound. Despite his lumbering size, he moved deceptively fast—enough to make his pressure overwhelming.

”I’ll k*ll the useless warrior and keep the nymph as my concubine! I’ll breed more Bone Goblins to my heart’s content!!”

Wham—!

He swung his staff downward.

Thanks to the training I endured under Hippolyte’s fists, I dodged it easily, slipping back just enough.

CRASH—!

The spot where his staff landed caved in as if struck by a meteor. A cold shiver ran down my spine.

If that had hit me, my body would’ve folded in half.

Rumble—

The impact shook the ground, sending dust raining from the cave ceiling.

But the ruler of this place, Gogriad, either didn’t care if the cave collapsed or was too confident to worry about it.

BAM—!

From left to right—

SMASH—!!

All he did was swing his heavy staff relentlessly.

”Paranoi, stay hidden for now!”

”Eeeek—!”

I couldn’t let her stay in danger, so I hurled her to a safer spot before shouting:

”Attack!”

SCREEEEE—!!

As if waiting for the command, the blue-eyed undead lunged at the enormous green mass of flesh.

A swarm of nearly fifty skeletal monsters pouncing all at once—even to me, the sight was majestic.

”You worthless trash! First you d*e to intruders, then get controlled like puppets?! Have you no shame as servants of Lady Mezaire?!”

But Gogriad ignored the onslaught, swinging his massive body and staff wildly.

Every time his arms swept through the air, SNAP—! Bones shattered into splinters, scattering around the cave.

His thick hide and fat seemed to halve the damage from the Bone Goblins’ primitive claw and fang attacks.

Of course, the fallen minions could be revived with a bit of spiritual energy, so it wasn’t a total loss. Keeping him even slightly restrained was good enough. In battle, even a moment of distraction could be a huge advantage.

”These d*mn things—! They’re not normal Bone Goblins! Why do they keep coming back?!”

”Yeah, hold him tight!”

I ordered the Bone Goblins to bind Gogriad’s massive body, creating an opening. The skeletons latched onto his arms and legs, weighing him down.

”Bastards—! You filthy bastards! Your blunt fangs can’t pierce the Greedhide blessed by Lady Mezaire!”

The massive goblin flailed wildly to shake them off, but the interlinked skeletons formed a literal bone prison around him.

Grit. Crunch.

”I… I can’t move?!”

”How do you like my Bone Prison?”

”W-What kind of necromancy is this?! This isn’t the necromancy I know!”

”Yeah, I get that.”

This was my version of the giant bone sphere the undead created when I fought Antiope—a rearrangement of my own making.

I noticed Gogriad’s belly was completely exposed through the cage of bones.

”Alright, here goes the big one—! Keep holding him!”

Gripping my cudgel tight, I dashed forward, skimming past him before swinging with all my might.

Whoosh.

The cudgel carved a crescent through the air before finally connecting with his bloated gut.

”Hah—SEIKI!”

BAM—!!

The sound of a bursting balloon echoed, and an odd sensation traveled through my hands.

How should I describe this? It felt like hitting water with a stick.

Exactly like that.

No clean impact—just the strange resistance of striking something fluid.

”GRAAAAAAAAAH—!!”

Even though the sensation was off, the scream that followed told me the damage had landed.

A full-powered strike like that had to hurt.

Even Hippolyte would’ve been stunned if she took this head-on.

Then again, she’d have dodged something this telegraphed. But this guy was trapped in my Bone Prison—he had no room to move.

”Grrr—! That hurt!!”

I expected his stomach to burst open, spilling his guts across the floor, but his hide was thicker than I imagined. Physical attacks were definitely being dampened.

As expected of a Named Monster.

”Grr… You’re no ordinary rat! Who sent you?! Are you… Schizo, the Split-Mind?!”

He planted his hands on the ground, glaring up at me.

The same creature who had been lounging lazily on his throne with an arrogant smirk now looked at me with fear, dirt staining his hands.

Swoosh.

Instead of answering, I raised my hand.

Clatter. Clack—

As if understanding my intent, several undead minions bent backward, forming a skeletal throne behind me.

”Controlling the dead… with just a gesture? D-Don’t tell me you’re really the one controlling them all?! No way…”

This dark throne in the cave—mine alone.

I settled into it lightly, looking down upon the King of Goblins, now groveling on the ground.

”Now you finally look like a proper monster.”

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[Author’s Note]

Thank you, Hayat123! Kadeom! VizMifnetoChu! Kimjnm2001! Jongja! PotatoServer! And a huge thanks to VisMurik for the King-tier sponsorship coupon! And Omnic for the Double King-tier coupon! I’m shocked and grateful!!

To all who sent manuscript coupons, thank you so much…!! TT

Reading comments and seeing recommendations is one of the few joys left in these scorching days, so please leave your generous comments…!!

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