The Abyss of Patina
Whenever the topic of Stygna—the colossal slum fortress near the imperial capital that the old-timers jokingly called the “Kowloon Walled City” or simply the “Nine Dragon Fortress”—came up, some of them would occasionally play their mischievous pranks.
“To avoid the Nine Dragons in Stygna, just head straight to Patina, you know?”
“If the Dragons get too annoying, just go to Patina. Heh. Of course, you’d need some real skill.”
“That’s right. I’ve played Sacred Souls for three thousand hours. I can vouch for it.”
“You’re telling the truth, huh? Haha. If you’ve got the skill, you’ll be fine.”
“I went to Patina once and got beaten up. Woke up naked, one eye gone. What the hell is this, you know?”
“You were lucky, huh?”
“Whoa. How didn’t you die? You only had what you wore and one eye left?”
“No debuff, just vision loss. I’m lucky!”
“You survived? Haha, holy crap!”
“Aww, what are these noob-catching fishing posts, you know?”
“Yeah, basically if you’ve got the skill, you’ll be okay.”
“Exactly. Hah.”
That was how the old-timers baited fresh players into Patina with their fishing posts. No different from a real fishing war on the forum.
Beginners wandered in blindly. Middling players stayed away out of fear. Veterans refused to go because of the filth. That was the true heart of Stygna: the abyss, Patina.
“Allow me to inform you of four precise points about Patina.”
One-Armed Jack recited the warnings without missing a beat as they walked toward the entrance of Patina.
“First, do not wander alone. You might get kidnapped and killed—or worse.”
“Second, do not eat anything. Every meal here could contain human flesh.”
“Third, do not sleep. The inns inside Patina are all traps. Do not enter.”
“The final warning is simple. Do not insult the gods. Precisely, the Evil Gods.”
“That’s a bit harsh. But why exactly can’t we insult the Evil Gods…?”
Jack answered Mikhail with a gruff tone.
“Because there are too many Evil God worshippers here. It feels like common sense has been flipped on its head. The Evil Gods feel normal, while Goddess Ramiria—the true deity—feels like the abnormal one.”
“I see. I’ll keep that in mind. Young Master, stay close to me.”
“Okay. Mikhail.”
As they chatted, they finally reached the entrance of Patina.
The entrance was a solid wall—specifically, a wall that had been built here.
“Is this the entrance?”
“Yes. The only place where the wall is low enough. You must jump over it to enter Patina.”
Jack lightly stretched his body.
“Captain Mikhail. Carry the Young Master. Jump over in one go. If you climb, the weaklings will judge you and those weirdos will stick to you. So jump.”
“Ah. That’s fine. The Young Master’s strength is no joke.”
“…Eh?”
Jack was puzzled, but Luke also stretched lightly and said,
“I’m good. Let’s go right away.”
“Understood.”
The three men stood before the wall and immediately pushed off the ground, leaping upward.
BOOM!
They crossed the wall and landed inside Patina.
The sound of their fall drew every eye in the area. When they saw Jack’s face, the people quickly looked away.
Jack, meanwhile, stared at Luke with a stunned expression at the overwhelming physical strength.
“…Using raw power to jump? Not mana?”
“That’s right. It’s quite useful.”
“The more I dig, the more mysterious the Young Master is. This ability…”
Jack muttered for a moment before walking through Patina’s streets.
“Let’s get going.”
The two followed Jack deeper into Patina.
🏛 Type: Urban Slum
⚔ Difficulty: Extreme
📍 Floor: Abyssal Core
💀 Boss: Unknown
Patina was surprisingly similar to the outer Stygna.
Ornate buildings, occasional passersby, street vendors dotted along the roads.
It looked like any other slum, but Luke and Mikhail felt it instinctively.
Every gaze in the area was locked onto them.
“Tsk. Those bastards. They’re itching to tear us apart and sell our organs.”
Jack muttered as he glanced at the two of them.
“Well, you don’t have to worry, but just in case… if they sense weakness, they’ll attack.”
Jack turned his gaze forward again.
“The place the Young Master mentioned is deep inside Patina. I don’t know why the Cerberki family has business there, but I won’t ask. To get there, you have to pass through the market in Patina.”
Jack turned his head to address them.
“Your stomach might get upset. Be careful.”
“In the Empire, slavery is strictly forbidden. Yet here they’re trading humans as casually as you please.”
They had reached the bustling market inside Patina.
Tents were set up everywhere, goods displayed for sale. It looked ordinary at first glance, but the goods themselves were the problem.
Humans.
Alive humans, tightly bound like livestock, on display.
“This is just an auction house,” Jack said as he continued walking and scanning his surroundings.
“Some guy who was doing business yesterday is suddenly on the display rack today. Total chaos. Chaos. And with the Nine Dragons cracking down on their external crimes lately, the internal turf wars have only intensified. Cannibals and black mages burn with envy because they need human flesh, but the Dragons are blocking them. So now anyone can just grab a human off the street.”
Jack pointed to a distant corner of the market.
“Look over there. The cultists have appeared at the perfect time.”
At one edge of the market, a group of crazed cultists swung their knives, terrorizing anyone trying to enter.
They held ropes in one hand, clearly planning to drag people away.
However.
SLASH!
Heads rolled onto the ground, and nearby onlookers burst into laughter.
“Stupid cultists!”
“You think you can catch us?”
After laughing for a while, the crowd quietly entered the market.
The cultists’ corpses were immediately snatched away by the street spectators.
It was nothing but another auction house.
“If you let go of me, you might become another slab of meat. There are too many variables here. In extremely rare cases, someone stronger than Jack or me could appear. Just a hypothetical, of course.”
At that moment, Luke spoke up.
“Jack, I have a question. Are there no famous names or notable figures in Patina?”
Jack shook his head.
“Those types have already been offered alive to the Evil Gods or eaten alive by cannibals. They charge in like a pack of wolves, bite you to death, and how could you survive? Ordinary strong men are long gone, as I said. The truly strong ones stay in the outer Stygna because they’re safer—less opportunistic hunters. But…”
Jack waved his hand in explanation.
“Even so, the rumors of treasures are everywhere. Like scattering bait. You throw out the bait, the desperate come looking. Those so-called treasure hunters, even if we chase them off, they’ll come back, get raped alive, and eaten.”
“Terrifying.”
“By the way, rape, murder, and cannibalism don’t discriminate by gender or age. Crazy bastards.”
“Even more terrifying.”
Luke muttered, yet among Patina’s false rumors, he alone knew the single truth.
‘These guys are mostly liars, but there’s exactly one thing that isn’t a lie.’
Among the veteran Sacred Souls players who had scoured Patina, many had heard the rumors.
Those who investigated every single rumor with raw power soon discovered the shocking truth.
Everything about the treasures was false—except one.
That one was genuine treasure.
‘That’s right. It’s something the Evil Gods hate and is incredibly useful.’
Hidden by the cultists who fear harm to their patrons.
What was it?
“The so-called ‘Chaos Generator.’ Zigmalion’s Red Diamond Necklace…”
A power capable of handling Chaos—the primordial divine energy that only 8th Tier humans or those with abnormal methods could obtain.
An artifact that allowed one to wield Chaos.
‘I can learn the method from Ellis. If I have it, I’ll master control early and it’ll be incredibly convenient.’
At that exact moment of Luke’s worry,
THUD… THUD… THUD…
A group approached.
It wasn’t one group—it was four.
People flooded in from every direction around the market.
The moment the three stood on guard, the leader of the group shouted,
“To think the Cerberki Duke’s Young Master would come to such a filthy place!”
He bowed deeply at the waist and continued,
“Then we must naturally show our hospitality, right?!”
With that, the others roared in unison and cheered.
“The meat of the Duke’s Young Master—how would it taste!”
“Oh! An offering to our gods!”
“Tsk tsk. Just capture them and demand a ransom. Idiots.”
From all four directions, the four groups surrounded them.
The market spectators clapped and cheered in response.
“Hahaha! While we’re at it, send Jack too! A war between one of the Nine Dragons and us!”
“Show us your strength! I’ll just watch since I don’t want to join!”
“The show is set, but the meat supply will keep growing!”
At the peak of the criminals’ cheers, Luke whispered to Mikhail.
“Mikhail. They seem to have mistaken us for easy prey.”
“No, not at all. Young Master. It’s because our backgrounds are too tempting, right?”
“Without the strength to crush even that background, this is the result.”
Luke drew his sword.
Mikhail immediately drew his as well.
Jack sharpened the blade on his right forearm.
“Jack, I’m sorry about this.”
“I expected it. They must have heard about the Cerberki family. Damned bastards. This time I’ll cut them down and teach them some discipline.”
“Good attitude.”
At the exact moment their auras surged, a massive cheer erupted.
— 300 HP
“Everyone! Let’s begin the festival!”
A sea of human shadows surged toward them.