King’s exploration of the tablehold was not done, he had one last NPC to interact with.

He took her hand again and led her back toward the main hall, then across to yet another smaller hallway, one that branched off at an angle most players would miss entirely. The entrance was narrow, almost deliberately hidden in the shadows between two larger doorways.

They walked down the cramped corridor, the walls closing in around them. At the end, a single door waited.

King opened it.

The chamber beyond was small, barely large enough for three people to stand comfortably. Artifacts covered every available surface, shelves lined with mysterious items. The sheer density of powerful objects packed into this tiny space was overwhelming.

And seated in the center of it all, hunched over a worn map, sat a figure draped in a grey cloak.

A name tag materialized above her head.

Arcbearer Merchant Rakash

The woman didn’t look up as King entered. She continued studying her map, tracing patterns across its surface with one gnarled finger.

"You," she called out, in a sharp raspy voice. "You’re not an Arcbearer, are you?"

King stepped forward carefully. "No."

"Be gone then."

King didn’t listen, instead he reached into his inventory and produced an Arcbearer’s Medallion. He held it out toward Rakash.

Startled, the merchant’s posture changed immediately. She looked up, her hood falling back slightly to reveal a weathered face marked with scars and age lines. Her eyes—one brown, one milky white—focused on the medallion with a sudden fixed intensity.

She reached out and took it, the artifact disappearing into her cloak.

"Ah," Rakash said, her tone transforming completely. "Someone who recognizes worth. mmm. It’s been so long since anyone set foot in my abode. mmm mm. And now one of value arrives."

Rakash had a short mumble in her words when she spoke for length, almost like an impairment.

She gestured broadly, and suddenly dozens of interface windows materialized around King, each one displaying a different artifact for sale.

"Care to buy anything?"

King’s eyes widened as he scanned the available inventory. Unique weapons, armor pieces, consumables, skill tomes that didn’t appear in any standard merchant’s catalog. Items he’d never seen in any of his hundred playthroughs.

And every single one was priced in Arcbearer’s Medallions.

King started scrolling through the options, his mind racing. This was completely new content. Throughout his entire experience with the game, he’d never accessed this merchant’s hidden inventory. The limited number of medallions he’d possessed during previous runs had forced him to use them exclusively for transportation and Arcbearer summons.

But now he had surplus. Now he could actually explore this system.

Except... Vi was waiting outside. And Zauron’s quest required immediate attention. The Third Woe could begin at any moment, and every delay cost them preparation time.

This discovery would require calm, methodical exploration. Moments of careful evaluation to determine which items provided the best strategic value. King couldn’t do that right now. At the moment, he was already overwhelmed by the sight.

"This is good, but I have my priorities set" he reminded himself as he reluctantly closed the display windows.

Rakash responded immediately, her brief moment of animation fading. "Some other time then."

She returned to her map, hunching over it once more. The dismissal was absolute, King had ceased to exist in her awareness the moment he declined to purchase.

King stepped back and exited the chamber, closing the door behind him.

Vi looked at him questioningly as he emerged. "Everything okay?"

"More than okay," King said. "But it’ll have to wait. Lets go."

"Okay" Vi answered, following him.

King activated his medallion when they reached the center of the hall. Vi placed her hand on his shoulder, and activated hers.

White light engulfed them both.

The Tablehold vanished.

They materialized back in the Victorian estate’s common area.

Vi released King’s shoulder and moved to sit at the table. King remained standing, his mind already working through tactical planning.

"The Fallen Gates," Vi said quietly. "That sounds like somewhere we should be worried about."

"It is, a tricky place" King confirmed.

"Can we handle it?"

King considered the question honestly. "With preparation, yes. I already know most of Arandiel’s abilities, but the moves here for higher NPCs have shown to be more unpredictable, so there’s that."

"Okay..." Vi took a breath. "When do we start?"

King looked at her, seeing the determination in her eyes. The Second Woe had changed all of them, but it had also forged them into something stronger.

They could do this.

"Tomorrow," King said. "We start tomorrow. Tonight, we rest and train."

Vi nodded, accepting the timeline.

"I’ll be in the training room" king said walking through the corridor that led to the lower level.

He arrived at the training room and immediately opened Ephelia’s Elemental Magic Scroll on his interface.

The Scroll materialized as a glowing panel in front of him.

King straight ahead located the four A-Rank spells under the four elements.

[FIRE]

· A-Rank: Cataclysm

[WATER]

· A-Rank: Dephts of the Abyss

[EARTH]

· A-Rank: Wrath of the Titan

[WIND]

· A-Rank: Sovereign Gale

For the second time, he tapped Cataclysm.

The description expanded again.

[CATACLYSM – A-RANK FIRE SPELL]

[EFFECT: Summons a rain of molten meteors across a designated area. Each meteor inflicts catastrophic fire damage on impact and leaves lingering flames that persist for 30 seconds. Scales with Mind stat.]

[LEARN THIS SPELL? Y/N]

King selected Yes.

The scroll flared with light. Knowledge flooded his mind in an instant. The spell embedded itself into his skill set like a new muscle memory.

[SPELL LEARNED: CATACLYSM]

King moved to the next element. He tapped Depths of the Abyss 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

[DEPTHS OF THE ABYSS – A-RANK WATER SPELL]

[EFFECT: Conjures a crushing sphere of pressurized water around a target, dealing massive damage over time while restricting movement. Targets trapped inside suffer drowning debuff.]

[LEARN THIS SPELL? Y/N]

King selected Yes again. The information carved itself into his consciousness.

[SPELL LEARNED: DEPTHS OF THE ABYSS]

He continued to Wrath of the Titan.

[WRATH OF THE TITAN – A-RANK EARTH SPELL]

[EFFECT: Summons colossal stone fists from the ground that erupt upward and clamp or crush enemies. Creates shockwaves that stagger all nearby targets.]

[LEARN THIS SPELL? Y/N]

King confirmed.

[SPELL LEARNED: WRATH OF THE TITAN]

Finally, he selected Sovereign Gale.

[SOVEREIGN GALE – A-RANK WIND SPELL]

[EFFECT: Unleashes a devastating vortex of cutting wind blades in a wide arc. Targets struck suffer severe slashing damage and knockback.]

[LEARN THIS SPELL? Y/N]

King accepted.

[SPELL LEARNED: SOVEREIGN GALE]

He closed the scroll interface and walked toward the center of the training room. Six construct dummies materialized around him in a semi-circle, their forms solidifying into humanoid shapes with glowing target markers on their chests.

King raised his staff and channeled controlled mana into his first spell, he wasn’t aiming to blow up the whole training facility.

"Cataclysm."

The air above the dummies tinted with a red hue. Three molten meteors materialized overhead and plummeted downward with terrifying speed. They struck the ground in rapid succession

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.

Each impact releasing waves of superheated flame that engulfed the dummies completely. The lingering fire continued to burn, reducing the constructs to melted slag within seconds.

King observed the devastation with satisfaction. The area-of-effect coverage was massive, and the sustained burn damage made it perfect for controlling zones during chaotic engagements.

And this was just with a limited mana output.

He summoned fresh dummies.

And proceeded to practice the other spells.