Ackster put his hand against the light green star, which was the only deviance in the room's otherwise uniform tiled walls. The surface beneath the star was completely flat. It was still the same yellow color. But the only unevenness on it was the star's lines, perfectly etched into the wall.
Ackster traced the star with his finger, amazed at how smooth and perfect it was, even after all these years. Reading about the Alchemist and their maze and seeing its perfection, despite the wear and tear of time, were two completely different things. A lot of things in the original story were neat, the Alchemaze and the Alchemist included.
But it was only when touching a fragment of the Alchemaze with his own hand that Ackster could get closer to understanding truly how ancient and powerful the Alchemist was. The Alchemist had left behind a legacy that withstood multiple millennia and almost uncountable Calamitous Cycles and the destruction they would have wrought on Millmeria.
Considering not all Heroes were victorious in their final battle, and humanity and the intelligent races of the world had suffered doomsday of various kinds since the Alchemist's Cycle, it was almost beyond Ackster's understanding how the Alchemaze could remain intact.
Ackster pushed with his hand.
If possible, he would have left the ant nest to retrieve the Sea God Manual and the other things that took priority over exploring the Alchemaze. But his desperate attempts at finding a tunnel leading to the surface had all failed. So, he couldn't leave, even if he wanted to.
Thus, his only option was to enter—try to enter—the Alchemaze and hope that his luck would guide him to greatness.
Ackster glanced at his stump.
'That's because of bad decisions, not bad luck. I got this.'
However, nothing happened when Ackster pushed his hand against the center of the star. The wall didn't move.
"Hmph. I guess this isn't it."
Ackster wasn't willing to give up with just that or decide that it was a fragment that had broken off from the Alchemaze. After all, the torch was still shining. That would only be possible if it were still connected to the main labyrinth's magic.
Or it could be because the lingering magic in the room was enough to sustain the torch.
Ackster shook his head to clear it of unnecessary thoughts. He didn't know enough about magic, in the first place, to make a reliable guess. And he certainly didn't know enough about the Alchemist's magic to be able to discern whether the room and its torch were still connected to the main Alchemaze.
So, since he hadn't given up, Ackster continued pushing and pressing on the tiles in the room. The Alchemaze might have been an almost otherworldly wonder of magic, but it was still a labyrinth filled with traps and trapdoors.
In the original story, when The Hero entered the Alchemaze, it happened on multiple occasions that he and his party triggered hidden traps and rooms with pressure plates that even The Hero or the party's designated scout couldn't detect in advance. Many of those traps didn't do anything other than trigger since the ensuing effects had broken down or withered away.
But the Alchemaze still relied a lot on touch-activated effects. And if Ackster were right, the way past this tomb would be the same.
Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense. Ackster refused to believe there would be a dead end in the Alchemaze, even if it were a room for the dead. There might only be one door, but there had to be at least one more hidden entrance or exit that he could use to access the main Alchemaze.
With that insistent belief, Ackster continued touching and pushing all the tiles.
"Man, this would have gone twice as fast if I had two arms."
Ackster made a grim joke to try and ease his mood. It had the opposite effect, and he grew more sullen as he kept methodically pushing all the tiles. But he didn't lose his speed.
However, even after touching all the tiles on the walls and floor, Ackster still hadn't found the trigger. He looked up. The ceiling was the only thing left, then.
He climbed onto one of the coffins so he could get a better reach. He almost reached if he tip-toed. And he could easily touch the ceiling if he jumped a little. But there were hundreds of tiles. Ackster didn't want to jump hundreds of times. It might be good training for his plyometrics and his legs' explosive power, but Ackster, oddly enough, wasn't in the mood for it.
But even after pressing all the tiles in the ceiling by standing on the coffins and then jumping to reach the ones in the corners and the edges of the room, the room still hadn't opened up to the Alchemaze.
Mio, the great slime in charge of protecting and overseeing the torch usage since Ackster had left an arm behind and because he needed to see the tiles clearly, tapped him on the head with the bottom of the torch.
"Yeah, good job. I know you don't have any muscles, so holding that torch was probably pretty tough. Thanks, Mio."
Thinking that Mio was just fishing for compliments or, in a roundabout way, telling Ackster he was still holding onto the torch, Ackster reached up to grab it. Now that he had touched all the tiles, he didn't need Mio to hold it for him.
However, Mio didn't let him grab it and moved the torch away.
Ackster looked up. He couldn't see Mio on account of his head being in the way. But he could see the tentacle Mio used to hold the torch with.
"Hey, what gives?"
Ackster made to reach for the torch again, but Mio swatted his hand away with it. And, after confirming that Ackster was paying attention, Mio used the torch to point toward the door.
No, he wasn't pointing at the doorway. He pointed at the sconce.
Ackster facepalmed.
"I'm such a fucking idiot. Thank you, Mio."