Rogue Villain-Chapter 356: Doors

The first thing Ackster did after clearing a path for him, Mio, and the bird was to sit down and breathe to restore his condition. He had exhausted himself, his sources, and his skills. Even if he could just ignore his injuries and fatigue since he would recover even when walking or advancing through the Alchemaze, the golem was proof he was fighting opponents stronger than anything he had ever fought.

He had almost died just now. In fact, it wouldn’t have been weird if he had died. And that was the first being he encountered after entering the Alchemaze’s depths. Ackster couldn’t even begin to fathom what else he would encounter. But whatever it might be, it would certainly be stronger or harder to kill than the golem.

"Here. Eat up."

Mio hadn’t done anything special other than wait for Ackster. But the slime deserved it just for existing, so Ackster gave it a piece of meat. The bird, on the other hand, had earned it, even if only because it satisfied Ackster by flying so fast.

The bird pecked at and devoured the piece of meat with a ravenous expression. Ackster’s flesh was a treasure in itself. Just eating would sate the bird’s hunger for days in addition to all the benefits it granted. Its eyes widened as it felt the energy inside Ackster’s flesh reinvigorate its body and fill it with energy.

The bird looked at Ackster with wide eyes. Ackster’s flesh was the best thing it had ever eaten.

Ackster ignored the bird’s pleading gaze and closed his eyes to focus on his state.

The golem’s clay had helped rebuild and fortify his body after Smelting Furnace refined it. But his energy reserves that supplied his vitality, Will, Anima, and his skills with the power they needed to refuel and function were waning.

’Let’s hope there’s something to eat.’

Ackster got up and hopped on the bird that happily accepted its rider. If it was obedient, maybe it might get more to eat.

Reading Ackster’s mood, the bird took it easy through the tunnel and over to the double doors that Ackster scraped bare. He had hoped there would be some designs or inscriptions that could tell him more about the Alchemaze or what lay beyond the doors. But they were completely bare, except for the ridged edges.

With a tired but expectant sigh, Ackster pushed open the doors.

Surprisingly enough, he had to use Limit Breaker to get them to move. The hinges weren’t even rusty. Ackster checked. The doors were just heavy.

The mystery of the Alchemaze deepened once again. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

However, Ackster wasn’t very keen on investigating this mystery when the only thing that awaited him behind the doors was another tunnel. If Ackster hadn’t had the bird, he might have really considered looking for strong opponents somewhere that wasn’t the Alchemaze.

Fortunately, he had the bird.

The bird pierced through the air, drastically shortening Ackster’s travel time as they arrived at the next gatekeeper.

Ackster let out a silent cheer of relief with a fist pump as he saw what it was. It was a treant.

It wasn’t like any treant he had seen before, not that he had seen that many. It also inspired a feeling of dread. But it was still made of wood, which meant its body would have the kind of energy and nutrients Ackster needed to fuel his body and skills.

The trunk was wide and not too tall. The crown was completely bare of leaves. The treant’s dark bark looked indestructible and thorny, and the monster’s branches were heavy, fast, and lethal.

The treant also had similar regenerative properties to the golem. It could stretch and multiply its branches to create all kinds of weapons and attack Ackster with.

However, the treant that relied on its vitality to sustain those actions, unlike the golem that relied on mana, was up against a nightmarish opponent.

Ackster’s Demon Sword was the bane of every living thing, especially after being repeatedly baptized in Ackster’s rebirths, Ichor, and vitality. Ackster’s Demon Sword couldn’t be any happier. Its owner was a bastard. But the food was beyond anything it would have expected of the mortal world. It was to the point where the Demon Sword started regaining its memories.

The Demon Sword, which was the pinnacle creation and seal of an ancient civilization, was being affected merely by leeching off of Ackster. Of course, to Ackster, the only thing that mattered was that the sword grew sharper and stronger.

The sword and Ackster reduced the treant to a pile of kindling that Ackster happily stuffed himself with before continuing through the next set of plain doors.

Ackster was starting to wonder what the point of all this was.

The next gatekeeper was another golem. But this one was made of an alloy that Ackster didn’t recognize, and his sword was once again useless.

The golem put up a fierce fight and forced Ackster to push his body, skills, sources, and martial arts beyond their limits. Without the fight against the clay golem helping him unlock Anima, it would have been a tight battle, and Ackster wasn’t sure he would have won.

However, unlike the clay golem, the metallic golem couldn’t kill Ackster or stop him from escaping. All it did was temper Ackster and deepen his understanding of his own abilities before becoming the building blocks for a stronger body.

But once again, Ackster wondered why the Alchemist had lined up several powerful combatants to block a path deeper into the Alchemaze.

No one knew how or why the Alchemist had built the Alchemaze. But what Ackster was going through now seemed more like a trial than the aimless treasure hunt that the Alchemaze was famous for.

Ackster was skeptical and hopeful. If it really was a trial set by the Alchemist, one of, if not the, strongest people in Millmeria’s history, he could expect some powerful opponents to nourish his strength. He could also expect some juicy rewards at the end.

With that thought in mind, Ackster pushed open the third set of doors.