Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 146: Book 3: Chapter 2: Demon Aspirants

Read chapter 146 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Book 3: Chapter 2: Demon Aspirants Book 3: Chapter 2: Demon Aspirants They followed the bare road, winding into a forest of temperate pines. They moved swiftly on the trail in through the trees, not wanting to be caught unaware by some beast, until the forest thinned gradually breaking into a wide glade. A village sat on the edge of the trees, nestled neatly into the treeline and foliage like it had grown there. The scene gave off an aura of half-wild and half-tamed, quiet, decorated about with crooked fences which leaned against moss-covered wooden posts. Actual fire-lit lanterns glowed faintly about the many building’s entryways and along the cobble path, their light muted by the mist clinging to to ground and air. There was a distinctive smell of pine mixed with wood-smoke, which settled on their cloaks as they made their way into the village proper. As they collectively traveled down the main road, villagers looked up from their tasks to watch them. A woman carrying firewood froze, eyes narrowing to slits. Alex saw a man off to his left who sat at a log in front of a house, mending a fishing net. The man stopped his work to set set down the net, suddenly standing upright to look their way. Even the chickens, from Alex’s perspective, seemed to cluck suspiciously, scattering into the shadows of their coop. None of the villagers said a word, but their eyes followed the worldstriders like shepherds sizing up a new beast that had wandered a little too close to the flock. Alex felt every stare as they walked. He didn’t need his [Aether Sight] to sense the tension. It was in the way people shifted weight on their heels when looking at them, in the way they pulled their children close as they passed, and the swift movement of shutters at the windows. The whispers hadn’t started yet, but they were there, ready and tense on every tongue hidden behind closed lips. Tom-Tom tugged at the rim of his battered pot helmet, teeth chattering, tongue forking in and out sporadically as if he could taste the unease in the entire area. “Too many stares,” he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Alex to hear. “Tom-Tom does not like this.” Alex didn’t answer the little lizard, he simply gave the little guy a reassuring pat on his cooking-pot. But, truthfully, he didn’t like the feeling either. The inn sat at the far end of the main road, a squat wooden multi-story building with a slanted roof, and a sign depicting a foaming mug, swung above the doorway. As they neared, Alex saw warm light spilling from its windows, promising at least the bare illusion of possible safety. They stepped inside and were met with the smell of stew, alcohol, and damp wood. The chatter of the few patrons died down as the group crossed the threshold. The innkeeper, a tall, thin man with a much too-wide smile, approached the counter. His eyes flicked over Alex’s cloak, the weapon at Kate’s side, the faint glow of a glyphs on Devon’s bracer, and Alex could see something behind the man’s smile tightened, a tiny change around the eyes. Still, his words came out polite, almost rehearsed. “Rooms? For all of you?” “Yes,” Alex said, also keeping his tone level. The man nodded quickly and fetched keys from under the counter. “It’s a silver a night. We’ve got space upstairs. Dinner’s still hot.” He didn’t ask questions, which said enough. There was an exchange of metal object between the two of them, and they separated, no more than that. The keys clinked softly in Alex’s hand as the squad moved to claim a table. The innkeeper’s smile lingered in his mind, polite, tense, and the weight of the villagers’ stares followed them even here. The inn’s common room was warm, but it was a warmth didn’t reach the table where Alex and his squad sat. Firelight from the hearth flickered across the wooden beams overhead, throwing restless shadows that seemed to shift with every passing whisper. After a few minutes, someone came by their table with dinner. Bowls of stew steamed between t