Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 17: Chapter 13: Baba Yaga

Read chapter 17 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Chapter 13: Baba Yaga Chapter 13: Baba Yaga "Finish your tea before it gets cold," Celeste said. "Don't waste all the work this old lady put into giving you refreshments. Ungrateful kids." Alex took another sip of the liquid in the tiny cup on the table in front of him. It was sweet, with a note of lemon. Not something Alex particularly liked, but he wasn't going to displease the woman in front of him. She may look middle-aged, with graying hair and newly forming wrinkles, but Alex assumed that she was more powerful than she looked, and certainly more powerful than Garret or himself. The two men were quickly ushered into the back of the apothecary by Celeste after she had called them out for being World striders -a term Alex still wasn't totally certain he understood- back at the counter. It took a bit of convincing from Alex to have Garret follow along, as the guy was still out of the loop and on guard. That hesitation quickly washed away once Celeste slipped on a plain-looking metal ring and told them to follow her into the back. Garret's reaction clearly told Alex that he had understood the woman when she spoke that time, thus the ring she had put on was just like his. Now they were both sitting in a rather cozy-looking living area, sipping on tea from surprisingly ornate teacups that Celeste had served to them. It was taking a lot of mental restraint on Alex's part to keep from launching a ceaseless string of questions at the woman as she busied herself in the brewing process. Garret appeared too shocked to spit out his half-baked jokes and simply sat next to Alex on the chair next to him. A blessing that Alex didn't dare point out in case that somehow knocked him out of such quiet. Finally, though, Celeste had sat down on a chair across from them and picked up her own teacup, sampling her work for herself. She gave a deep sigh, seemingly pleased, and then sat back into a relaxed posture to survey them in disapproval. "I expected Worldstriders to be more... I don't know about powerful, but maybe older? With more common sense. You kids look like toddlers bumbling around in the dark," She tsk'd softly and shook her head. "If it weren't for the rewards." "You seem to know that we are not from this world, given the title you keep mentioning, this Worldstrider thing. But we don't know what that means, or what is going on at all. Can you at least start by explaining that?" Alex asked the woman with a bit of annoyance, which earned him a sharp glare. "I'll explain what I want when I want. I don't work for you boy. Let's get that ironed out from the start," She snapped back, lowering a gnarled finger at Alex. "Drink your tea. You'll get the information you so desperately desire. Give an old lady time to settle in and breathe." "Don't piss off the Baba Yaga Alex, even I know that," Garret whispered. Celeste's hand flashed forward, picked up a sugar cube from the dish between them and launched it at Garret's face. It promptly exploded against his forehead in a cloud of sugary mist, making his head snap back and leaving a red mark on the skin, his eye lashes dusted in white powder. "Don't piss me off indeed." "Ow, damn it. You have some sensitive hearing for a self-proclaimed old lady," Garret grumbled, rubbing his forehead. "I do, so don't get funny with me, got it," She dropped a newly plucked sugar cube into her cup and stirred it with a spoon lazily. Alex stifled a chuckle and sipped his tea once again. Garret shifted uncomfortably next to him but didn't say anything more, for now. "Worldstrider is the term given to those who come to Aetherios from worlds outside the system," She explained. "You two, I assume, come from a place without the edicts. Without the attributes or the elements. You have strode -unwilling or not- from your world, into this one. Thus, the title fits rather appropriately." Alex nodded quietly as she spoke. All that was seemingly true. He saw the welcome message from this so-called Aetherios System when they