Reincarnated In A Women Dominated World

The following morning arrived with an unusual energy.

The Averill estate, typically a picture of quiet order, buzzed with a controlled urgency. Footsteps clattered through the halls, crates of supplies were carried across the courtyard, and a dozen horses were being prepared at the stables. Lilia was barking instructions at a pair of junior servants, and even Evelyn herself had made a rare appearance outside the manor's main wing—speaking in clipped tones with a group of armored figures bearing the crest of the Averill family.

Something big was moving.

Julian stood at the edge of the inner courtyard, arms at his sides, eyes scanning the activity. No one had spoken to him directly yet, but the signs were clear: a deployment. And not just any routine escort. The presence of fully geared awakened soldiers meant a threat was being taken seriously.

He didn't have to guess what. He'd overheard enough in passing. Isabella's letter. Vareen. Bandits targeting low-class nobles and business families.

This was the response.

"Julian," a voice called.

He turned to see Celeste, the elder Averill daughter striding toward him, wearing partial light armor over her traveling gear. Her long hair was tied back, and a steel dagger rested on one hip. Despite being only D-rank, her presence carried weight here, more seasoned than most of the household guards.

"You'll be coming with us," she said. "As a servant. You'll assist the soldiers in camp. Keep equipment clean. Prepare meals. Whatever's needed."

Julian didn't argue. "Understood."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, studying him. "You're awakened, aren't you? Even if barely."

He nodded once.

"Good. You may be weak, but you'll still be more useful out there than the average help."

She didn't wait for a reply, turning on her heel and heading back to the cluster of soldiers. Julian followed her with his gaze. It wasn't an opportunity—at least not yet—but it was a shift. A step beyond the estate walls. A setting where strength mattered.

And perhaps… a chance to grow.

***

By noon, the traveling party was ready. Two covered wagons for supplies and tents, fifteen armed guards—seven of whom were awakened—and the Averill sisters themselves riding at the front. Evelyn would not be joining; she remained behind to oversee the estate.

Julian rode in the rear wagon, seated beside crates of spare weaponry and camp gear. The road was long, but the estate grew smaller behind them, and with each mile, the scenery became wilder.

Forests thickened. The road turned rougher. The air took on a new scent—pine, dust, and the tension of looming conflict.

Julian's system remained quiet for now. No new quests. No updates. But he could feel something building.

Then, hours later, as the convoy set up a temporary camp by the roadside and the sun dipped behind the trees, the silence broke.

[Ding!]

[New Quest Received: Operation Scorchroot]

[Description: Survive the Averill Family's mission to eliminate the bandit threat plaguing noble trade routes near Vareen.]

[Objectives:

Assist in the safe setup of camp. Observe and report suspicious activity. Survive all engagements.]

[Bonus Objectives (Optional):

Earn the favor of a commanding officer.→ +750 Coins, +25 XP Discover the bandits' source of intel.→ +1500 Coins, +50 XP , ? ? ?]

[Reward: +2,500 Coins, +120 XP]

[Penalty: Severe Injury or Death]

[Time Limit: Until the mission concludes.]

Julian dismissed the interface with a subtle motion, eyes scanning the dusk-lit camp.

The soldiers were setting up with practiced efficiency. Tent frames were being assembled near the edge of the forest clearing, fires lit in three separate circles, and a few scouts were already moving to establish perimeter patrols.

But Julian wasn't looking at the tents or the gear.

He was watching the people.

At the center of it all stood Celeste, issuing quiet commands with calm precision. Her presence didn't carry the raw power of her younger sister, Lilia, but it commanded respect all the same. She moved with sharp confidence, her gaze calculating, her voice firm.

Despite being only D-rank, she had been appointed as the field commander for this operation, and it was clear why. While Lilia had the edge in combat strength, Celeste was the one who could think five steps ahead. She coordinated the guards like chess pieces, positioning awakened and unawakened soldiers in a seamless blend. Strategy, logistics, leadership—it all flowed through her.

Lilia, meanwhile, stood further down the camp near the horses, adjusting her bracers and sharpening a blade. She had a natural authority of her own, intense and battle-hardened. But even she deferred to Celeste when orders were being handed down.

'Interesting dynamic,' Julian thought, watching the sisters. 'One leads with strength. The other with mind.'

His eyes shifted to the rest of the convoy. He needed to keep track of more than just the Averill daughters. If he wanted to fulfill the main quest—and maybe even those bonus objectives—he had to get a feel for the chain of command.

One objective stood out most clearly in his mind:

[Earn the favor of a commanding officer. → +750 Coins, +25 XP]

That could only mean one of two people—Celeste, or perhaps one of the senior awakened soldiers. The fastest path would be through obedience and diligence. The smarter path would be through initiative.

Then there was the second bonus objective:

[Discover the bandits' source of intel. → +1500 Coins, +50 XP, ? ? ?]

That one nagged at him. The extra question marks intrigued him more than the coins or XP. There was something buried there—something the system couldn't quantify. A hidden reward? An ability? A secret?

Julian leaned against a tree at the camp's edge, half-shadowed by the dying sunlight. The murmurs of guards and the crackling of firewood filled the clearing, but his attention remained inward—on the interface that had just appeared.

It wasn't the quest itself that unsettled him.

It was the structure of it.

[+120 XP]

That was new.

His past quests—menial, servant-focused tasks—had only ever rewarded him with Coins. Never once had the system mentioned XP. Until now. He rubbed his fingers together absentmindedly, feeling the faint tingle that always accompanied system activity, as if something intangible had brushed his skin.

Why now?

The [Basic Servant Duties] quest line had always given him a flat +500 Coins. Never XP. Not even when he'd completed it perfectly.

But this mission? This was different. Operation Scorchroot wasn't just a quest—it was a battlefield directive. Dangerous. Unpredictable. And for the first time, the system treated it as something more than a chore.

"XP… experience points," Julian muttered under his breath. "So there's an XP reward after all…"

Was it because his earlier tasks were beneath a threshold? Menial. Repetitive. The kind of things that didn't qualify as 'growth' in the system's eyes?

Or maybe this was the first time he was in a real scenario. One with stakes. One that could get him killed.

His gaze drifted to the last line of the quest.

[Time Limit: Until the mission concludes.]

That was another new addition.

All his previous quests had been daily tasks—time-bound, yes, but predictable. This? It was open-ended. Undefined. Based not on a clock, but on outcome.

And the penalty…

[Penalty: Severe Injury or Death]

He had never failed a quest before. Not once.

Every [Basic Servant Duties] task, every system prompt, he'd completed them all with quiet precision. Because failure, until now, had meant one thing: the loss of Coins. And he couldn't afford that. Not when every Coin could mean an edge. A tool. A stat point down the line.

But this?

This was something else entirely.

Severe Injury or Death.

The system wasn't threatening him, it was informing him. Like a guide, stripped of its safety rails. As if it, too, understood that Julian had crossed an invisible line. That his life was no longer confined to the dusted halls of the Averill estate, where mistakes were minor and the stakes were measured in coin.

This was a battlefield.

And the system wasn't treating him like a servant anymore.

It was treating him like a soldier.

The fire crackled behind him. Steel clinked. Boots marched. Orders were given. But Julian remained still, his gaze locked on the quiet darkness beyond the clearing, where danger brewed and opportunity waited.

This wasn't just the start of a mission.

It was the beginning of something larger.

His first real trial.

And he wouldn't fail this one either.