I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 198: Gear Up!

Theo stretches his body, cracking his fingers and fists. He’s about to enter an HB dungeon, level eight, alone. He wanted level nine, but they weren’t ready. Julian had refused to install it, claiming it was too dangerous.

But when Theo asked him, Are they more dangerous than Mt. Helene? Julian couldn’t answer for a moment. Then he replied, "I’ll install level nine as soon as possible."

About an hour later, Theo comes out of the HB, covered in sweat. His white hair is matted to his head. His T-shirt no longer resembles a normal shirt, but a rag that hasn’t been wrung yet.

He pants loudly and collapses onto the ground, unable to move. He doesn’t even have enough strength to lift his water bottle to drink.

He closes his eyes, regulates his breathing, and checks his mana reserve.

Then he opens them, smiling.

I’ve grown stronger again.

He clenches his fists and slowly sits up.

Now, let’s see if I can do it.

He fills his muscles with mana, slowly at first. The mana spreads quickly, soothing his aching muscles, his sore back, his trembling legs. The burn fades. The weakness ebbs.

Strength returns.

He gets up, jumps once, then runs a short circle around the room. He’s no longer tired. Mana has erased the exhaustion entirely.

Theo grins.

I need to show them how to do this. But...

He stops, his expression turning thoughtful.

Arthur was about to level up. The other three had been stagnant. Maeve... he would leave her alone for now. She was still in shock.

Julian... Theo sighs. Julian was buried in his tech and gadgets.

But Liam...

Liam should be trained more. He should be an Ascendant like Arthur. So why wasn’t he leveling up the same way? Was it because nothing emotional had happened to him?

Theo keeps thinking about his team, about how to push them forward. The feeling tightens in his chest.

They need to be stronger. And fast.

He can’t shake the unease crawling under his skin.

Something is coming.

Something dangerous.

And he refuses to be caught unprepared.

------------------------------

Theo exits the gym, already showered and fresh. He’s heading back to the apartment on the sixth floor. He presses the elevator button and waits.

"Hey, Thea."

Theo turns around and sees Arthur and Claudia.

"Hey. You were in the meeting with Victor Langford, right?" he asks. "How did it go?"

"We’ll tell you upstairs."

------------------------------

When the three of them enter the apartment, it’s quiet.

"Where’s everybody?" Claudia asks.

"I don’t know. I was in the gym."

"Guys!" Claudia calls out. "We’re back and we have news!"

Silence.

Then a door opens. Liam’s face appears.

"Hey, you’re back."

He steps out of his room. "I’ll go get Julian."

Theo says, "I’ll go get Maeve."

Claudia and Arthur place all the shopping bags they’ve been carrying onto the table and start unpacking them.

A delicious fragrance fills the air.

Hurried footsteps approach.

"Food!" Julian and Liam say at the same time.

All six of them gather around the dining table and start eating.

"So, tell us how it was," Liam says between bites.

Arthur replies, "After eating."

------------------------------

The dining table is cleared. Only coffee, tea, water, and several fruits remain.

"Now, tell us," Julian says while peeling an orange. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"We’re not going to recount everything," Claudia says. "Just the important part. Starting with our end of the deal."

"First, every time we clear a dungeon with Maeve, we’ll give Langford and his group, let’s call them Langford’s for now, five percent of the total share from our part. That makes our share fifty-five percent instead of sixty."

Liam waves it off. "We don’t need to hear about that. We don’t care. We trust you and Arthur to handle it."

Julian nods like a woodpecker bird.

"What we need to know is the access to knowledge," he says. "How are they allowing that?"

"He agreed. Of course he agreed," Arthur says.

"We can start anytime. With one condition."

Liam rolls his eyes. "Of course there’s a condition."

"What is it?" Julian asks.

"We’re free to choose any scroll or book from their collection," Claudia replies. "But we cannot ask them to translate it."

A beat.

"We have Maeve, right?" Julian says, turning to her. "You can translate, can’t you?"

Maeve shakes her head. "Not all of them. And even if I can translate them, I wouldn’t know what they mean. Most of them are gibberish."

Silence.

"We can try asking Theo," Liam says, looking at Thea.

The rest of them brighten.

"I can certainly ask him," Theo says, winking at Maeve. She smiles back.

"That settles it then," Julian says. "When are we going there? Tomorrow?"

Arthur nods. "We could."

"No, we cannot," Claudia cuts in.

"Why not?" Julian asks.

Claudia looks at him like he’s insane.

"Tomorrow is lunch with my mom. If you dare forget or skip her, you’re dead," she says flatly.

------------------------------

For the next few days, Rhaenas follows the daily routine set by Arthur and Claudia. Training, rest, more training, more rest, and meals.

On the fifth day, Julian and Liam start protesting.

"Why aren’t we clearing any dungeons?" Julian complains. "Isn’t that what we’re here for? Clearing dungeons? Why are we stuck inside this building and not even sightseeing?"

"Yeah," Liam adds. "It’s been almost a week, and all we’ve done is train, eat, and sleep. Even when I was a Sentinel, my schedule wasn’t this boring."

Claudia sighs. "I’ve been trying to sell our services, but let’s be honest. The name Rhaenas isn’t known yet. And big companies usually have their own dungeon clearing teams. They rarely hire outsiders. They don’t want to share the heartstones."

As soon as she finishes speaking, her phone vibrates.

She pulls it out.

"Claudia."

She listens.

"Got it."

She hangs up.

"Well," she says, grinning. "Looks like you got your wish. That was Monfort Sentinels. They have a dungeon they can’t clear. Not enough people."

Her grin widens.

"Gear up!"