Soulless Players

Eight years earlier.

In a world not too dissimilar from the pages of a fantasy novel, Vlad Bartholomew found himself in the cradle, swinging back and forth. As his infant eyes blinked open, he whispered urgently, "Open System."

The illusionary screen materialized before him, and Vlad's curiosity surged, and asked, 'What kind of Goldfinger I acquired in this strange game?' His lips curled into a grin as he read the unique ability displayed on the bottom:

Uniqueness: Vampire Bloodline - Passive (Level 1)

The player becomes a low-level vampire and possesses its bloodline ability.

In his past life, Vlad had been a leader among the sanguine, commanding god-like powers. He had transcended humanity, turning all humans into vampires and ending their need for blood. Under his rule, he ushered in a revolutionary era and established a harem of queens under him. His life was filled with everything but sorrow.

However, this life ended when he was informed that he was nothing but a mere character in a fictional book.

While Vlad was initially stunned, he chose not to reveal any emotion. His life might have been a fabrication, a tale written for those who wanted to escape their reality, but it was a contented one, devoid of suffering.

Thus, when offered the chance to participate in the soulless game, he accepted without hesitation. Of course. He had to. What else could he do? If he declined, he would simply continue his fabricated existence and repeatedly live his life over and over again.

After knowing his status, he craved a chance to obtain an identity of his own. To do this, he had to fight other players and claim the grand prize of the soulless game.

Although his powers had waned upon reincarnation, he retained the bloodline of a vampire—a trait he was intimately familiar with.

Among the vampiric traits, one stood out as a source of solace: he had retained his extraordinary regenerative power through sleeping. This means that even if he did not eat, he would still be able to live as long as he hibernates. This is like a degraded version of immortality from his past life.

"Moreover," Vlad mused, "this uniqueness is upgradeable. What if I reach level 10? Could I shape this world as I did in my previous life?" He grinned, content with his newfound powers, convinced that time was his only missing ingredient.

Yet, as days turned to months, Vlad discovered something unsettling. He couldn't stand the taste of milk; he needed blood for sustenance. In fact, one of the early quests from the system demanded that he consume eight blood packs daily.

While had gained the positive traits of vampirism, the negative aspects also plagued him!

To make matters worse, his parents were human, making him a pure human with a vampire bloodline. He deemed it impossible to drink blood in his whole childhood!

Could parents possibly provide blood to their infant child? No, they would surely kill him if they discovered his preference for blood over milk.

To compound his plight, Vlad's parents frequently exposed him to the blazing sunlight. While an ordinary vampire would have perished instantly, Vlad's unique powers allowed him to endure, though not without enduring agonizing sunburn. It was a good thing that his regenerative ability worked pretty well. As long as he slept, his parents would never notice his skin turning into charcoal then red, and back to white.

However, this is where Vlad's life takes a devastating turn. A few months after his birth, his parents noticed his paleness, constant sleepiness, and aversion to his mother's breast milk. In an attempt to remedy this, they exposed him to even more sunlight, believing it would provide essential vitamins.

This unfortunate mistake pushed Vlad's pain threshold beyond his regeneration capacity, leading him into a deep, seemingly eternal slumber.

He couldn't fathom how long he slept, but when he finally awoke, he found himself inside a casket, buried underground.

His parents had assumed he had died and buried him alive!

Panicked, Vlad wriggled his tiny arms helplessly, struggling for breath. As an infant, he was utterly powerless.

Moreover, he was trapped underground, unable to breathe. He suffered not only from hunger but also from suffocation.

Vlad cried out in fear and despair as he was buried alive, tears streaming down his face. It was a horrifying ordeal.

As time passed, Vlad turned one year old but remained in the body of a newborn. Without ever having tasted blood, he lacked the nutrients needed for growth, remaining a withered, wrinkled infant.

But as Vlad celebrated his first birthday, the system rang inside his mind, delivering exciting news. He had earned 100 experience points for surviving a year, elevating him to level 1 as a soulless player, granting him 5 attribute points.

Without hesitation, he allocated all 5 points to his physique and attempted to break free from the casket. Yet, his strength proved insufficient. He needed more physique, more attribute points.

Vlad resolved to wait for another six years, aiming to reach level 3 with a total of at least 15 physique. This would grant him the strength of a 15-year-old within his infantile body.

And so, Vlad waited, spending most of his time in slumber to conserve air and energy.

Finally, at the age of 7, he awoke and made a desperate attempt to break the casket. Success! The casket shattered, but earth and soil poured inside, burying him once more. Even with his 15 physique, he remained trapped beneath the weight of the soil.

Vlad cried out for help, but no one heard his pleas. He suffered once more, this time without the comfort of space, as the accumulating soil closed in around him.

His cries persisted until they seemed to exhaust even his capacity for tears. Then, something within his mind snapped, and his body took on an ethereal quality.

Stunned, Vlad instinctively crawled upward. Whatever this transformation was, it provided an opportunity to escape his never-ending imprisonment.

When Vlad finally reached the surface, he laughed with pure joy. He was free at last!

But his elation was short-lived as he realized his body had reverted to its non-ethereal infant form, and the chime of the system's bell filled the air.

He noticed a new addition to his profession: Half Dreamwalker. Yet his attention was drawn to a door that had materialized behind his tomb, radiating a claustrophobic aura.

Despite his aversion to the door's emotions, Vlad was irresistibly drawn to it. Unconsciously, he entered an illusory state, which he later learned to be his astral state, leaving his physical body behind. He opened the door and stepped into his own consciousness.

Moments later, his system's bell rang once more:

"Congratulations on being a dreamwalker."

His mental stats had increased from 25 to 33, and the upper limit had expanded from 50 to 150.

As notifications flooded his mind, Vlad returned to his physical body, laughing uncontrollably. He stared at his grave and exclaimed downcastedly, "I'm the only vampire who dislikes his casket."

He stood on two feet and walked away, his laughter filled with madness echoing through the cemetery. Fortunately, it was nighttime, and no one bore witness to this bizarre spectacle. Yet, the legend of the crying adult baby was born, based on the accounts of a few curious gravekeepers who had heard an infant's cries and glimpsed an infant walking with the demeanor of an adult.

As Osuda concluded his narrative, the audience sat in stunned silence. Some were lost in thought, while others had already left the hall.

Osuda's smile wavered for a moment before he announced, "It seems the life of our mighty vampire was far from easy."

"Now, let us turn our attention to the story of Kairo Asher, our first-place contender for the title of the most unfortunate player."