CHAPTER 24, REBOOT AGAIN.

Honestly, this whole reincarnation thing already feels like a joke. This is my second time, and let's not even talk about how many times I've died.

For some reason, I'm sitting on a couch waiting to be called into the office of Death—apparently for some reincarnation-related process.

Fantastic, it's my turn. I got up from the couch with great confidence and headed into Death's office. Upon entering, I was deeply disappointed. I honestly thought it would look different from a regular office, but nope—it was just a completely ordinary one. Disappointed, I sat down. Death stared at me for a few minutes until, finally, they spoke.

Honestly, I was surprised they were being so polite, since last time they yelled at me and everything. I guess it's because this is a more "official" case.

I replied. (Of course, that's not exactly what they said, but it makes the story better.)

They stared at me again. I just turned my head away so they'd leave me alone. I think that annoyed them, because right after that gesture, they grabbed some papers, tapped them on the desk to straighten them, stapled them, and handed them to me.

I said while looking at them skeptically.

I did as I was told. Walked out the door, gave the papers to the person outside, and in the blink of an eye—I was a damn baby again.

Like last time, I looked at my new parents, sighed, and fell asleep hoping this was all just a terrible dream.

Unfortunately, it wasn't. My first morning was incredibly stupid. My dad woke me up—thinking he was being funny. But let's get one thing straight: I'm not a damn baby. I'm not falling for that kind of idiocy. And as if that wasn't enough, my dad spent the entire day doing dumb stuff to entertain me. Luckily, my mom isn't like that. She's smarter. She noticed I couldn't care less about my dad's antics, so she didn't follow his example and tried to be more gentle.

Days went by, and finally a week had passed since I was born. Yet my dad still hadn't given up on trying to amuse me. I spent my days trying to speak, because with a new body, I had to get used to it again.

When I finally turned one month old, the last thing I expected happened. I was sleeping peacefully, like any normal person, when suddenly—boom!—weird noises woke me up. I got up almost instantly, searched for the source, and… the disappointment was immense. It was my parents. I stared at them with a judgmental look and laid back down.

said my mom, clearly scolding Mateo (my dad). I honestly think you have to be an idiot to try and wake up your kid like that.

Mateo lowered his head because he knew arguing with Mom wouldn't end well.

When I woke up again, I got out of the crib and went to the kitchen to make myself something to eat.

As soon as I arrived, Mom's expression was priceless. She clearly wanted to say something but couldn't. Then Mateo came in to see what was going on.

asked Mateo, playing the hero. But the moment he saw me, he froze. The shock made him faint right there on the spot.

At that moment, I still didn't understand how someone like me—a supposedly ordinary baby—could cause such a reaction in an adult. So, with all my intelligence, I asked my mom.

Apparently, the shock came from the fact that, at just one month old, I was walking. I hadn't even noticed it myself. And even less that I had just spoken to ask my mom what was going on.

From that point on, Mateo stopped with his ridiculous nonsense.

Later that same day, I had the bright idea of checking my stats.

Oh no. Everything was different. Everything was at the lowest level… well, except for a few things:

Race: human-vampireLevel: 1HP: 10Mana: 0

Stats:Strength: -ZZZAgility: -ZZZDefense: -ZZZLuck: DDEndurance: -ZZZIntelligence: AXP gain rate: 50%

Skills:Slave +SSSPassive Healing: XBody Control: X

Blessings:None

Curses:Immortality of the god InzaloDivine Shield

Of all the things written in the stats, the one that shocked me the most was the "Slave" skill. That one's definitely new. No doubt about it. Another thing I still don't understand is why my mana is at zero. The whole half-vampire thing? I'll look into it later. But why the hell is the mana zero?

Putting that aside, I was really curious about the "Slave" skill. Just thinking "what is it?" brought up a description of how the skill works. It had tons of upgrades—some kind of unnecessary—but still, it's not bad to have.

The upgrades include: dehydration and hunger resistance; resistance to hard labor; sunlight resistance; and damage resistance (effectiveness increases by 70% if hit by a whip).

Honestly, I think I'll ask tomorrow where exactly we live.

The next day, as soon as I woke up, I went to the kitchen. Honestly, since I have a baby's body, I can't wake up early. That makes it harder to catch Mateo before he leaves for work. Since I wake up around noon, I have to rush to the kitchen to intercept him.

I yelled in desperation as I saw him about to leave.

Mateo, who was halfway through the door, turned around.

I replied quickly, since Mateo had to go. I'm not that heartless—I wouldn't make him late for work.

Mateo answered like he was on a game show.

Right after that, Mateo said goodbye and left, so I turned to my mom.

Honestly, I know that's a weird question for a baby who's not even a year old, but thankfully she answered.

my mother replied.

Wow, what a strange name I've got.