Level Up!

My eyes snapped open at the sound. The room around me was small, but warm. A stark contrast to the brutal Midwestern Winter I had suffered through until today.

I sat up in the comfortable Princess style bed I had been laid in and realized three things in quick succession.

1: The room I was in was my childhood bedroom. This place should have burned down a decade ago, before I even entered highschool.

2: Stranger still were the voices in the distance. My parents, dead before the start of the apocalypse, were fighting in the basement, they did that pretty often now that I think about it.

3: I was significantly smaller than I remember. Nearly half my usual size.

This must be a dream, I thought as I moved to get out of my old bed. No sooner had my unreasonably tiny feet touched the hard wood did a glowing blue screen appear in the air.

[Congratulations!

You have reached Level 1!

You have gained access to the following Functions!

Status

Inventory

Mission Control

Equipment

Skills

You have gained the following skills!

Regression(passive)

Regressor's Mentality(Passive)]

Once I had finished reading the prompt disappeared. This was probably just a very intricate dream, so I began to test it out.

"Open Status." My voice was small, almost a whisper that stung in my throat as if I had never spoke before.

[Status

Name: Bridget Jenkins

Age: 11

Level: 1

Experience: 0

Level Progression: 0%

Health: 100

Mana: 100

Strength: 0

Dexterity: 0

Endurance: 0

Intelligence: 0

Wisdom: 0

Charisma: 0]

That gave me a few answers. Primarily the date. Seeing my stats laid out in front of me was disheartening to say the least. I understood that I was a girl again at least in the context of this dream, but my imagination couldn't give me a single point in any stat?

I shook my head and the menu closed. So I could control these menus without vocal prompting? I figured it was worth a shot and tried to open the inventory screen.

The screen that appeared was empty aside from the word 'Inventory' emblazoned across the top.

The Equipment screen was similarly empty. It gave slots available for both of my hands, feet, shoulders, arms, legs, torso, and head. On the left side of the screen was a section titled 'Bonuses' that was also empty.

Next up was Mission Control. Upon opening the menu I was greeted with no available missions.

I start to laugh when I hear footsteps approaching my bedroom door. I quickly close the Mission menu and move to open the door.

I stared up at my mother. She was barely thirty at this point but she looked older. Stress from my father and from my early years had definitely taken her youthful beauty. I probably looked exactly like her in the end. The same pale skin, freckles like paint splatter all over our face and bodies. Our straight fire red hair stood out from my father's blonde curls. Even our eyes were the same mossy color.

The world doesn't end for another nine years, but I survived an additional four before I was killed. My mother doesn't see the end. I lunge to hug her tightly, which she doesn't hesitate to reciprocate.

"Oh Sweetie what's the matter? I thought you were excited for school to start." She stroked my hair like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"School?" I replied before I could think. Of course I had to go to school. The schools hadn't been shut down yet.

She eyed me with what I guessed was amusement. "Get yourself ready. Daddy just left for work so I'm going to be taking you today."

I nodded and turned to my closet to pick out my clothes for the day.