"I could be bound in a nutshell and count myself a King of infinite space - were it not that I have bad dreams."

William Shakespeare

Yes.

It seems that I am back in a shell so to speak or even further back. I'm in a womb again, reincarnated or being reborn with time travel. Either that or an incredibly complex organic sci-fi rebirthing technology. I'm trying not to think about it too much as it is either incredibly intimate or absolutely alien and all utterly confusing.

On top of that mind-bending conundrum, that my slowly healing or developing brain is trying to wrap its cerebrum around, is also the completely magical or futuristic fact that I appear to have a system!

I simply have to think about my status for it to appear in my mind. The words written in light on the inside of my brain, eyes open or closed they are there to see.

Level: 0

Experience: 0/100

Health: 10/10 Stamina: 1/2 Mana 10/10

Vitality: 1

Endurance: 0

Strength: 0

Dexterity: 0

Senses: 0

Mind: 44

Clarity: 0

Magic: 1

Skills: None

I might not be able to move or breathe yet and my current status seems a little anaemic but how cool is this going to be . . . eventually!

Provided I don’t actually die before I’m born.

Mortality rates are not particularly good for . . . well, actually, I don’t know what mortality rates are for infants here or wherever I am when I have no idea what the world is like and I am yet to be born.

Anyway, here I am, floating around, arms flailing a little as I come to terms with my situation.

. . .

Waiting, tick tock tick tock.

. . .

Waiting, nothing to do.

. . .

Waiting, all alone in here.

. . .

Wondering who or what I’m in and what I’m in for.

. . .

All alone, all alone

All alone, all alone

All alone, all alone

All alone, all alone

. . .

My eyes are still closed as I drift from side to side, up and down, still passing in and out of dreams and consciousness. Alone in my own private isolation bubble, alone with my thoughts as I tumble and turn. Worried that simply tumbling and turning could be dangerous, what with an umbilical cord floating around in here too.

I try not to turn too much but still I end up bouncing gently against the walls of the womb. The elastic walls and water vibrating to a song or lullaby I know I have heard before, something unknowingly remembered. The occasional muffled voice making its way through the melody or pausing for a reply. But the words and song are not yet clear enough to understand or even identify the syllables used.

. . .

Still, at least I'm not completely alone.

. . .

There is life outside.

. . .

But what sort of life? I don’t know if it is going to be my world, a different world, a sci-fi world, a mythical world but it’s certainly going to be interesting, especially if I have a magic system. Or maybe the magic will simply be science I don't understand yet. Either way, not life as I remember it on the planet I used to call home. A planet called Earth.

. . .

Unless that is exactly where I am. I think it is new. I think it is different. But what if where I am, is the same but it is only me who is changed?

. . .

I can’t wait to see, something I don't seem able to do yet and ultimately there is not much that I can do till then.

. . .

I wonder how many days old, how many months I am?

. . .

Am I a boy or a girl?

. . .

Am I even human?

. . .

Putting aside my existential crisis on my circumstances and my new reality. Let's focus on what I can work out. On the words, I can see without working eyes. A status embedded in my mind.

Skills, experience... how do I get them and what do I need to do?

Better question yet, what can I do? I can’t breathe, I can’t speak, can’t even move much, can’t do much of anything really. All I can do is listen.

. . .

I can listen!

. . .

Can I get a skill in that? I’m going to have to sit here and listen. What can I hear? I can hear my heartbeat, do I need to focus? I can hear my mother’s heartbeat. How long do I have to listen for? No listening skill yet. But was that long enough to count as a skill?

. . .

What else can I do? Counting! I can count, 1,2,3 . . . 999, 1000 . . .

. . .

I think I must’ve fallen asleep.

I don’t seem to have that much focus at the moment. I have no idea how much time has passed or how much time is passing now I suppose I can count the seconds as there doesn’t seem to be a lot else to do . . . 3,599, 3,600.

Ding! Time Sense (Lv 1)

Bingo!

I have my first skill!

My first level!

I gained 100 experience counting for 1 hour without falling asleep. It took three or four attempts to be able to stay awake for that long but I don't have a lot of stamina which makes staying awake hard. Especially as it runs out when I try to stay out of dreamland.

Level: 1

Experience: 0/200 Age: 1 day

Health: 10/10 Stamina: 1/3 Mana 10/10

Vitality: 1

Endurance: 0

Strength: 0

Dexterity: 0

Senses: 1

Mind: 45

Clarity: 1

Magic: 1

Free Points: 10

Skills: Time sense (LV 1)

Not only has my level increased with the experience gained through gaining a skill. I have also gained 1 stat for senses, so keep sensing, listening and counting I guess.

But first, a quick nap to regain my stamina.

. . .

I’ve woken up again, still warm, still content.

Still not really sure what’s going to happen next but at least I have a system! Something to engage my brain with. The problem is there is not a lot you can do here. I’m going to see if I can get a counting skill next.

In the end, I made it up to 3,600 again and nothing. 4,000 okay this is getting really boring 5,000. How long have I been counting for now?

60 seconds in a minute, 600 seconds in 10 minutes. If 10 minutes is 600 seconds then hundred minutes is 6000 seconds. So 500 minutes is . . .

I'm confused. Think I need a pen and paper for this but don't have any to hand right now.

Probably need to work on my maths. Let’s try again 60 seconds in a minute and 360 seconds in six minutes. So 3600 seconds in an hour. 3600! So if I count to 36,000 that’ll be 10 hours of counting. I think I will stick to my counting rather than the maths. Decimal time would be so much easier to count in here.

Yes!

I just got another 100 experience for levelling up my time sense, through continuing to count, although still didn't get anything like a counting skill. The bad news is the time it took doubled to 2 hours, 7,200 seconds. It’s clearly going to take longer and longer to level this skill. While it is a shame there is no counting skill at least I know how to keep improving the skill I do have. Plus I was able to count for twice as long this time without falling asleep.

My stamina and senses have risen but don't know if that is simply natural growth or experience gained. Either way, it is helping me to stay conscious.

Level: 1

Experience: 100/200 Age: 1 day

Health: 10/10 Stamina: 7/7 Mana 10/10

Vitality: 1

Endurance: 1

Strength: 0

Dexterity: 0

Senses: 2

Mind: 46

Clarity: 1

Magic: 1

Free Points: 10

Skills: Time sense (LV 2)

What should I do with these free points?