In a strange world as a Doppelganger

Chapter 15 - Confidence

The armor that I got from the goblin is to small for me to wear as it is. I could maybe try to take it apart and see what I could fit, piece by piece. If I had the tools that is. There is a realization creeping up in the back of my mind, that I need to really focus on something. And not to keep myself busy, more of a focus of where to go in this life. Find my calling, so to speak. Thinking back to the skills I have acquired, it seems to be that the more I do something, the better I become at doing it. Therefore I should try to home in on just a few things to really excel at. Some sort of combat skill is a given, I do have the [Strike] and [Claw] skills after all. Would my finger become less useful and dexterous if I level up [Claw] as it seemed to passively harden my fingertips and make them pointier? 

For two days I focus on resting and excavating the burrow further. The rat has started helping with shifting loose dirt to the outside of the hole. We've become really buddies now, sharing food and shelter with each other. We started by simply expanding the burrow downward to make it deeper and more roomy for me to move around easier. Around midday on the second day I did obtain a new skill.

Skill [Dig] attained level 1

It became noticeably easier to dig after the prompt popped into my head. Instead of slithering on my belly I could now crawl on my hands and knees while in the burrow. There is also a small nook where I put all of my things when I sleep or things I can't carry with me when I need to go out. Further reinforced in my belief that repeated actions lead to gaining levels has steeled my mind. I am going to go looking for trouble.

It was not hard to find a frog as the afternoon crept on. I started down river and made my way up until I found one. Jagged blade in one hand and knife in the other I charged the frog head on. It managed to block my sword with a club that it drew from its belt. My knife left only a shallow gash in its abdomen. The club was stuck in the teeth of the sword, leaving the frog wide open to assault. Or so I thought, the frog shot its tongue out at me and it glued itself to my shoulder. I jammed my knife into the extended tongue and saw the frog flinch, though not as much as I'd hoped from such a hit. The frog slugged me in the ribs with a fist and I hacked the tongue off with my knife. The recoil of the tongue made its head snap back slightly. Kicking the club loose from my sword, I plunged both blades into the frog. This time I let the body lay where it fell. 

Back among the trees I take a moment to think. How do I feel right now? How much damage did I take? Could I take one more of those on? Probably, if I was careful and got the first hit. A few minutes later another frog comes hopping down along the river and sees its fallen comrade. The frog looks around for a second and then jumps in between the trees and disappear on the other side. Reporting back maybe? I stay put for a while, curious as to what they might do in this situation. It takes some time before the frog returns with an ally. This frog is slightly taller than the other, maybe by a foot almost. It holds a similar club in its hand but carries several short spear on its back and what looks like a shirt made from piecemeal hides. Boggart, level two. I see, they too have higher level ones in their midst, of course they would. The bigger frog looks around, scanning my side of the river. It doesn't seem to notice me but still it looks intently in my direction and starts to inflate its neck. An incredibly loud croak springs forth as it lets the air out. The frog next to it seems completely unfazed. Me on the other hand, I suddenly feel terrified. My legs start shaking and my hands go numb, loosing the grips on the weapons. I need to get away from this one. A few moments later the effect wears off on its own. That was less than pleasant, need to stay wary of that. It didn't incapacitate me completely but it would definitely hamper my fighting abilities. The frogs converse in some croaking way and take off with the body. 

Creeping along the bushes and trees on my side of the river I do my best to memorize the varieties of frog people that there are. Most of them are level one, even if some carry clubs and spears and others just catch fish and pick fruits and berries. Every now and then I do spot a level two frog and I think I am getting an idea of how to tell them apart without using [Observe]. The ones that are level two are often taller or wider and have a slightly darker tint to them, whereas those of level one are bright green the level twos are darker and with a blue tint. Knowledge is power. The frogs are a lot more organized than the goblins and have many more to their numbers. I badly want to fight a level two frog, if not to increase my level but to show them that I can take them on if I choose to. Should I aim to be the apex predator of this forest maybe? It's tempting though I would like to make my way out and find civilization at some point. Looking like I do, I really need to be able to protect myself first.