In a strange world as a Doppelganger

Chapter 20 - Bugs

My body feels the effect of having rested but my mind is exhausted. I try to hold on to as much of the dreams as I can. They are fading fast and what little details I can retain are fragmented and not connected. The rat isn't in the burrow this morning. I see it strolling around in the clearing as I poke my head out. Grazing, it seems. That rat is considered higher level than I, preposterous. I grab my gear and take a large piece of badger meat, I stuff it into a pouch. If the goblins come through on the skin I might ask them to teach me how to preserve meat in exchange for a cut in whatever I manage to bring back.

Today is all about bugs, my conscience has no issues taking out big pests like spiders or centipedes. Sword and knife in hand I follow my own markings south. I do come across another badger, maybe there is a den nearby, but I take a detour around it. Carrying the body was what held me back yesterday, can't be weighed down today.

As I arrive in the sick-looking part of the woods I stop to really take in what's around here. Bugs everywhere I look, but also a lot of spiders. Some of the strands of webbing seem terrifyingly thick though, something big must have made those. The trees still seem to be alive in some way, just sick. The bark is soft and oozes when I push against it, the leaves have an emaciated look to them and the underbrush is just brambles all over.

I pick up a mushroom with a brown top with an almost spiraling white pattern. Mushroom. Thanks [Observe], very helpful. I pinch off a tiny piece of the mushroom's cap and bring it up to my mouth. The taste is bad enough but I feel something syrupy come out of it as I bite down. The next few minutes are spent retching and vomiting up my breakfast. Let's avoid mushrooms in this area. The sick feeling passes and I can once again stand up straight.

Centipedes seem like pushovers, even though they are almost six feet long. They thrash around a lot when they get hurt, which makes them hard to hit. It takes about three solid strikes to take one down, two if I can hit the head. They have creepy, serrated, mandibles. One got a good bite in and I suspect it might be poisonous or at least high rate of infection because my arm is throbbing badly.
Even hurt I feel like I must get at least one more kill. I spot a beetle that is almost a foot high and has bright yellow spots on its shell. I walk up to it and simply drive my sword into it, while pinned I used my other hand to plunge a knife into its head. It stops moving almost instantly. Looking it over I see that my sword slipped between its two large shield like carapace segments. Out of curiosity I poke it with a knife, it's very hard. Thinking that I could make use of the beetle's exoskeleton, I pick it up. Through the pain in my arm I carry the bug through the woods.

The rat is still eating grass in the clearing, it's been at it for hours. I wonder what's going on, is it normal maybe? Taking my time, I look over the bug. I turn it this way and that, poking at it with my knife. I find the joints to its back armor and cut them off. The segments are of similar hardness as wood and big enough to function as a small shield. I snap the other one off too amd put the to the side. Iridescent wings lay folded in the exposed back of the beetle. Unfolding them, they are as long as my arms and incredibly light. I don't think this thing could fly though. I pick parts from the dead bug at lay them out on the ground. What could I make of these things? Defense seem like a good choice, getting hurt isn't too much fun.

The sun is slowly setting and the sky has turned a beautiful pink color. I spent a little bit of time, using a knife, drilling holes in the ends of the shell pieces. Looking around, there doesn't seem to be any goblins around for the moment. I was going to ask them for rope or string. I'll use what I have then. Untying my makeshift belt I pull some of the leather through the holes and fasten it as best I can. It's not pretty or comfortable but it's functional. The carapace is now a very simple breastplate. At least it'll give some extra protection to my vitals. The rat comes over and inspects the remains of the beetle, giving it a quick sniff before retreating down into the burrow for the night. The encroaching darkness in the sky tells me that I should try to get some sleep as well. I save the wings and the other shell piece, the rest of the bug I leave out in the open. Doing my best to get comfy on my dirt bed I cradle my arm, it's still pulsating painfully. This means I'll have to visit the river tomorrow morning, but it should be fine with the truce established. Maybe I could ask the elder to tell me if I am any closer to leveling up. I could stare at frogs to level up my [Observe] if anything. Thinking about how things work here I feel a little conflicted at how I should approach things. Levels seem important, sure, but skills are proving incredibly useful. Do I put equal effort into the two or focus on just one of them? I ponder this for quite some time before I finally fall asleep. It's a restless sleep, filled with feverish dreams of giants bugs filled with slime.