I open my eyes with a long, drawn out groan.


    The last thing I remember, even if just barely, is being stuffed into a dumpster in a back alley behind some club. It''s not a pleasant memory. No, not in the slightest.


    Well, never mind, because I''m most certainly not in a smelly dumpster right now. Nope, the difference couldn''t be any greater. The sky above is of a vibrant blue with only a few clouds dotting it. At least as far as I can tell, as the lush leaves of the tree under which I''m resting obscure much of it.


    I can''t remember ever seeing a sky so blue. Even on the best of days there was always the murky haze typical for just about any big city, as far as I can remember.


    The air is incredibly clean too. There are none of the smells I associate with civilization. Instead I can smell grass, leaves and dirt. It is weird, yet comforting. It certainly beats the smells to be found in a back alley dumpster. No doubt about that.


    With a start I sit up, to check my body for the countless bruises I should have. I don''t find any. What I see is still enough to give me pause anyway. My skin is pale, almost white, with a slight gray tinge, and featureless in a rather disturbing and alien way. It almost looks like a cheap rubber suit from some uninspired science fiction show.


    Troubling as that might be, it isn''t the only thing giving me pause. The other thing is the child sitting on a stone just a little to my right at the side of a peaceful little creek.


    The child is softly humming to itself while playing some kind of string figure game. For a little while I watch the child play its game. The string figures are giving me a headache though. It takes me a moment to figure out why. That string is decidedly non euclidean. Escher would be proud of it.


    I drop back into the grass as a realization hits me.


    “I''m dead, ain''t I?”


    At my words the child stops its game and the impossible thread dissolves into sparkles.


    “Yes, I''m afraid, you are are. Or rather, you were. You are alive again though. So, rejoice? Yay?”


    I groan again and look over at the child, except the child is gone. Instead a magnificent fox is sitting there in its stead now. A fox with entirely too many fluffy tails. I blink in surprise.


    “You are a god of some sort, aren''t you?”


    Even as I watch the fox blurs and shifts in impossible ways until a young woman in a regal gown is sitting there in its place. She takes a drag from the long stemmed, delicate pipe she is holding and blows a smoke ring, before she finally answers.


    “Right again. I''m Fox. God of making mischief. Goddess of having fun. And so on and so forth. You mortals have the most ridiculous ideas about us at times.”


    She shakes her head and lets out a laugh like silver bells.


    “The only things that really matter to you right now are, that I''m the divine being sponsoring your reincarnation into this world and that I''m the divine guardian of natural shapechangers too.”


    As she speaks she first gestures to encompass the world around us before pointing at me.


    I swallow hard, as I try to wrap my mind around the information she shared with me.


    “You are sponsoring my reincarnation? Is this a world in need of a hero? A world in need of saving?”


    As I blink the divine being is back to its childlike state. It isn''t quite the same as before though. Fox lets out a sigh that seems a little out of place, considering its current appearance.


    “Yes to all of that. Other people will take care of the heroing and world saving though. Well, they are supposed to anyway.”


    Fox gestures to indicate our surroundings once more.


    “As you night have noticed, you haven''t been summoned by groveling, spineless or backstabbing royalty. I don''t want you to save this world. I want you to teach it a lesson. Or two. Maybe two dozen.”


    Fox sighs again, shifting shape in the process once more. He, or she, is back to being a fox again. Except it is an arctic fox this time. The tails are still fluffy though. Well, maybe they are even more fluffy this time around.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    My brows furrow a little. Or rather they would if I still had any brows worth mentioning. A little exploration with my hands suggests that my face is disturbingly featureless too. Eventually I manage to focus on the more pressing matters again.


    “What kinds of lessons do you have in mind?”


    The fox who has become a pretty young woman again shakes her head.


    “Oh, no, no. I won''t tell. That would count as too much interference. Besides I''m certain you''ll figure the answer to that question out on your own anyway. Just go ahead and live your life. Punch some faces. Break a nose or two. Pilfer some treasures. Slit a few throats, if you have to. Balance the scales. Do whatever you think needs doing.”


    That revelation leaves me a little perplexed, but who am I to argue? Uncertainty tinges my voice anyway.


    “If you say so …”


    She nods and pulls me up and into a hug.


    “I sure do! Don''t worry about it too much.”


    For a brief moment she holds me, patting my back to reassure me further. Then she pushes me away until I''m at arm''s length again.


    “Now, my dear, I still need to provide a little more guidance before you can set out onto your own journey in this fantastic new world! Come along!”


    Without further delay she leads me to the edge of the creek. It is a little wider in this spot and slow flowing. Enough so that I can see my mirror image, at least to a degree. It is, of course, not perfectly clear. Yet, I stop and stare anyway.


    It is one thing to look down my own body and another entirely to see myself like that. Among other things this is the first time I see my pale, almost translucent, short, white hair. It is the first time too, that I can behold the silvery gleaming eyes. They are pretty much the only thing of notice in my otherwise rather featureless face.


    “Weird.”


    I can''t help it. I do look weird after all. Nothing like what I''m used to at all.


    The fox with the too many tails lets out an amused noise that is not quite a laugh.


    “For now, my dear. Only for now. You will get used to it, and besides, you are a doppelganger now, you can be anyone you want to be if you put your mind to it! Almost like me! Let me provide a little guidance to get you started.”


    She changes back into the shape of a little child at the water''s edge. Her mirror image never quite matches her though. Before I can ask any questions she points at my mirror image.


    “Focus on your mirror image, focus your entire attention on it, and think about identifying yourself. This will trigger one of your new skills in a very special way.”


    I do as she says and after a moment I feel a slight wave of mental exhaustion wash over me. That isn''t all though. First and foremost, the mirror image in the water clears up and stills, like it really shouldn''t in running water. I can see myself clearly now. And I can see various stats and lists of skills too.


    There is one more surprise. As I use my [Identify] skill I can hear a whisper at the back of my mind. A whisper that is almost, but not quite, matching the voice of my divine patron.


    [*Ding!* Your skill Identify has leveled up to level 2!]


    It is almost immediately followed by another whisper and the sound of clattering dice. Curiously enough the mental exhaustion fades together with the sound of the rolling dice.


    [*Ding!* Your class Scoundrel leveled up to level 2!]


    [*Clatter!* Your Health increased by 5!]


    I blink in surprise and the vision disappears again. I blink again before turning towards my divine guide.


    “I''m a [Doppelganger]. You already said as much. But why am I a [Scoundrel]? Is that really a class one can have? And did I just really level up from just that?”


    Fox takes another drag from her pipe and blows some more smoke rings into the air, before she finally shrugs and answers my question.


    “Sure it is a class. Not the best. Not the worst either though. It is quite versatile. I''m sure you''ll manage. And yes, you did just level up. The first few levels are easy. It will get harder eventually. I''m sure you''ll figure out the details on your own given time.”


    She takes another drag from her pipe and blows a stream of smoke through the rings from earlier.


    “Anyway, did you get a good look at your skills? Did you see your racial skill, [Change Shape]? Give that one a try now. Focus on yourself and change to a shape you are more comfortable with.”


    “Alright?”


    My voice may still be laced with doubt, but I do as Fox said anyway. Again a wave of mental exhaustion washes over me. It is much stronger this time though. I just barely manage to stay standing as my body begins to change.


    My skin gains some color. The same is true for my hair and my eyes. My shape in general shifts too, until my mirror image matches the image I have of myself once more.


    Once again this is accompanied by a divine whisper at the back of my mind.


    [*Ding!* Your racial skill Change Shape has leveled up to level 2!]


    This first whisper is immediately followed by another accompanied by the sound of clattering dice, just like before.


    [*Ding!* Your class Scoundrel leveled up to level 3!]


    [*Clatter!* Your Health increased by 4!]


    I barely pay attention to these whispers though. Instead I stare at my mirror image in the water. I''m really back to the way I used to look. It is all there including even the body hair my other shape most certainly does not possess. I even felt it grow out and that really felt weird!


    Then my brows furrow a little as the fact that I can actually see it all comes to my attention. I''m still wearing my birthday suit after all.


    As I shift my gaze over to my divine patron, the little fox nods, as if it could tell what is on my mind without me even saying anything. It jumps and somersaults without touching down again. And as it does so, some gear drops on the ground below where it hovers now.


    “Some gear to get you started. It''s nothing special, but it should serve you well enough. Anyway, this is all I can do for you. Enjoy your new life! Don''t fret! Just be yourself!”


    And with these words the fox turns into quickly dissipating sparkles and I''m left alone.


    Should I have asked some more questions? Would my divine patron even have been able to answer them? She mentioned something about not interfering too much after all.


    Ah, whatever. Time to check my gear and get dressed!