What was an orc? Legs swinging to and fro, the child of only three stared at her mother. Who -as far as Trillia was concerned- was a giant. There wasn't a single orc in the tribe who stood taller. Trillia hoped that one day she'd grow that tall!

Most of the other orcs paid her little mind. Merely observing her to ensure she wasn't getting into trouble. Trillia hopped off the seemingly gigantic log she sat on. On the best of days, she wouldn't even reach most adults' knees. Slowly she moved closer to her mother, focusing on every tiny detail of her Chieftain.

As established, her mother was tall. You'd have to stack at least six Trillias to reach the height of her mother! Wearing armor made from the scales of a dragon -or so old man Luvog said- a burnt orange color that contrasted the pale purple skin.

A greatsword nearly as tall as her mother hung at her back. The metal has an iridescent obsidian hue, serrated on one side. A brace halfway down the blade on its back side.

Trillia had seen her mother use the weapon in defense of the camp. Often times she'd grab the brace and hold off creatures many times her size. Arms with corded muscle threatened to burst the armor she wore. Long green hair made into many braids hung from her head.

Seeing it made Trillia ruffle her own hair. A short silvery mess, she didn't fit in well, at least not with her tribe. Crimson red skin, silver hair, and bright blue eyes. A stark contrast to her mother and father's red eyes. Even at this tender age, Trillia could tell she wasn't a standard orc.

Perhaps. Could it be that Trillia wasn't an orc at all?! Her little eyes grew wide as she stared up at her mother. Absent-mindedly having moved next to the towering Chieftain. Tears threatened to stream down her face. Her tiny hands reached up to press against her mother's legs.

Her mother's head turned down to see the teary-eyed child. A soft voice spoke as a smile came across the Chieftain's face.

"What is it, little one? Why do you cry?"

Trillia took a deep breath, resolving herself for the terrible news. Balling up her little fists and gritting her tiny sharp teeth.

"Am I an orc, momma?"

Her mother -and the orc warrior she had been speaking to - let out a hearty laugh, quickly scooping Trillia up in her strong arms and balancing the small child on her hip.

"Of course, you're an orc! One day you will grow big and strong, as all of us have! Why do you ask such a thing?"

Trillia, not wanting to embarrass herself, quickly rubbed the tears from her eyes. Now eye-to-eye with her mother, she sniffled.

"I look weird. No one looks like me at all. Are you sure?"

Amara -her mother's name- now shook her head, offering the same warm smile.

"Just because you do not look the same does not mean you are not an orc. Besides, you can see your own status, right? Remember how mommy taught you? Concentrate really hard on seeing who you are."

Trillia knew -of course - what her status said. The tribe, after all, checked their status often to see if how they went about a task was the right way. To see if they were hungry, tired, or any number of things. But... Maybe the status was lying about her species? After all, she looked very different.

But her mother wouldn't lie to her. The other orcs always tried to help her learn and taught her many fun things. Like how to use [Basic Scan], which was her favorite skill. It told her many helpful things, but she didn't understand many of the words it used though.

Her mother, had since returned to her discussion with the warrior, but Trillia didn't pay much attention. It was something about scouting parties and fighting monsters.

Trillia didn't have much interest in fighting monsters. The idea seemed very scary. But she was an orc! She'd have to fight monsters some days. It was what all orcs did. They were good at fighting monsters, and Trillia wanted to be a good orc like her mother was.

The warrior was walking away now Trillia turned her eyes from wandering the camp to her mother. Offering her own little smile at her mom, she leaned onto her shoulder. Listening to her mother's soft-spoken words.

"Come on, let's get you something tasty to eat, and we can practice something. You can even choose what we practice."

They moved through the camp until they reached a large tent. The thick fabric was dyed dark green and had various runes painted on in bright yellow paint. One symbol showed up on all of the tents. It looked like a hammer striking some beast's head. Trillia was told it was her tribe's symbol.

Stolen novel; please report.

Inside, they sat near a table - made of dark-stained wood- her mother went about grabbing some hard tack and meat, tossing it into a small cooking pot just outside.

"So. What do you want to practice, Trillia?"

The question pulled the girl from her daydreaming. She looked at her mother. Pondering the question as she brought up her status in her mind. She hadn't gained any levels and was still extremely weak in almost all regards. She liked learning skills.

"Can we practice learning?"

Her mother waved her over to sit next to her so that she could keep an eye on the cooking pot. Her mother produced a small crystalline object from a pouch at her hip. Trillia knew this to be a mana crystal. By the soft red hue, she knew it to be a mana crystal attuned to fire.

Taking it into both hands -being too large to fit into one- she began concentrating as her mother and Lurog had shown her many times. They described it to her as trying to use [Basic Scan] on the crystal without actually using the skill. Just pretending you were asking the crystal to use the skill instead.

An eternity seemed to pass -it had only been ten minutes, at most- sweat beaded her forehead. She continued to stare intently at the crystal in her hands. Her eyes held a faint blue glow. There was mana there - lurking beneath the surface- it was how she could use a skill like [Basic Scan]. Even if the skill itself didn't require an expenditure of mana.

But try as she might, the crystal sat there dormant, no spark of flames inside it. Her mother reached out, gently taking the red crystal and handing her a blue one. Slowly cycling through several colors, some more specialized than others. She was failing again, and Trillia's little heart sank.

She could never make the crystals glow. She could never make her mom, dad, or even old man Lurog smile or pat her on the head. Saying she had done a good job. Tears began to form in her eyes, she gritted her teeth, and her eyes glowed more intensely.

Finally, as her mother took the last crystal away, Trillia cried out.

"No! I can do it! I promise I'm a good orc!"

The tears streamed freely now. Suddenly, wrapped in her mother's big strong arms, sobbing because she had failed again. She heard her mother softly shushing her and stroking her messy silver hair.

"It's ok little one, you are still so young. This is nothing to cry over. We will find what you're good at. Everyone is good at something. You have to remember that!"

She was too ashamed to pull away from her mother. There were other children in the tribe, children only a year or two older, who could make all the crystals shine so prettily. It was because she wasn't an orc. The stupid status window was lying it had to be.

Some time had passed, and Trillia had calmed down, sitting next to her mother. A bowl of meat and hard-tack broth sat before her. Face close to the steamy liquid before her, blowing on the spoon she held so as not to burn her tongue.

If she wasn't good at things orcs were good at, was she an orc? If not, what was like an orc but not actually an orc? If even her mother and the status window were fooled, it had to be something close.

Her father had joined them, and her two brothers as well. Both rustled her hair as they walked by. Her brothers were very good orcs. Tall and strong. Both could make the red and the brown crystals light up. Both carried large axes, the same type of axe their father used.

It was her father who broke the silence.

"Trillia, I'm going to be tracking down a [Baby Megapede] later. Would you like to join me?"

- Megapede- Non-Sentient monsters, growing upwards of a hundred feet in length. Much like the small insect variants of centipedes. Megapedes also had many feet they could use to crawl around on, even up vertical surfaces. Unlike their distant relatives, Megapede feet ended in sharp dagger-like claws. Mandibles large enough to crush iron plate armor. Also capable of projectile vomiting acid upwards of thirty feet as adults. -

She was about to speak but quickly remembered the soup in her mouth. Once she had swallowed the bite. She smiled and nodded excitedly.

"Do you think I can use [Basic Scan] on it?!"

She received an affirmative nod, her father having his own bite of soup in his mouth. Her eyes lit up. Maybe she'd finally get enough experience from identifying the creature to level!

A thought occurred to Trillia. Maybe she was an orc. Maybe she needed more levels to make the crystals glow. Her mother kept saying she was too young. What if that meant her level was too low to do it instead?

Trillia nodded as she took another bite, a clear plan forming in her mind. She'd run around and use [Basic Scan] on everything she could, gain enough experience to help slay a monster. With more levels, she was sure she could make the crystals glow as her brothers could.

With her fool-proof plan, she quickly devoured the rest of her soup. Wiping out her bowl before bowing in front of her mother.

"May I play?"

Her mother gave her a nod, and Trillia ran off. Her parents could hear her using her favorite skill repeatedly. Both only chuckled and smiled at one another before finishing their own bowls of soup.

Trillia found that [Basic Scan] could be used on many things, objects, people, and monsters. When she was first taught to use the spell a month or two ago, it gave her a headache to use it often. But it was her favorite skill. She ran about the village, using it on everything she could find, some new things, some old. She could feel the experience for her Subspecies slowly ticking up. She would level soon.

"To arms!"

The words rang out clearly throughout the camp. Trillia spun towards the sound, running as fast as her little legs could. Maybe she'd get to scan a new monster or creature! Or at least watch the others fight so that when she was strong enough to fight, she knew how to.

As she approached the wall -something that had only been erected since she was born- she skidded to a stop. Her mother was already standing on the wall. Staring out at an enemy Trillia couldn't see. Scrambling up the side of the wall, she came to the edge, standing next to her mother.

It was not a single creature that stood before the walls. But a thousand large bipedal ones. Hooved feet, and thick fur. Standing far taller than even her mother did. A bull-like face and large twisted horns sat atop their head. All of them wore glimmering metal armor that looked heavy.

"[Basic Scan]"

She whispered the word, and all of them merely showed up as [Minotaur - ?? - ??] it wasn't surprising. That meant they were high-level, and she couldn't see their class. Her eyes turned towards her mother, who wasn't attacking them. Maybe they were friends?