After the fight, I waited for the Warrior to level up the notification for killing a Witch, but for some reason, nothing changed. I wondered why that was the case. Part of me wanted to stop the others from killing any Bandits that remained alive so I could get EXP from ending their misery and leveling up quickly. But that would be 'Kill Stealing,' which Ex-Gamers like me despised.

Nazrat discovered three bandits still alive, hiding amongst the foliage or pretending to be dead. He used his arms and tail to drag the three bandits by their feet to a large chestnut tree that provided good shade from the hot noon sun. One of the bandits begged for mercy in a foreign language, while the other two cursed him in the same language. Nazrat gave mercy to one who asked for it with a quick break to the neck.

"You two, wait for your turn!" Nazrat instructed as his mouth salivated. Then, he began to feast on that body. I turned away as the other two screamed in horror for what they knew was their fate.

"Only the leader caste has that right to consume humans in Imp society. What is making him break that taboo?" Redrcok pointed out as he retrieved his arrows and collected the bodies of the Purple Sprites.

"I made Nazrat choose to serve his family or faith to the Dungeon Lord. Since he chose the latter, family rules no longer seem that important." I reply as I approach the Witch impaled in the belly with my Stone Sword. When I pulled it out of her, she cried out in pain.

"Damn, she is still alive!" I yell out.

So that was why I didn't get any EXP. She was just knocked down and bleeding out.

"I know! Good work knocking her out so I can interrogate her," Blackrock said, and I wondered if he was making a joke.

"Shouldn't we patch her up to stop her from dying?" I asked.

"Witches don't die unless you behead them. They can also be revived as long as another Witch has their heads to perform a revival ritual." Whiterock kicked over the heads of the other two witches like soccer balls toward her. Their heads had shrunk to the size of an orange while their bodies slowly mummified and sank into the soil.

"Poda Pati!" The Witch cursed at Whiterock for his actions.

"Maybe we should let the Imp eat her alive since she can't speak our language," suggested Redrock, pointing at the men still screaming in the Chestnut tree.

"No! No! I can speak your language!" The Witch quickly replied. "Please just let me go with my sisters' heads."

"We will let you leave our line of sight if you answer truthfully. Be warned, I will know when you lie, and I will crush the head of one witch sister for each lie." Blackrock warned, then walked over to the corpse of a Bandit and stomped his right golden armor boot into its skull, which exploded like a watermelon.

"I will not lie." The Witch replied and nodded.

During the battle, I couldn't focus on studying the enemies as they were moving too quickly. Now that we are out of combat, I can use my ability to read details on the Witch before Blackrock interrogates her. However, I don't want to disclose my ability to the Triplets because it may cause them to become more guarded and not reveal their secrets. Therefore, I decided to step back and whisper the details as safely as possible, keeping my attention fixed on the Witch.

"Interface, Open Witch Details," I whisper in English.

[Name: Hagatha

Race: Witch (Non-Human)

Title: The Three Sisters

Class: Mage (Aeromancy), Ritual Summoner (AI Note: This Sub-Class of Summoners needs to chant several verses and offer MP)

Rank: Clay

EXP Bar: Lv 9 350/500

Skills: Summoner's Affinity: Dark Fae Species (Clay),

Wind Blade (Clay), Air Shield (Clay), Summon 5 Dark Fae Sprites (Clay), Summon Dark Fae Bear (Clay)

Language Skills: Falaran, Wicken

Hidden Race Skills: Witch Revival (AI Note: Requires a Witch's head), Immortal Head (AI Note: As long as the head is intact, it will mummify and not decay)]

"Interface, Expand the Skills related to Summoning," I whispered in English.

[Summon 5 Dark Fae Sprites (Clay):

Chant the following verses to summon 5 Dark Fae Sprites from the Fae Lands.

(Unable to translate verses due to unlearned language 'Wicken')

(AI Note: The solution is to bring the Witch back to the Dungeon and harvest her soul to learn the language)

The Dark Fae Sprites will have the following skills corresponding to the Ritual Summoners Rank.

Skills: Fae Sleep Powder (Clay), Fae Poison Powder (Clay), Fae Healing Powder (Clay), Dark Fae Bite (Clay)

Warning! Targets will be immune to Fae Powder Skills if they are Fae or have Fae ancestry)

Summon Dark Fae Bear (Clay):

Skills: Dark Fang (Clay), Dark Claw (Clay), Dark Clone (Clay), Fae Scale Armor Resistance (Clay), Enhanced Smell Sense (Clay)]

A new field called 'Hidden Race Skill' appeared in the details, which confirmed my recent discovery. I didn't overthink it, so I continued studying the remaining skills.

Interesting! So, there are different types of Summoners. But why didn't she summon the Shadow Bear first? If the other two could summon the same, they would have posed more of a threat than those Dark Fae Sprites who used Sleep powder. But how did Blackrock know what was in it? Maybe he had encountered these enemies before and learned to counter the skill.

My Golem eyes lingered on the restrictions. It doesn't mention the powder has to be inhaled to be effective.

It may not work on Nazrat because Imps are related to Fae. But what about the Triplets? They still talked instead of holding their breath during the fight, which I found strange. Should I ask them? No, it might be some equipment that protects them. If I had known the carriage had special protection, I wouldn't have bothered to come out and fight the Witches.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Did you or sister bewitch those Bandits?" Blackrock's question to Witch interrupts my thoughts.

"No!" she replied, gritting her teeth to prevent giving away any information.

"Witches don't work with Humans as Highway bandits unless they force you to serve them," Blackrock said.

"Ha! They served the Demon King! My Sisters and I serve him as well! He ordered us to work together to capture the Humans of Arya!"

Huh? I thought I was the only one serving the Demon King on this continent.

"She... isn't lying." Blackrock pointed out and looked at me. Does he think I know what she is talking about?

"Can't it be someone pretending to be the Demon King?" I suggest.

"It's taboo in Arya to self-identify as the Demon King because the Heroes Church won't rest until they hunt them down and kill them. But there is a good explanation. I found a worm in the brain of the Bandit Blackrock squished," Whiterock informed as he cleaned his Ninja swords with the Shadow Fabric the Bandits had used to hide their faces after killing them.

A blue slug-like worm emerged from the brain, spasming until it disappeared into Mana.

"Oh? Those are Body Hijack-Worms! I was wondering why the Bandits fought like idiots." Redrock said as he looted the bandits of equipment with some salvage value.

"What are they?" I ask Redrcok.

"High-ranking warlocks and witches create them with their Mana. The worms enter the human ear to reach the brain. They then slowly feed on the soul within until they take over the body. Thankfully, the Worms have limitations to their abilities. They can only activate skills their host has already learned, but they can't raise the body's rank or learn new skills. But they can pretend to be the Human they took over, though they don't inherit any intelligence." Redrock explained.

"So the Bandits were victims of the worms? Could we have saved them?" I ask.

"No! Once the soul has been devoured, their bodies are just puppets, with the worms controlling the strings." Redrock clarified.

"The question is, who put them in there? I guess it is the Demon King you speak of since the worms only serve the one who created them," Blackrock asked the Witch.

"Yes... The Demon King wants an army... we were capturing Humans to serve him by the thousands." The Witch explained.

"Ah! So this Demon King must be a Warlock. Now tell me why he calls himself that?" Blackrock asks.

"Don't you dare question his identity," the Witch warned. However, her voice shivered as Blackrock raised his foot over her sister's mummified head. "Stop! He reincarnated as a warlock to take over the humans through witchcraft."

"Oh? So he is mass-producing Body Hijack-Worms to take over Arya? Doesn't it cost a lot of Mana to create each worm?" Blackrock asks, but the Witch refuses to answer, and Blackrock pulverizes one of her sister's heads like a grape.

"NOOO!" She screams and then curses.

"You have 10 seconds to tell me where this Warlock is and how he has enough Mana for his plans?" Blackrock asks again. The Witch hesitates but then answers when the countdown is almost finished.

"There is a creature from the sea—a massive Mana Whale! It obeys his commands and shares its Mana with him. The Demon King lives on its back and only comes to shore when we have collected enough Humans to serve him. I do not know how to find him or which shore he will appear on. Only the High-Ranking Witches know! Now let me go with my sister!"

"Since you told the truth, I will keep my promise," Blackrock said as he picked up the remaining Witch's head and handed it to her. Despite her unhealed wound, she slowly got up and walked away, casting a suspicious glance back at us to ensure our honesty. After that, she limped away until she was out of our view.

"Are we letting her go?" I ask.

"I promised her that we would let her go until she was out of our sight. Do you think Nazrat is still hungry?" Blackrock inquired, and I understood what he meant. I approached Nazrat, who had already eaten all the Brains and flesh from the three worm husks. That's a more fitting name for what they were.

"Chief! Something was wrong with their Brains and flesh. There were no memories and skills for me to absorb, but I found a worm in their brains that dissolved into Mana when I pulled it out," Nazrat explained.

I looked at the remains that Nazrat couldn't eat and recalled the Imp who gained Brock's brother's memories and skills. But I thought only the Leader caste Imps could do it. But why did I see Racial ability for the Witches and not the Imps?

[Having knowledge of each Race's unique skills is overpowered! So it is hidden from you until you learn it] Rachel's voice answered.

I should have known the Demon King had set it up this way.

[When you learn about a Racial Skill through experience or a book, it gets added to their details] Rachel adds.

Wait, when have you been reading my thoughts?

[I have been listening to your thoughts since you were reborn!]

Shit! Can't I have any privacy?

[No]

I see... I have to learn to live with that.

"High Chief, can I try the other corpses till I gain their memories and skills?" Nazrat asked, and I came back to my senses.

"I learned from the Witch that a Warlock put worms in all the Human brains to take control of them. Those disgusting things consumed everything you wanted, so it must have disappeared when the Worms came out and dissolved," I explained.

With a face contorted in rage, Nazrat let out a roar and forcefully punched the solid trunk of the chestnut tree. The impact echoed through the forest, causing leaves to rustle and small animals to scurry away in fear.

"Do you have room in your belly for a witch, or are you only interested in human flesh?" I asked, pointing in the direction she had gone. This caused Nazrat's eyes to light up.

"Imps can still gain a skill by eating Non-Humans!" Nazrat explained before sniffing the air for her scent and running off on all fours to hunt her down. As he went out of sight, I wondered how powerful an army of Imp could become if they ate a lot of Humans and non-humans. But why didn't they exploit it to their advantage and restrict it to the Leader Caste?

A part of me knew the answer. The elite's corruption and abuse of power played a significant role in it.

I returned to the Triplets, who had just finished collecting the loot. All the corpses had their heads smashed to ensure that the worms inside them were destroyed.

"So, it's fair to say that the Witches and their Puppets had no idea who they were messing with," Redrock stated.

"I think Worm Husks sounds better for them than Puppets." I shared.

"Then I will use that name when I sell what we learned to the Knights of Falar," Whiterock said.

"You're going to sell it? But it affects all the Humans of Arya. Won't you be rewarded for sharing it for free?" I ask Whiterock.

"I cannot offer my services for free. I am an information broker, earning my living by selling the information I gather through investigation or spy work. It is not realistic to expect me to work solely for humanity's benefit and hope for some token recognition as compensation for my efforts," explained Whiterock.

"Then you would sell information about me and the Dungeon for the right price?" I ask.

"As long as my Brothers and I benefit from this relationship, you have nothing to worry from me," Whiterock replied truthfully about the arrangement.

"So Blackrock trades goods, Redrock trades monsters, and Whiterock trades intel," I ask to clarify.

"That's why we have a larger network of clients than the Black Market Agents who operate independently," explained Whiterock.

"How many are there?" I ask.

"I already gave you some information for free, but certain things cannot be shared," Whiterock replied, and I nodded. Next time, he will want payment, and I should avoid questions sensitive to the Black Market members.

After meticulously cleaning the dried blood off his shining golden armor, Blackrock turned to his brothers and said, "Shall we proceed to Rodwin?"

"What about Nazrat? Shouldn't we wait for him?" I ask.

"He'll catch up with us once he is done. Plus, it's good to exercise after a heavy meal," Redrock pointed out.