When Wyden arrived at the location of the lizardmen's abandoned home, since they are all dead now, he immediately tried to search the area to see if he could find more waterstones.
The first area he searched was the lizardman chief's home. If the chief had one water stone, it was possible that he would have more.
Wyden hopes that his search will bear fruit, but he is bound to be disappointed. He almost flipped the entire tent upside down, but no matter where he looked, there were no water stones.
The most he could see were pieces of dry meat. While nymphs prefer to eat plants, lizardmen, on the other hand, prefer to eat meat. It was no surprise that they would store dry meat.
However, Wyden was uninterested in the dry meat. After failing to discover a water stone in the chief's home, he turned his attention to the other tents of the lizardmen.
If the chief only has one water stone, he hopes that there would be other lizardmen who also have one.
However, even after hours of searching, Wyden was still disappointed. He already searched all the tents, but he didn't discover even just one water stone.
"Where did the lizardman chief even discover the water stone? Could it be that there is only one of it?"
A frown appeared on Wyden's face. If he can't find water stones, his next target would either be extremely rare or guarded by strong magic beasts. Either way, obtaining them would not be easy and might even require waiting until he was already a high or even peak-level Transcendent.
With his talent, though, how long would that take?
Wyden sighed, and since he could not find water stones in the lizardmen's home, he turned his attention to the area around the lizardmen's territory.
He roamed aimlessly, trying to discover water stones; no grass was left unturned.
While Wyden didn't discover a water stone, he saw a familiar nymph digging in the ground.
As soon as Wyden approached, the nymph immediately turned his head. His hands held the same wooden sticks he used against the lizardmen, ready to attack at a moment's notice.
But seeing who approached him, Rezar calmed down, and he hid his sticks back in his pouch.
"Chief, what are you doing here?" Rezar asked while dusting off the dirt on his hands and clothes due to digging in the ground.
"I'm here to find something" Wyden replied before knitting his brows.
"What are you doing here alone? It's too dangerous. Why didn't you have some of our people join you?" He asked out of worry.
This nymph was still too young, at most only a few years old. While nymphs grew physically mature in three months, it doesn't mean that a three-month-old or even a few-year-old nymph is treated as an adult.
It was normal for Elders to care for the young, and Wyden didn't like seeing such a young nymph roaming around alone.
"It's fine, Chief. With my innate magic, I can immediately flee if I were to encounter danger. Taking some nymphs with me might even be more dangerous when we encounter danger, since they are not as fast as me"
Rezar is an early-level Transcendent, and with the Morningstar Mushroom's assistance, he can temporarily reach the mid-level.
If he were to use his innate magic [Accelerate], his speed could be as fast high-level transcendent. In the tribe, he might be the fastest, and there was indeed merit in his words to the point that Wyden couldn't even find words to convince him again to ask other nymphs to join him.
"Always prioritize your safety" Wyden can only say that. He doesn't want to see any nymphs dying outside of natural causes.
"Yes, chief" Rezar replied obediently. He naturally can sense the care behind Wyden's words, and he appreciates it.
After asking the young nymph to take care of himself, Wyden's attention turned to the purple-colored roots that Rezar seemed to be digging in the ground.
Aren't those Ulamer Roots?
While these roots are technically edible, they would cause a severe rash outbreak to whoever would eat them. As such, no nymph would eat such a thing even when they are starving.
The itch was unbearable, and it also took quite some time before it vanished.
Sensing where Wyden was looking, Rezar explained the reason why he was digging such roots.
"I collect the Ulamer Roots and grind them into powder. After that, I use the powder to coat my wooden sticks. It was what gave the lizardmen rashes" Rezar explained, and Wyden was enlightened.
He personally witnessed lizardmen getting distracted in the middle of their battle because of the rashes from their wounds caused by the wooden sticks.
Turns out that Rezar used the Ulamer Roots to achieve that kind of effect.
While this was not something that made Wyden comfortable, he sees no reason to stop Rezar and prevent him from using such devious tactics.
Besides, Rezar was only doing this for the sake of the tribe. Despite his discomfort, Wyden does not have a plan to say anything negative.
"I see. Still, be careful when you are outside. There are other intelligent races or dangerous magic beasts that might harm you" Wyden reminded again, and Rezar nodded his head.
"How about you, chief? What are you trying to find? I can help you!" Rezar offered, and Wyden was about to decline, but then he thought of something.
If Rezar was constantly foraging for plants like the Ulamer Roots, he might be more familiar with the surroundings than Wyden himself.
Rezar might indeed be able to help him.
"I was trying to see if there are more water stones around the lizardmen's territory. If you find one, make sure to let us know."
In any case, there was no real harm in letting Rezar know what he was searching for.
"A water stone? Do you plan on equipping more Morningstar Mushrooms with water stones? That would indeed make our tribe stronger!" Rezar's eyes twinkled.
In the final battle with the lizardmen, one Morningstar Mushroom alone equipped with a water stone, managed to kill seven lizardmen at once.
It can be said that the Morningstar Mushroom killed the most; even Wyden didn't kill seven lizardmen.
The normal Morningstar Mushroom was weaker, and the lizardmen mostly managed to survive their attacks. However, the Morningstar Mushroom equipped with a water stone is different.
If they could equip tens, or even hundreds of Morningstar Mushrooms with water stones, how strong would their tribe become?
They wouldn't fear even a lizardman tribe with hundreds of lizardmen!
Hearing Rezar's words took Wyden by surprise. He originally only wanted to find water stones to aid his and the tribe's cultivation.
He hadn't thought of the same idea as Rezar did, but it just made him want to obtain even more water stones.
Not only would it make the nymphs cultivate faster, their Guardian Spirit would also have more power. This is a win-win situation.
"We need to find water stones" Wyden declared, even thinking to ask the whole tribe to search with him.
It was too bad that he hadn't learned from his father where exactly water stones can be found and how they are formed. If not, finding them would be easier.
"Indeed! We need to find as many water stones as soon as possible!" Rezar agreed, and he continued. "What are the areas that you already searched?"
Wyden didn't hide anything and answered truthfully to avoid searching in the same area more than once.
"Hmm, based on what I learned from our Guardian Totem, in every situation, we must think of two things" Rezar started, and Wyden's interest was piqued.
As of the moment, it was no secret anymore that Rezar's use of wooden sticks was taught by their Guardian Totem, and the latter was also fond of him, often teaching and providing guidance.
As such, Wyden wouldn't be surprised if Rezar could really help the tribe find water stones.
"When facing enemies, we must first think of their most obvious action, then guard against it. Second is we must think of the action we think they wouldn't do, and also guard against it in case they catch us off guard."
"When searching for something, this is also applicable. We must first search in the area we think has the highest chance of bearing fruitful search, but you already did that. The lizardmen's homes have already been searched by you."
"Next is we must think of the place we wouldn't normally think to search. Sometimes, it was the most unexpected place that brought great surprise."
As a webnovel fanatic, there are many instances wherein the characters are caught off guard because their enemies did something the exact opposite of what they usually do.
As the nymph that satisfies Nexus the most, Rezar was being groomed by the former into a smart person.
One must not only have the capability to fight but also a smart mind if they want to thrive.