38 Chapter 38 - The Rocky Mountain

"So the two of you will have to go to Crane Village tomorrow and fetch some blue lotus while me and Mi Young will go to the lair of the Cyclops to get some violet lamp grass." Se Heon instructs.

All three girls nodded.

"Good. That's the plan then. Can we ask for a map towards the lair of the Cyclops?" Se Heon asks.

"I can make one for you." Soo Young answers. She went to fetch some paper and quill and started scribbling again. When she was finally done, she handed the paper to Mi Young who immediately observes the path they're going to take.

"It's that easy?" Mi Young asks. She eyes the map again and realizes that the road going to the lair of the Cyclops is too easy and she finds it suspicious.

"Yes! It's that easy, trust me." Says the confident looking Soo Young.

Hanabi went to check the map and she furrowed her eyebrows upon looking at it. "Hey, that side of the road is long gone! If you will have to go to the lair of the Cyclops, the easiest way is to take the route near the sleeping giants!"

"What do you mean close? Since when?" Soo Young interjects.

"Since I was a child, probably when you were busy sleeping in your bed." Hanabi answers in a sarcastic manner. This earns a glare from the blue haired girl who crosses her arms as she sits silently on her chair, sulking. Hanabi chuckled at her childishness and turns to Mi Young, "I'll make the map for you."

The tailor starts scribbling on the back of the paper to show Mi Young and Se Heon the way towards the lair of the Cyclops.

After doing so, she handed the paper back to Mi Young who instantly looked at it.

This time, the map looks like a real map.

"As expected from a tailor." Se Heon whispers as he admires the well written map in Mi Young's hands.

"Thank you." Hanabi says in gratitude. She even curtsied at Se Heon who laughs at her antics. Mi Young also chuckles at her goofiness.

"I may not be good at drawing but at least I'm good with medicine." Soo Young suddenly says out of nowhere. This caused the others to look at her in unison before they started laughing once more.

"Remember to stay silent when you're in the place where the giants are sleeping!" Mi Young and Se Heon heard Hanabi shout while the other two started walking in the opposite direction.

It was already morning but the sun hadn't fully risen yet. The other two girls went towards the path that led to Crane Village to gather some blue lotus while Se Heon and Mi Young went to get some violet lamp grass from the lair of the Cyclops.

But before finally leaving the hut where the Basilisk Dragon is resting, Mi Young walked towards the beast and touched its forehead with her own.

"Please wait for me. I promise I will do anything I can to heal you, I won't let you die." Mi Young whispers. The beast might have her eyes closed but Mi Young knows that the Basilisk Dragon heard her.

When she parted from the savage beast, there was a small teardrop from the black haired girl that landed on the beast's scales. Mi Young quickly wiped away her tears so no one could see her soft side and then she exhales. If Se Heon noticed, he kept silent.

They both started walking away from the swamp until the resting body of the huge savage beast cannot be seen anymore.

Mi Young and Se Heon walked further into the forest and towards the rocky mountain.

"Where are we already?" Se Heon asks. He wipes the sweat forming on his forehead as he looks on the horizon below them. He saw the forest where they came from and realized how big and vast it was.

Mi Young looked at where Se Heon was looking and she had the same thoughts running inside her head.

They followed the map Hanabi drew for them and they managed to walk a long way from the hut and climb on the rocky mountain nearby. Unlike the forest which has a cool surrounding because of the tall trees, the rocky mountain which they are currently at has fewer plants. Everywhere around them is hot and the air is humid which is why both students are sweating profusely.

The black haired girl looks at the map she is currently holding and sees that they were near the place where Hanabi said that giants are sleeping.

"If we follow this path right over here, in less than ten minutes we will probably reach the place where giants are sleeping according to Hanabi." Mi Young answers while pointing at the small path straight from them.

Se Heon once again wipes the sweat on his forehead before he nods at Mi Young. "Good. Let's go then. What should we look out for so we can know if we're already at that place?"

"The map has a waterfall on it, so maybe that's the indication." Mi Young says.

"A waterfall? In this hot and dry mountain?" Se Heon asks.

"Trust me, I find it weird as well."

Se Heon nodded at Mi Young before they started walking using the path towards the waterfalls.

Just like what the black haired girl said, they indeed reached the place in less than ten minutes.

But what shocked them more is the fact that there is a body of water somewhere in the rocky and dry mountain. They were still at the path but they could already hear the sound of water running from the waterfalls ahead.

"Sh*t. Now I'm thirsty." Se Heon whispers when he hears the water.

Mi Young gulps down a lump of her saliva as she also feels the dryness in her throat.

They were walking for six hours straight and the heat from the sun is killing them both already. Mi Young and Se Heon walked faster as they near the waterfalls, the thought of drinking the cool water clouding their minds that they didn't even notice a pair of eyes watching them.

When they saw the huge falls, Se Heon immediately ran towards the nearest part of the water in front of them, Mi Young following right behind him.

They washed their faces and drank lots of water, Se Heon even dank his head on the river to let it cool.

"That was good." The boy says with a sigh. Mi Young couldn't agree even more as she silently nodded her head at Se Heon.

They both stopped and sat on the huge rocks near the falls, relaxing and letting their feet soaked in the cool water.

"I never imagined such a place like this would exist in the middle of that rocky mountain." Mi Young starts as she stares at the huge falls ahead of them. Se Heon's answer was a small hum as he was already laying down the wet rock, too tired to move a muscle.

Mi Young looks at where Se Heon was laying down and she chuckles when she sees the boy was already half asleep.

The young girl was also about to lay down on the rock where she was resting when she heard something move behind them. Mi Young immediately stood up to check where the sound was coming from and saw the bush shaking a little.

She looks at her companion who has his eyes fully closed already. Thinking that it wasn't a big deal and maybe she was just hearing things, Mi Young slowly approaches the bush behind them.

"Hello?" She whispers.

Mi Young checks Se Heon again and sees that he was still sleeping on the rock. She glances at the bush and while she is nearing it, a white rabbit suddenly appears from behind, making Mi young jump to her feet.

"Sh*t! You scared me." She says as she looks at the rabbit. The small creature only blinked at her twice before it ran away from her, looking scared. Mi Young thinks it was because the rabbit wasn't used to humans.

Mi Young stands up to her feet and walks back towards Se Heon.

She kicks him softly on his side to wake him up.

"Hey. Se Heon, let's go. We need to reach the lair of the Cyclops before sunset so we can get those violet lamp grass Medusa needs." Mi Young sighs as she kicks Se Heon one more time.

The boy groans before he rubs his eyes to make the sleepiness go away. "I'm up."

When the boy finally sat up, Mi Young went back to fetch her belongings. She opens the canister she got from Soo Young and went towards the river to fill it up,

She hears Se Heon say something behind her but she ignores him.

"There's something behind that bush." Se Heon warns. Mi Young hears him this time. But knowing what it was already, she ignores him once more. "Hey! There's something behind that bush!"

"That's just a rabbit. I saw it earlier." Mi Young answers while still fetching some water. Se Heon stopped talking and Mi Young thinks that the boy finally realized what was behind the bush.

However, when Mi Young turns around to tell Se Heon they're good to go, she sees him standing still while facing the bushes behind them, his facial expression telling Mi Young that something was wrong.

Mi Young followed the boy's line of sight and what she saw made her stop in her tracks as well.

"Please tell me you're not seeing a rabbit." Se Heon whispers while they both eye the giant spider in front of them.

Mi Young wishes it was still the rabbit from earlier.