Leaving the cave

In another part of the pocket realm world, a group of several boys, clad in red robes, could be seen walking together.

"Does the tracking artifact show his location yet?" one of the boys asked.

The boy in the front of the group sent his divine sense into the artifact, and shook his head soon after.

"Not yet. He must have entered a trial that is hiding his location temporarily. It matters not, he'll eventually come out. For now, let's continue to search for our own opportunities. Our sect has tasked us with finding out as much as we can about this pocket realm, and that is just as important as the other matter. We have more than a month to find him."

The other boys all nodded their heads and continued to move forward quickly. Jason put away the item in his hands, while a large smile crept up on his face.

…

John felt his body twist and turn, before he suddenly found himself back in the cave with the door of light.

"John! You're finally back!"

John turned around to see Miko hurriedly stand up and run over to him.

"Miko? How long have you been waiting here?" John asked.

"Almost two weeks. What took you so long in there?"

John raised his eyebrows in surprise as he stared at Miko.

'Two weeks? He waited for me for two weeks, despite knowing that there are other opportunities out there.' John was quite moved by Miko's actions. Despite the overwhelming allure of treasures and opportunities in this world, Miko still waited for John to come out.

"You didn't have to wait, but thanks. And I was stuck in a trial that entire time. Sorry I couldn't come out sooner." John responded.

"A trial for an entire month? That must have been a hard trial. What was it about?" Miko asked curiously.

"A lightning trial," John responded quickly.

"Lightning trial? But you don't cultivate lightning skills do you?" Miko asked in confusion. John winked at Miko with a smile on his face, but didn't respond.

"Ah I see. Did you get something good from the trial?"

"Sure did, but I can't tell you what it is, not yet at least, even I don't know what it truly is yet" responded John. "What about you, did you get anything good inside?"

Miko nodded his head in happiness, while a pure white sword suddenly appeared in his hands. John stared at the sword, and the more he stared, the more surprised he became. Not only could he tell that the sword was at least at the Core Formation grade, but it also emanated a strange aura that John had never felt from a weapon before.

"What is this sword?"

"Here, grab it and see for yourself," Miko responded as he handed the sword over to John.

John grabbed the hilt of the sword, and quickly dropped it while he clutched his head, which was throbbing like he had a headache.

"Ah, what the hell was that?" John asked, unprepared for the sudden assault his soul felt when he grabbed the sword.

Miko quickly picked up the sword and glanced at John curiously.

"What happened?"

"My soul suddenly started feeling like there were nails being driven into it. What the hell is that sword, and why aren't you feeling anything?" John asked while trying to shake off the feeling.

"Hmm, strange. All I know is that when I touch this sword, it sends a strong soul wave towards me, which allows me to resonate with it and unleash my soul attacks at an even stronger level. I guess what you're feeling is that soul wave, but I didn't think it would have such a big affect on you." Miko responded, clarifying the situation to John.

John finally understood what had happened. "Miko, you have to remember that no one has a soul as strong as yours, and so what is manageable to you isn't to others. But it's alright, no damage to my soul was done. Seems like you found yourself quite a terrifying weapon."

Miko smiled and nodded while stroking the blade of his sword. John could tell that Miko had quickly become entranced by the sword, and he didn't blame him. It was a weapon perfectly suited for him.

Just as the two were talking, a small sound filled the cave, and John and Miko turned around to see the door of light grow smaller and smaller until it disappeared entirely.

"Seems like we won't be able to get anything else from this trial," John said as he stared at the cave wall. Although he wanted to see what the other trials held, he didn't care too much. The other trials that appeared for him were based on the other elements, and John had no affinity with any of those.

"Seems like it," responded Miko, also somewhat disappointed.

"Let's head out and search for other opportunities. If this cave showed us anything, its that amazing rewards are available as long as we can grasp them."

John and Miko started walking towards the caves exit. While walking, John inspected his body to look at the runes more closely, but was surprised to find that the runes that were on body were gone.

'Hmm? Maybe they only show up when I'm cultivating the Celestial Lightning Script or using lightning?'

After leaving the cave, John and Miko picked a direction and started walking. After walking through the mountain range for some time, John suddenly paused as an expansive swamp as far as the eye could see appeared in front of the two of them.