One must think clearly of what to say, before saying

Whoosh!

As Anon moved atop the golden platform, his figure became a blur as he sped into the forest. This golden platform served as a pathway, designed to guide one through the dense woods.

Inside, the trees were scarce but towering, each one seemingly striving to pierce the blue heavens above.

More strikingly, the leaves emitted a faint bloody hue that tinted the atmosphere.

From a distance, the forest looked like any other, but once inside its boundaries, Anon began to notice something amiss.

A blood-red mist gradually clouded his vision, so without him even realizing it, Seth, Bolan, and the other geniuses all disappeared from his perception. 

'Oh?' Anon smiled.

Some distance away, a tree branch leaned over, its tip extending onto the platform before slowly morphing into a diminutive humanoid figure.

It had dark skin, short black hair, and amber-gold eyes, bearing a resemblance to Anon himself—yet it wept crimson tears while mumbling incoherent words.

"M-Mo..."

As Anon made his way over, the boy's words became slightly more understandable. So, from thirty meters away, Anon heard...

"M-Mother...?"

Thirty meters was nothing; Anon appeared before the boy with an endearing smile as he stooped down to meet him.

He said with an amused tone, "Little kid, why are you so sad?"

"Mo-Mother is dead..." 

As he said this, the boy couldn't hold back any longer. He broke into even more bloody tears, crimson fluid trickling from his nostrils.

"Pitiful." Anon sighed, saying, "This type of illusion is flimsy and weak."

Rising to his feet, Anon walked past the kid, lost in his own thoughts.

As for the kid, its body exploded into a bloody mist, with Anon caring not, instead pondering inwardly, 'Is it due to my second world mind?'

'This technology is probably only suitable for testing first world entities, hence it's unable to extract anything noteworthy from my mind in particular.' Anon deduced, almost fully certain.

'I was just musing over something related to my dead mother, and an illusion based on that suddenly appeared before me. Hmm, if I had a first world mind, would my entire memories be used as a base to formulate an illusion?'

'Illusion?'

Shaking his head, a light shone on Anon's eyes, 'No, no, there are too many individuals who would not allow such technology to be in the hands of the instructors and deans of a mere military academy.'

'For one, father would never risk any possibility of my identity being exposed. More than that, this is his city, and this is his military academy, he has already manipulated practically every string.'

Anon continued trotting forward atop the golden platform, making his way through the forest and encountering more illusions.

'These aren't illusions in the first place.'

The final cog clicked in his mind as he theorized, 'Whether it's the crimson mist or something else, there is a force affecting the spirit, causing one to suffer from hallucinations created by their own mind.'

'And because my mind is in the second world, the effect this force has on it is quite feeble, making the hallucinations rather fickle too.'

"Haha!" Anon chortled a little before pieces of the platform under his foot sunk under the pressure that he exerted.

Upon fully understanding what was taking place here, he was no longer interested.

The hallucinations were already weak, and now that he figured it out, they were even more useless than before.

Before long, he made his way through the forest, leading him to an upward ascent via the golden platform. This platform was forged on a mountain, so traversing this pathway inevitably led to an ascendency to the skies.

Though it was imperceivable in the beginning, as he ascended to the top of the mountain, his speed of movement slowly decreased.

And yet, it was nowhere near enough of an obstacle to greatly affect anything.

The mountain top was a flat and open field spreading dozens of meters where Seth was leisurely sprawled, staring into the cloudless blue skies in a daze.

His ears suddenly perked up, causing a smile to etch itself onto his face as he voiced out, "You move quickly."

"Not as quick as you." Anon frowningly replied.

"Well, shouldn't that be expected?" Seth's smile broadened, "You were never as fast as me, as strong as me, as good as me."

As these words fell, an uncomfortable silence permeated the air.

"Is that so..." Anon replied as his thoughts churned.

'Seth doesn't usually speak with this level of arrogance.' Anon thought, 'Are we being observed?'

'Well, that makes sense. The entirety of the military academy is a false world crafted by technology, so all our actions, our words, must be made and spoken aloud after being properly thought of.'

There were several towers in the center of the Core district.

'Each of them are pieces of technology that do not originate from earth.'

Anon grinned, saying aloud, "In our childhood, we were evenly matched, and then your family began nurturing you, yet you still dare speak so arrogantly when I've caught up to you by this much?"

Anon inwardly thought, 'Like the rooms within the camp of ten thousand, these towers hold within false words that can be shaped into anything really.

'And with a higher level of technology than in the rooms from military zone #91, the instructors and the dean have greater surveillance over everything.'

Outwardly, he said, "In the military academy, your family can't help you, so let me see how you remain in front."

Hearing this, Seth chuckled, confidence oozing from his body.

Whilst Anon's words baited those who were interested in their relationship.

Those who would go so far as to listen and observe them in secret would be misled by words that hinted at a childhood relationship between the orphan, and the kid from a greater family.

Instead, Seth's ears grasped at a meaning only he could understand.

Although what Anon said aloud entered Seth's ears, what he truly heard was this, "Now that you can't use those magic rituals, let me see if you're talented enough to stay in front. Do you think that you can maneuver through the second world as quickly as myself?"

"Do you think you'll reach the third world before me?"

To this, Seth smilingly replied, "I admit, we were evenly matched. And even now, you're quite good with the staff, but external sources were forever secondary in my mind. Remember this, what you can do, and at the rate which you can do it, I can do it ten times better, a hundred times faster."

He said this dismissingly, not taking Anon's verbally clear nor subtly hidden threats seriously.

Anon was also capable of hearing what he said aloud, and simultaneously understanding his hidden meanings.

Hidden meaning... why he mentioned Anon's ability with the staff.

More than commending Anon's staff skills, he was reminding Anon that mastery over something was only possible with the help of oneself, and that external help was useless.

After all, Anon also experienced this.

Although Seth had reached the stage of true mastery, even proclaiming he was above that, Anon could only rely on himself to absorb Seth's teachings.

There were no short cuts.

As of now, Anon had yet to achieve mastery over the staff.

It had been months...

Taking him months to achieve mastery alone, true mastery may very well take him years.

And yet, Seth had reached the stage of true mastery, even proclaiming that he was above that.

A stage beyond true mastery?

To reach such a level, who knows how long that would take Anon.

This was the single greatest proof that for Seth, magic rituals were just secondary, and that his talent was not something easily comprehensible.

How could the devil be so simple?

Reliant on external help?

This is a devil with intentions unknown, evil.