<Skill, [Splitting Gale], activating>

A magic circle formed on the ground, and from it arose a raging cyclone of violent thunder, rain, and wind. Pelts of thunder struck the ground, producing charred craters in the ground. It was almost misty, a white haze filling the battlefield.

“Die you bastard!” A black-haired man yelled. With his shout a burst of lightning sprouted, targeting a nearby figure.

A long-haired man dressed in a stylish black robe, a purple streak running down his hair. He held a sabre in his hand, pointing it upward. It looked like the weapon of a fallen angel, black feathers hanging off its ebony hilt, and its blade dyed a deep gunmetal.

The cyclone created by the black-haired man raged toward him, ravaging everything in its path. Instead of dodging, the long-haired man raised his sabre, a confident smirk on his face.

Then he cut, bringing his sabre down upon the cyclone as an ear-splitting sound rung through the air. With his attack a brilliant white light flashed and a shockwave spread through the entire room.

As the light died down, the cyclone was no longer anywhere in sight. There the long-haired man stood, taking on a victorious pose, a murderous glint in his eyes. He raised his sword once more, aiming it toward the black-haired man.

Damn it! The black-haired cursed, his eyes narrowing as he brought his palms forward.

<Skill, [Myriad Blades], activating>

Hundreds of dozens of spectral swords appeared behind him, and with a single flick of his fingers, they flew toward the long-haired man.

Clack, clack, clack.

At the barrage, the long-haired man’s grin grew larger, and he raised his sabre forward, quickly making work of the incoming swords. More and more spectral blades flew toward his and the man dodged with a single swift side-step. He pointed his blade to the air before stabbing into the ground as mana began to rage around his body.

Whoosh!

The long-haired man disappeared, while a torrent of mana burst where he once stood. Then a sudden ping sounded next to the black-haired man.

Red flashed in front of the black-haired man's eyes, and he looked down. There, he could see a blade impaled in his chest, blood squirting out. As he turned his head, he could see the long-haired man standing behind him, a cocky smile on his face.

“I’ll die if you do first, number 2.” He spoke. The long-haired man pulled his sabre from out of the trench coat wearing man’s chest, a notification appearing in front of him.

<Notice: Player [Heartstealingthief] has won the duel>

“Damn it!” Ciel cursed. He leaned back in his chair, the faint light from his computer monitor illuminating his face in the otherwise pitch-black room.

Fuah. He took in a deep breath, feeling his tensed muscles and strained arm. Closing his bleary eyes, tired from staring at a screen for 40 hours straight, he reflected on everything that brought him to this moment. A moment where he would care this much about a dumb game to bring harm to his own body and wellbeing playing it. If he from 7 years ago could see him now, he had no doubt that he would slap Ciel in the face for being such a fool.

Too bad. Ciel chuckled. He couldn’t help but feel entertained by what he had just experienced. It had been the, what? 596th time he had challenged Heartstealingthief to a duel, and the 325th loss he had faced. It had to be now, of all times.

Those moments playing were exhilarating, one of the few things that filled up this unnecessarily large room. It was a shame that he lost, but it was time to call it a night anyway. Or was it a day already?

Ping!

Ciel heard a notification from his headphones and opened his eyes, seeing that Heartstealingthief had sent him a message.

[Heartstealingthief]: What were you thinking challenging me? You were going to lose anyways.

Reading the message, he could feel the veins popping out of his head. His rival was as annoying as always, not having changed a bit since he first met him 6 years ago.

[Boredservant]: …

[Heartstealingthief]: Don’t be so glum. You did well; I mean as well as the eternal number 2 could do ;)

Reading his rival’s next message, Ciel’s annoyance only grew larger.

[Boredservant]: -_-

[Boredservant]: I hope you get hit by a truck.

[Heartstealingthief]: I could say the same for you :)

[Heartstealingthief]: As per our agreement, I get first dibs on the next floor, right?

[Boredservant]: F*** ***

Ciel wrote in pure rage. He used asterisks in place of the other, more unpleasant characters, so the system wouldn’t block his message, but he was this close to plainly cursing.

[Heartstealingthief]: HAHAHA, I couldn’t imagine being you right now.

[Heartstealingthief]: You were so close to being the first person to visit the final floor.

[Boredservant]: <Your message has been redacted>

[Boredservant]: <Your message has been redacted>

[Boredservant]: sjbvesinjvbunaonveoibboisiobnjmkomofhtcxdrz

Salt rubbed in his wound. Ciel ended up doing what he had been avoiding for this entire chat log. Of course, the system immediately rejected it, leading him to spam characters in retaliation.

To reiterate, it was ridiculous he would get this worked up over a game. Him caring at all was itself odd, and for a game of all things. To calm himself down, he turned his attention over to the shelf near his desk, barely making out a box that was sitting there.

Tower of Pandora. This game that had accompanied him for the last 7 years of his life, from the start of his high-school years, all the way to the end of his university days.

He sat there staring at the box of the game someone gave him so many years ago. In the beginning, it had sat there in that exact spot, gathering dust. Untouched for months on end, until Ciel finally tried it. Instant addiction. Those were the two words that best described what happened afterwards.

He couldn’t think of a specific reason as to why.

It was more like it just clicked for him. The moment he stepped foot into that world, it was as if he had found a place to belong, like returning to a home he had never been to.

He didn’t like to brag, but he was quite good at it as well. After years of conquering labyrinths, leading raids, defeating bosses, competing in duels, and uncovering the many hidden secrets of the game, he had gone all the way up to second place.

Especially that last one.

He did a lot of that.

A treasure hunter. Upon his first discovery of an ancient relic hidden amid the 39th floor, Ciel had got hooked on the concept of treasure hunting. In hindsight, maybe that was why he was so addicted, but that aside.

In his search for more information about the game’s world and lore, he encountered entire hidden dungeons, and even societies, filled with many of the game’s most valuable and powerful loot.

Those adventures and the glory that came from them, every single moment in the game was exhilarating and adrenaline pumping. Even when he had to deal with his less than pleasant rival, he was always having fun.

[Heartstealingthief]: XD, don’t mind if I do then.

[Heartstealingthief]: Farewell then, my dear number 2.

Tch. Ok, maybe he wasn’t always having fun. At this last message, Ciel didn’t feel a need to reply. In his quest to become the number one player in Tower of Pandora, he encountered a large immovable wall. Rank 1, the greatest player in the whole game, the person that drove him crazier than anyone else in the entire world, “Heartstealingthief”.

He first gained his fame for clearing the previously thought to be unbeatable, 50th floor, solo. For this achievement, the community gave Heartstealingthief the nickname “Demon King” from the sheer power he showed in the floor replays.

His rival had been at every corner he turned, and in this case, he was literally standing in a corner that Ciel turned. Would it have been safe to say he had stolen every item and title he had ever wanted? Yeah, it was. Terrible naming sense aside, Heartstealingthief was the real deal when it came to skills at the game, and in Ciel’s opinion, in pissing him off.

He had spent an entire day cooped up in his room in an attempt to speedrun the 99th floor. He needed to do this to gain the qualifications to challenge the final floor and finally beat the tower, once and for all. Low and behold, as he reached the 99th floor gate, the final barrier between him and the final floor, he met a familiar face.

It seemed like Heartstealingthief had the same thought as him and wanted to be the first to clear the tower. After some bickering, the two had decided to settle it in a duel. Whoever won would get to be the first person to clear the tower.

Would it have been safe to say that his rival had stolen every item and title he had ever wanted?

Yeah, it was. There was no other way to put it.

[Boredservant]: Hurry up.

[Heartstealingthief]: You’re making me want to be very slow all the sudden.

[Boredservant]: If you’re not going, I will.

[Heartstealingthief]: No need to be so impatient. I mean, I already know this since you play this game after all, but you aren’t very popular with girls, are you?

[Boredservant]: Shut up.

[Boredservant]: 3

[Heartstealingthief]: >_<

[Boredservant]: 2

[Heartstealingthief]: Alright, for real this time.

Ciel leaned back, his eyes still focused on the screen as he watched his rival’s character slowly make its way over to the gate.

This is it, huh?

Ciel thought to himself as he watched Heartstealingthief’s avatar disappear.

7 years of his life.

While those 7 years weren’t specifically dedicated to clearing the tower, it was an objective that he had stored somewhere among the shelves of his mind. He was both glad and upset at the same time. It wasn’t as if the tower being cleared would make him stop playing, it was just a shame he wouldn’t be the one clearing it.

His eyes glazed over as he stared at the blank monitor screen, the sensation of boredom clawing its way into his heart. A pang of pain then hit him, as his eyes returned to normal. I need to take a break for today, or I’m going to go insane.

He clicked the switch to turn off his screen, and placed his hands on his arm rests. As he stood up, eyes pointed toward a door, Ciel’s screen turned back on, displaying static.

Huh?

A bright white light filled up his room, blinding him. He felt his senses start to get weak, his body falling asleep. Before it did, though, he could’ve sworn he heard a familiar mechanical voice ringing in his ears, the voice of the tower.

Ping!

<The trial has begun>

<Story Theme: What it takes to be broken>