I initially planned for the pillar to execute its skill and form a big shield around my forces. My biggest concern was to lose too much over there and that would threaten MIT campus next.

But when that pillar extended towards the sky and was stopped by the already existing shield, that shield suddenly trembled as if it was getting an earthquake.

That trembling came as a surprise. Yet what happened next was more shocking. The pillar didn’t stop there as it extended furthermore upwards as if there was nothing in this world to stop it.

And as it kept rising up, a big hole started to appear, showing the inner gap in the shield’s two layers.

This was fine so far. After all, I was well aware of the presence of that gap. Yet when it ascended beyond my sight, I felt it emitting a strange wave of heat.

It felt like it was burning or getting baptised by fire somewhere. I didn’t let go of it, and then a weird message popped up.

You activated the Thundering Might skill of your pillar. The skill has already met a similar one with the same authority of the caster like you. You have a decision here to make

You can either ignore the old shield and focus entirely on forming a new one, or you can merge the two skills together, fighting for dominance over the final shield

The last one standing will be the owner if you decided to fight for the ownership of the final shield

It’s your choice

I blinked as I reread these messages more than thrice. Was it true? Did I have a chance to take control over that annoying shield?

“I agree to fight!” even before fully realising what was going on here, I instantly agreed. I was afraid such a chance might slip by and would miss a valuable and rare opportunity to overcome that shield.

Damn! If I could get control over this shield then nothing could stop me here. I waited impatiently for the system to give me the conditions of this battle.

Would it be a battle of fists or wits? Or would it be a battle or riches? I couldn’t guess what was going to happen, yet I was so welcoming.

I never dreamt of having such an opportunity, and I was so determined to take full advantage of it.

This damn shield… Just wait, I’d take full control over you and turn this fight upside down for my good.

The battlefield arena between you and your opponent is set

You can access it now in five… Four… Three… Two… One

Please pass through the gate and get to the battlefield arena

A gigantic portal appeared next in front of me. Its size was so immensely huge, enough to encompass my entire chariot within.

“Is it allowed for me to bring forth my chariot?” I muttered to myself before deciding to give it a try. The system never did anything out of coincidence. And the size of this portal weirdly matched the chariot’s huge size.

Just as I decided, I led my chariot to pass through the portal. It felt like getting immersed in deep cold water. And just before a gush of bright light blindfolded my eyes, I got to see these row of messages:

You can bring anything non-living inside the battlefield arena

All your living subordinates are going to be left behind

You can’t use any help from any living person, god, or subordinate in there

Welcome to the battlefield arena

The rules are simple: as the challenger, you have to find your opponent and kill him within the time limit given

The time inside the battlefield arena works in separation from the outside world. So the time spent here isn’t equal to the time spent outside

If you fail to kill your opponent within the time limit, you will lose the battle. The final shield will belong to him. The pillar ownership will return to him. You’ll lose half of everything you got in your inventory and in your account. Even your class won’t be spared

You can’t renege on the challenge. Either you kill and win or be defeated and lose

Death in the arena isn’t real. You or your opponent will live after this with the consequences of such challenge

Winning will grant you the ownership of the final shield

Winning will grant you one half of the opponent inventory and account belongings

Winning will grant you a higher ownership rank for your pillar

Good luck. You’ll get information about your opponent once reaching there

I looked up at all these messages in a daze before the bright light blinded me. The blindness continued for a few minutes before everything cleared and I could see that arena.

“F*ck! What the heck is that?!!”

Yet unlike what I expected, this arena was something else. I looked for something similar to a rounded big and spacious arena, enough for two strong contenders to compete against each other.

But what I saw in front of me was something else. A world! An entire big and open green world of forests.

I was on top of my chariot, standing on a very high point in the sky. I could see almost for tens of miles around, yet it felt like I couldn’t see enough.

“This… Is this another world or what?” I looked around again in doubt, trying to find a speck of hope in the middle of all this greenery.

Yet I couldn’t spot any battlefield arena at all. What? Don’t tell me the arena was this entire world!! That couldn’t be true!

Welcome to the Lucrative world but the message I received cleared all the doubts I had.

It was a real different world, and it seemed I had to fight against my opponent in such a colossal wide place.

I looked again around and one thought only kept flashing in my mind, emitting gloomy black light in my head. Wasn’t that challenge all about finding him and killing that bastard?