But, how should I level up? William Smith looked over his own all-white gear, with only the lonely skill "Heroic Strike" in his skill bar. This skill, notorious as the most painful for warriors to level with, dealt a pitiful extra 3 points of damage, and its attack frequency depended on weapon speed—while the wooden sword in his hand had an attack speed of once every 2.8 seconds.

Tragic! Shield-armored warriors really can't survive without the support of a major guild or a financial group!

William Smith searched his mind for all the information about shield-armored warriors from that period twenty years later, only to find it truly difficult to locate any suitable leveling methods for shield-armored warriors.

Hmm! A flash of inspiration streaked through William Smith's mind, and a memory about a shield-armored warrior surfaced.

A look of excitement appeared on William Smith's face. That's right! How could I have forgotten! That story of the one called the most solitary bulwark, walking on the edge of "Skyrealm"...

Chapter 5: Legend! The Rare Unique Quest

With twenty years of experience and memories from the future, William Smith personally understood the impact "Skyrealm" had on the entire Interstellar Alliance after its launch. This virtual space, existing as a second world, spread at an astonishing speed to every stratum of the three major planets in just two short decades.

This is no longer a game in the traditional sense; it has become an iconic symbol in people's lives, and is gradually becoming another oasis beyond the three major planets. — "Huaxia Daily"

This was the opening headline of the game section in "Huaxia Daily" of Huaxia Nation in the near future. When this comment was first published, it was met with ridicule and disdain by countless people, but once again, reality proved the authority and foresight of "Huaxia Daily" as the number one newspaper among the three major planets.

In just one year, when the online player count of "Skyrealm" grew from 800 million to 1.8 billion, countless families and financial groups finally realized the value of this epoch-making online game. Tens of thousands of guilds and studios were established and flooded into "Skyrealm," directly resulting in the later situation of contending powers, factional strife, and intricate complexity within the game.

This is also why, after entering the game, William Smith did not contact those few friends from "Eternal Radiance." In his memories of the future, Emma Carter, Elder, and Hunter Carter not only became major powers in "Skyrealm," but after their identities were revealed, it turned out that all three were heirs to some of the top families and financial groups in the Interstellar Alliance.

Even though William Smith did fairly well in his previous life—owning several mansions, a dozen sports cars, and a bank balance in the seven figures—compared to the three of them, it was like the difference between clouds and mud, utterly incomparable.

In a game that involves so many interests, approaching them could trigger unpredictable reactions. Even with William Smith's world-weary soul, he could not foresee what consequences might arise. This was completely at odds with his original intention of entering the game to simply enjoy its fun, so it was better not to meet at all.

Among a thousand people, there might be one with outstanding talent; among ten thousand, one exceptional elite; among a hundred thousand, a so-called genius may be born.

For "Skyrealm," which eventually had over two billion online players, the famed geniuses who shook the continent were as numerous as the stars in the sky, numbering in the thousands. Yet, after the sands of time, only a handful stood at the pinnacle of "Skyrealm" after twenty years.

Before William Smith was reborn, there were only four players in "Skyrealm" who reached level 120 and successfully completed the fourth class advancement. Out of two billion players, only 46 passed the fourth class advancement trial. Among the six main classes and eighteen subclass branches, some classes had fewer than three people achieve the fourth advancement.

As for the shield-armored warrior class, only one person ever passed the fourth class advancement—the man who stood at the very peak of all shield-armored warriors in "Skyrealm," known as the most solitary imperial bulwark, the "Wall Against the Heavens"—Ethan Carter.

Countless videos showed this solitary warrior using his shield armor to withstand the firepower of half the Fallen Undead Legion, astonishing countless players. The story of this man's rise was later uncovered: it all began when he triggered a unique quest in the novice village.

One of the greatest charms of "Skyrealm" lies in its fairness, balance, and randomness.

Fairness is in its equal treatment of all players; balance is that, without the proper aptitude, even if you wear the best gear, you still can't touch the hem of a true expert; randomness is most evident in the quest and equipment systems of "Skyrealm."

The quest system in "Skyrealm" is extremely diverse. There are ordinary quests most commonly received during leveling; class and profession quests issued by class and profession trainers; reputation quests from various races; player-posted quests and system quests in the mercenary camp; battlefield missions and garrison quests, and so on.

These quests share a common trait: all players can receive them. But "Skyrealm" also has another type of quest, which truly embodies its randomness—these are collectively known as unique quests.