Who exactly triggered the first unique quest has long been buried in the river of time, impossible to verify. What drives all players mad are the rewards of unique quests—be it equipment, weapons, skills, or the unlocking of a major historical event on the Forgotten Continent. In short, all these rewards are things that no one else possesses.

And the unique quest triggered by Ethan Carter in the beginner village is an exceptionally rare one that countless people envy.

All the information flowed like water, slowly filtering through William Smith's mind. Although this quest was hyped up in later generations, Ethan Carter himself never directly explained the matter. But from Ethan Carter's various actions in the beginner village, William Smith roughly guessed the trigger conditions for this quest.

"Ethan Carter entered 'Skyrealm' about a year later, so let me be the one to trigger this rare unique quest first," William Smith thought to himself. "As for you, 'Wall Against the Heavens'—Ethan Carter, I'll come back to repay this favor in a year."

Avoiding the surging crowds of leveling players, William Smith walked alone in the opposite direction, heading to the deepest part of the beginner village. As he took in the scenery, William Smith walked along, clicking his tongue in admiration.

Truly worthy of being a top-tier masterpiece, this game can accommodate up to 10 billion people online at once. Just the design of a single beginner village already shows its extraordinary quality. The charm of a Jiangnan water town flows gently from the white walls and blue bricks, and the flying eaves of the rooftops. William Smith strolled across an ancient, elegant arch bridge. Below the bridge, a few houses sat together, and in front of the largest house, a flag fluttered on a pole, with the word "Forge" written in black on white cloth.

This was the blacksmith shop of the beginner village, also the place for mining, smelting, and forging trainers. But since 'Skyrealm' had just launched, the vast majority of players were focused on leveling up, so this place was largely deserted.

Yet even in the early days of the game, with tens of millions of players flooding in, even the most deserted places would eventually have someone wander by. Before William Smith even stepped into the blacksmith shop, he could faintly hear voices from inside.

William Smith entered and saw a player, also dressed in beginner's white cloth gear and carrying a wooden bow, pouring out his heart to the visibly impatient forging master.

Getting closer, he heard the ranger player speak devoutly, gazing at the forging trainer: "Respected Mr. Porter, you are so grand and extraordinary. Your wild black hair is like unyielding black iron, your skin, darkened by the forge, is like a dust-covered gem, and your mighty figure makes countless maidens swoon. Ah! Respected Mr. Porter. You are like a beacon in the night, so I no longer wander lost in the darkness."

A black line appeared simultaneously on the faces of both the forging trainer and William Smith. William Smith couldn't help but admire this fellow—he really was something else.

"Respected Mr. Porter, can you raise my forging skill to advanced?" This one sentence from the ranger nearly floored William Smith.

Wearing the title of beginner forging trainer, Uncle Porter glanced at the ranger and said expressionlessly, "If you want to advance to an advanced blacksmith, please first complete the intermediate blacksmith promotion quest. Also, your forging proficiency must reach 225 points. You can go to the human capital, Soreidal, to take the advanced blacksmith promotion quest."

After speaking, Uncle Porter didn't spare the ranger another glance, turning to swing his hammer, "ding ding dang" as he started forging.

The ranger left, dejected, muttering, "I thought I could get a unique quest and some rare equipment or skill! Sigh, all for nothing."

Looking up, the ranger saw William Smith. As he passed by, he patted William Smith on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Bro, you've got guts. No guild, no clan, and you're playing a shield-armored class solo? Take my advice—either quickly find a guild, or be ready to delete your character and start over in three months. Shield-armored classes have it tough!"

William Smith chuckled inwardly but put on a grateful face. "Thank you, big bro. I joined the game planning to be a life-skills player, so I picked shield-armor for better survivability!"

"That's true. See you around! But in the early game, the hills are crawling with people—life-skills players have it rough! See you." The ranger waved with what he thought was a suave gesture and walked out of the village with his bow.

Watching the ranger's somewhat comical figure, William Smith shook his head with a smile, then walked up to the forging trainer Uncle Porter and said with a smile, "Uncle Porter, I'm here to learn mining, smelting, and forging. Please teach me."

"Ding dong, player Lucas Smith has learned Mining (Beginner), Smelting (Beginner), and Forging (Beginner)."

Opening the life skills tab, William Smith looked at the three new skills and smiled slightly. He glanced around to make sure no one was nearby.

Then, William Smith quietly stepped forward, lowered his head respectfully, and bowed in disciple's salute: "May I ask, Uncle Porter, do you know what materials are needed to forge a bronze-quality shield?"

Upon hearing this, a ripple finally appeared on Uncle Porter's previously expressionless face...

Chapter 6: Tempered a Thousand Times to Become Steel, Forged Ten Thousand Times to Become a Shield