First, if William Smith trusts his memory, this demonic wild boar should be a level 7 demon monster in the northwest Burning Flame Valley of the beginner village. Alright! Level 7. Although William Smith is currently only just over level 1 with a little more than 10% experience, the level gap isn’t as huge as he imagined.

But here comes another problem: this demonic wild boar isn’t just an ordinary monster, nor is it some rare elite or silver-winged elite or anything like that. It’s a boss monster...

Yes! A boss monster!!!

William Smith cursed inwardly. He could imagine the scene in his previous life when the level 9 Ethan Carter carried the ‘Sealed Bramble Shield’, fought his way into the depths of Burning Flame Valley with great difficulty, and was left speechless when he saw the demonic wild boar’s stats.

Compared to the desolation Ethan Carter felt in his previous life when the truth was revealed, William Smith’s current situation isn’t much better. He knows exactly what kind of monster he’s about to face, but at this very moment, in these circumstances, with his blank-slate equipment and his level 1 noob status, William Smith can only feel like crying without tears.

How can anyone bear this! William Smith grumbled to himself while thinking about how to plan for this overpowered quest.

Logically speaking, a level 1 blank-slate player facing a level 5 boss monster stands no chance at all. Even being one-shotted by the demonic wild boar’s first attack would be completely normal. The system’s arrangement is clearly unreasonable. Even though the team requirement is no more than two people, even if you take this quest at level 10 and bring along a level 14 player, you’d still have no chance of winning against a level 5 boss.

At this moment, Uncle Porter’s voice sounded like heavenly music in William Smith’s ear: “Kid, are you lacking confidence? Indeed, you’re still too weak. Relying solely on this Sealed Bramble Shield to face the powerful demonic wild boar, you have no chance of victory. I’ll teach you a technique—this was passed to me by Allen during his lifetime, and now I’ll pass it on to you. I hope you won’t let it go to waste.”

Right now, William Smith really wanted to grab Porter’s pitch-black old face and give him a big kiss. This uncle is just too awesome, too lovable!

“Uncle Porter, don’t worry. I will carry on Allen’s will with my actions!” William Smith said solemnly, his tone passionate and full of emotion...

“Ding dong... Uncle Porter has taught player Lucas Smith the Shield-Armored Warrior skill—‘Shield Block Counter’.”

After the system notification, William Smith couldn’t wait to open his skill panel. In the otherwise empty skill panel, aside from the damned Heroic Strike, there was now a new golden skill—“Shield Block Counter.”

“Shield Block Counter, Skill (Rare) Passive: Increases shield block rate by 5%. Active: After use, you can successfully block the next physical attack and deal 30 damage to the target (ignores armor, ignores resistance), and generates a certain amount of threat. Duration: 3 seconds. Cooldown: 20 seconds. (Upgradeable)”

Staring at “Shield Block Counter” in the skill panel, William Smith felt a moment of dizziness. In his memory, the person who triggered this unique quest in his previous life, Ethan Carter, later obtained the skill “Enhanced Shield Block”—a passive that increased shield block chance by 10%. This skill was later known as one of the most overpowered skills in “Skyward.” It was precisely this skill that made Ethan Carter famous right after leaving the beginner village, and eventually, after the fourth class advancement at level 120, step by step ascended to the throne of Shield-Armored Warriors.

But the “Shield Block Counter” he just obtained seems to have 5% less shield block rate than “Enhanced Shield Block,” yet its active effect and the note that the skill is upgradeable give William Smith reason to believe that once this skill is leveled up, it will definitely surpass “Enhanced Shield Block” and become a god-tier skill.

What concerned William Smith even more was that, because of his rebirth—his soul having traveled across 20 years of time and space—he had finally caused a slight change in the course of reality. Regardless of what consequences this change might bring, just like the air disturbance caused by the flap of a tiny butterfly’s wings eventually turning into a tornado, William Smith could no longer predict the future as clearly as before.

But that doesn’t matter, does it? William Smith smiled, his hair reflecting brilliant colors under the gentle sunlight, a clean and pure smile blossoming from the depths of his soul.

The most important thing is that he can finally stand in the world of “Skyward,” following the threads of history to witness countless legends burst forth before his eyes like dazzling light.

Whether as a witness or a participant, he should approach it all with a grateful heart—that’s what truly matters...

...

The time in “Skyward” is the same as in the real world. In the twelfth lunar month, the cold of winter lingers, and tiny icicles still cling to the bare branches...

But the bitter cold of the twelfth month can’t stop the surging crowds. The leveling army outside the beginner village can only be described as covering the mountains and plains. Often, as soon as a monster respawns, twin swords, great axes, daggers, ice arrows, fireballs, bullets, and so on come flying from who knows where, instantly turning it into a flash of white light and making it disappear on the spot.

The astonishing number of leveling players has occupied every corner of the level 1-5 grinding spots outside the beginner village. Even though the server has been open for more than half a month, the crowds at these leveling spots haven’t diminished at all. On one hand, this shows the terrifyingly huge player base of “Skyward,” and on the other, it shows how difficult it is to level up.