I am the Arcane Archer, and all my skills are self-created.

His body suddenly sank, and his feet landed on the solid rock ground.

Li Wu felt a cold, damp aura rush towards him, and the whistling wind in his ears vanished instantly, replaced by an even more eerie and unsettling sound.

It was an indescribable whisper.

It's as if thousands of people are whispering secrets in your ear, using different tones and languages.

One moment it's a shortcut to wealth and riches, the next it's a curse of eternal damnation; one moment it's the tender whispers of a lover, the next it's the venomous roar of an enemy.

These sounds were chaotic and mixed, yet they possessed a strange magic, constantly drilling into his mind, trying to tear apart his reason.

Li Wu frowned, trying to concentrate, but found that the whispers were everywhere.

"Don't listen, and don't think about it."

Hua Zitong's voice rang out beside him. Her face was a little pale, but her eyes were unusually clear, as if she had expected this situation.

"Just guard your senses and treat these sounds as background noise. Once you try to discern any of them, you'll be dragged into a hallucination."

Li Wu did as instructed, and stopped trying to fight or distinguish those voices. Sure enough, she felt much better.

Only then did he begin to look around.

They were at the entrance of a huge natural cave, with a cliff dozens of meters high behind them, and damp vines hanging from the edge of the cave entrance.

The cave was dimly lit, with only some moss and minerals emitting a faint green glow providing dim illumination.

The air was filled with the earthy smell and a certain stench of decay.

"This... is the Whispering Cave?" Li Wu asked in a low voice.

"Yes." Hua Zitong breathed a sigh of relief, her tense body finally relaxing a little. "We're in, they can't. This is an independent instance space; no one can find us until we get out or die out."

As soon as she finished speaking, the two saw three beams of light appear in the darkness ahead.

Those were three forks in the road, lying quietly deep within the dark cave.

On the left, you can vaguely see some glittering pyrite scattered on the ground, exuding an aura of "wealth".

The middle section is covered with rough battle totems and weapon scratches carved into the rock face, full of the meaning of power and conflict.

The one on the right is the most tranquil, with a magical energy that seems to permeate the air more intensely than elsewhere, exuding a mysterious sense of "wisdom".

"Which way should we go?" Li Wu asked instinctively.

This looks like the classic three-choice question in a game: warriors choose strength, mages choose wisdom, and those who want to get rich choose wealth.

However, Hua Zitong shook her head, her expression even more serious than when she was outside.

"None of these paths are good paths."

Her words sent a chill down Li Wu's spine.

"This instance is actually called 'The Cave of Destiny'." Hua Zitong's voice was very low, as if afraid of disturbing something in the cave. "Its core is not combat, not puzzle-solving, but 'luck'."

"Luck?" Li Wu was stunned.

"Yes, luck." Hua Zitong raised her hand and pointed to the bottom of Li Wu's field of vision. "See for yourself."

Following her directions, Li Wu was shocked to discover that a brand new, never-before-seen icon had appeared next to his status bar.

It was a small and exquisite golden scale.

The left pan of the scale is engraved with a ferocious skull, while the right pan features a lucky four-leaf clover. At this moment, the pointer of the scale points straight to the center, maintaining perfect balance.

Below the scale, there is another number: [50/100].

"This is the 'Lucky Scales' system," Hua Zitong explained.

"Everyone who enters this instance starts with 50 luck points, which is neither good nor bad. Everything we do here will either increase or decrease our luck points."

Her tone grew increasingly serious: "Opening treasure chests consumes luck points. Stepping on traps deducts luck points. Even the damage you take in battle with monsters, and the damage you deal, are related to your current luck points."

"This instance is a personified casino. We are all gamblers at the table, and our chips are 'luck' itself!"

Li Wu was terrified.

A copy that turns something as ethereal as "luck" into a core resource and numerical value?

This design is simply unheard of!

He finally understood why Hua Zitong had said that none of the paths were good.

"These three paths correspond to different 'blessings of fate' and 'curses of fate'," Hua Zitong explained, looking at the three paths.

"On the path to wealth, monsters will drop more money, but the number of monsters will also double, and you'll actively attract more monsters to attack you. It's purely a matter of trading your life for money."

"The Path of Power increases all damage we deal by 20%, but also increases all damage we take by 20%, and monster attacks will have an armor-piercing effect. It's a path of life and death."

"The Path of Wisdom will shorten skill cooldowns, but all monsters will have significantly increased magic resistance and a chance to silence us, preventing us from casting spells."

After hearing this, Li Wu felt a chill run down his spine.

"Which way should we go?" Li Wu asked the question again, but this time, his tone was full of hesitation.

"Take the middle path, the path of power." Hua Zitong gave her answer almost without hesitation.

"Why?" Li Wu asked, puzzled. "That road is too dangerous for me."

"Because we have no chance on the other two paths." Hua Zitong's analysis was clear and calm. "The path of wealth is suicide. The path of wisdom is like crippling half of your martial arts. Relying on me alone, my output is simply not enough. When my mana runs out, I'll die anyway."

"The Path of Power is the only option, though it's risky, it also offers the greatest rewards. The 20% damage increase is beneficial for both of us. As long as you can control the situation with [Mud Arrow] and [Siphon Arrow], I'll handle the quick victory, and we can minimize the risks."

She turned to look at Li Wu: "Trust me, and trust yourself. Your control and healing abilities are enough to make up for our shortcomings in survival."

Li Wu looked into her clear and determined eyes and took a deep breath.

Indeed, being timid and hesitant will not solve any problems.

This dungeon is designed to force players to "gamble" from the very beginning.

If we're going to gamble, let's gamble big!

"Alright, let's take the path of power!" Li Wu nodded.

Without further hesitation, the two stepped into the middle road, which was engraved with battle totems, one after the other.