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

Li Wu's Arcane Archer class is all about understanding and combining runes.

The Burning Arrow is a combination of "Blazing" and "Enhancement," representing fire and enhancement.

The [Explosive Burning Arrow] is based on this, but with the addition of "domain", which represents the range.

Is there a combination of secret texts used for "purification" and "dispelling"?

His consciousness traversed among the countless shimmering cryptic symbols in the sea of ​​spirit.

He saw “healing” and “glory”, which represent “life”.

The combination of "Healing Arrow" and "Glory" can restore the health of teammates.

What about purification?

Purification means dispelling bad things and restoring things to their original state.

This is a change.

A change from "bad" to "good".

Suddenly, a secret text that Li Wu had never paid attention to before flashed through his mind.

【new】.

The meaning of this secret message should be "new life" or "renewal".

Replace the old with the new.

He was right!

Just a few minutes later, the new secret text lit up in his mind.

But this is not enough.

What if we combined this power of "substitution" with a secret text that can "see" abnormal states?

Li Wu instantly thought of the secret text he had comprehended earlier.

【Know】.

The meaning of this cryptic text is "perception", "knowledge", and "insight".

In the [Mental Needle Warning Arrow], it is responsible for sensing the existence of the soul.

So, can it sense the existence of an "abnormal state"?

[Knowledge] + [New]!

A brand new combination slowly took shape in Li Wu's mind.

Use "knowledge" to perceive the abnormal state of the target, and then use the power of "newness" to "update" this abnormal state and make it disappear!

This is it!

A thought struck Li Wu, and he began to try to combine the two secret texts together.

He could feel an energy completely different from the [Burning Arrow] beginning to condense at his fingertips.

The further away from the village you go, the more desolate the surrounding scenery becomes.

The once lush green grass was gradually replaced by bare, black earth. A faint, unpleasant smell, like something rotting, began to permeate the air.

After walking for about half an hour, a huge lake appeared at the end of their sight.

That is Shadow Lake.

The entire lake was shrouded in a thick, impenetrable purple mist, making it impossible to see the opposite shore.

The lake water was an eerie, inky black, without a ripple, like a giant black mirror reflecting the gray sky, lifeless and gloomy.

There wasn't a single seaweed to be seen by the lake; only bare black rocks and silt.

"This place... is too eerie." Li Wu frowned, feeling a little uneasy.

Just standing there, he felt a chilling aura creeping up from the soles of his feet.

"Shadow Island is in the middle of the lake," Hua Zitong pointed to the depths of the thick fog. "To get there, we need to find a boat first."

The two walked along the lake and soon came across a simple wooden dock.

A dilapidated little wooden boat was moored at the dock.

A boatman wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat sat motionless at the bow of the boat, like a statue.

His ID is very simple: "Ferryman".

Li Wu and Hua Zitong stepped forward.

"Hello, we'd like to go to the island in the middle of the lake," Li Wu said.

The ferryman slowly raised his head.

Beneath the shadow of the straw hat was a bloodless, zombie-like face, and a pair of cloudy eyes that showed no sign of life.

He didn't speak, but simply stretched out a hand that was as dry and withered as a chicken claw.

Li Wu was stunned for a moment, not understanding what he meant.

"Give us the money," Hua Zitong whispered a reminder from the side.

Li Wu then realized what was happening. He took out a few copper coins from his backpack and placed them in the ferryman's hand.

The ferryman didn't even look at it, simply pocketed the copper coin, and then shook his head.

"not enough."

He uttered two words, his voice hoarse as if sandpaper was rubbing against wood.

Li Wu frowned and took out a dozen or so copper coins.

The ferryman shook his head again.

"Damn it, what is this NPC trying to do? Rob me?" Li Wu was getting angry.

"Don't rush." ​​Hua Zitong pulled him back, then took out a silver coin from her backpack and threw it onto the boat.

Ding--

The silver coin landed on the wooden board with a crisp sound.

A glimmer of light finally appeared in the ferryman's cloudy eyes.

He slowly bent down, picked up the silver coin, bit it in his mouth, and then nodded in satisfaction.

"Get on the ship."

Li Wu was dumbfounded.

One silver coin! One silver coin for a single ferry crossing? That's worse than robbery!

"You'll get used to it." Hua Zitong seemed quite calm. "In the Origin Realm, the more inconspicuous an NPC is, the higher their fees tend to be, because the services they provide are unique."

The small boat slowly sailed away from the dock and headed towards the thick fog in the center of the lake.

The purple mist around them grew thicker and thicker until they could no longer see the lake shore behind them.

The whole world seemed to consist only of their small boat and the boundless black lake.

The stench of decay in the air became even more pungent.

Li Wu could even see purple bubbles rising continuously from the depths of the dark lake, bursting on the surface with a "pop" and releasing an even stronger stench.

"Could there be some kind of monster in this lake?" Li Wu gripped his longbow tightly, looking around warily.

"Don't worry, we're safe on the boat," Hua Zitong said. "This ferryman has some special ability to protect us. As long as we don't disembark, the monsters in the lake won't attack us."

Hearing this, Li Wu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He glanced at the ferryman sitting silently at the bow of the boat, focused only on rowing, and his opinion of this NPC rose even higher.

To be able to brazenly charge a silver coin for a boat fare at the entrance of a level 10 dungeon, they must really have some skills.

"Tell me more about that boss," Li Wu asked in a low voice. "Besides its ranged reflection and that aura, does it have any other annoying skills?"

"Yes." Hua Zitong nodded, her expression turning serious.

"【The Corrupted Lake Spirit】, as a dungeon boss, has skills that are far more complex than any monster we have encountered before."

"Besides those two core mechanisms, it also has two main attack methods."

"The first type is [Sludge Spray]. It sprays a large ball of highly corrosive sludge from its body, dealing massive damage to a single target and inflicting a 'Slow' and 'Armor Penetration' debuff."

"This skill is mainly used to deal with tanks, which is me. I have to be careful to dodge at all times, because it would be very dangerous if I got hit."

"The second type is the [Resentment Tentacles]. It will extend several tentacles made of resentment from its body and randomly attack targets within range. This skill doesn't deal particularly high damage, but it's annoying, and... it might attack you."

Li Wu's heart skipped a beat.

"Attack me? What should I do then?"

"Dodge." Hua Zitong's answer was simple. "Your positioning must be very flexible. You can't stand still like a wooden stake."

"Once you see it raise its hand, ready to use its tentacles, you must move away immediately and create distance."

Li Wu silently memorized this information.

This boss sounds like he's really tough to deal with.

It not only places extremely high demands on the output environment, but also poses a huge challenge to the tank's survivability.

For this "team" of only two people, the difficulty of taking it down is self-evident.

"Don't worry." Hua Zitong seemed to see his worry and comforted him, "We're so well prepared. As long as we cooperate well and don't make any major mistakes, we'll definitely pass."

"Mm." Li Wu nodded.

Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to trust her.

I also believe in myself.

The small boat rowed for another ten minutes or so through the thick fog.

Suddenly, the ferryman, who had been silent all along, stopped rowing.

"arrive."

He said in a hoarse voice.

Li Wu looked ahead.

The thick fog ahead had thinned out slightly.

The silhouette of a black island, exuding an ominous aura, slowly appeared before them.

That is the island in the shadowy lake.

The entire island looked like a huge, rotting piece of flesh, covered with strange, dead, black trees.

A purple miasma, ten times more concentrated than before, spread outwards from the depths of the island, enveloping the entire island.

The small boat slowly approached a relatively flat mudflat at the edge of the island.

The ferryman pointed to the shore and said, "I'll wait for you here for an hour."

"If you haven't returned in an hour, I'm leaving."

His tone remained as cold as ever, devoid of any emotion.

Li Wu and Hua Zitong exchanged a glance.

One hour.

This is the total time they spent conquering this dungeon.