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

New Beginning City, Awakening Altar!

Om-!

A dazzling, multicolored beam of light shot into the sky, instantly illuminating the entire altar hall as if it were daytime! The light was so intense that it even overshadowed the lights on the hall's dome, casting a brilliant glow in everyone's eyes.

The noisy hall fell into a deathly silence at that moment.

Everyone froze, whether they were the prospective Awakeners queuing up or the recruiters from various guilds watching from the sidelines; they all turned their heads toward the center of the Awakening Altar.

The silence was shattered by a deafening roar of screams!

"Oh my God!"

"It's a five-colored light! The five-colored light that only hidden classes possess!"

"Holy crap! Is our New Beginning City about to awaken a hidden class? Are we about to take off?"

"Look! Who's the lucky one?!"

Countless gazes, a mixture of envy, jealousy, and shock, were fixed on the somewhat frail figure in the center of the pillar of light.

Bathed in multicolored light, Li Wu felt an unprecedented power surging within him, his heart pounding with excitement.

He succeeded!

He actually awakened a hidden class!

Hidden professions! Those are hidden professions where only one in hundreds of thousands, or even millions, might awaken! Those are truly the chosen ones!

To date, the entire Huaxia Alliance has only recorded a mere twenty-six hidden professionals!

Thinking of her increasingly frail mother lying in the hospital bed, and her younger sister who had dropped out of school to work in order to take care of her mother, Li Wu's eyes instantly reddened.

With the hidden profession, their mother's exorbitant medical expenses would be covered! Their younger sister wouldn't have to work so hard anymore! Their family's future was finally brightening!

"Quick! Quick, take a look, what kind of job is it?"

"This light is so dazzling, it's definitely a top-tier hidden class!"

Among the crowd, the recruitment managers of various guilds could no longer contain themselves and began frantically contacting their superiors, preparing to spare no expense to snatch this future top powerhouse.

Beside the altar, the teacher in charge of the awakening ceremony was also flushed with excitement. His hands trembled as he tapped the altar's display panel, then suddenly his eyes widened, and he exclaimed incredulously:

"Awakened One, Li Wu! The hidden class he awakened is... Arcane Archer!"

The voice was loud and clear, echoing throughout every corner of the hall.

However, the expected even more enthusiastic cheers did not materialize.

The entire hall fell into an eerie silence once again.

If the silence just now was awe-inspiring, then the silence now is filled with astonishment and absurdity.

"What?!"

A guild recruiter standing in the front row cried out, his face instantly freezing from ecstasy to one of utter disbelief.

"Arcane Archer? Did I hear that right? It's that worst hidden class!"

"That's right! That's the one! I heard the last unlucky guy who awakened this class was still struggling in the newbie village."

"No news lately, I wonder if they've already left the starting area?"

"You're overthinking it! That person is still working hard in the newbie village!"

"My God, what a waste of all that effort! Turns out he's just a hidden loser!"

"Hahaha, that's hilarious! From heaven to hell, all you need is a job title!"

The sarcastic, pitying, and gloating comments pierced Li Wu's heart.

His excited smile froze, and he stood there dumbfounded, as if struck by lightning.

Arcane Archer...

He had heard of the prestigious reputation of this profession.

This is a class that combines physical shooting with arcane magic; it sounds great.

But in reality, its physical attack power is inferior to that of a pure physical archer, its magical attack power is inferior to that of a pure mage, its skill mechanics are chaotic, and its mana consumption is ridiculously high. It's practically a hybrid of both.

A hidden profession that is widely regarded as the worst.

A hidden profession that's even worse than a regular profession.

Why... why this profession?

Li Wu felt as if he had been kicked from the clouds into an abyss, his blood running cold. The flame of hope that had just been ignited was extinguished by a bucket of ice water poured over his head.

The guild recruiters, who had been so enthusiastic just moments before, all turned their attention away. Some even shook their heads without any attempt to hide it, muttering "bad luck" and "what a waste of time."

Li Wu clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, the stinging pain keeping him barely conscious.

No, we can't give up!

Even a low-level profession is better than being an ordinary person! As long as you can enter the "Realm of Origin," there will be opportunities to make money! My mother is still waiting for money!

Li Wu forced himself to calm down, and with a thought, a virtual panel that only he could see unfolded before his eyes.

Name: Li Wu

[Class: Arcane Archer (Hidden)]

[Level: 1 (0/100)]

[HP: 40/40]

[Mana Points: 100/100]

Physical Attack: 5.5

[Magic Attack: 5.6]

【Strength: 4】

[Agility: 3]

【Intelligence: 3】

[Physical Fitness: 4]

【Spirit: 4】

Luck: 0

All attributes are below 5 points, that's just too much...

When Li Wu saw the final "0" luck value again, his heart sank once more.

A normal person's initial luck value is around 5 points, but his is 0, which is practically a cursed start.

No wonder they awakened to this unfortunate profession.

Could it be... that my luck has really hit rock bottom?

He subconsciously touched his chest, where a warm, antique jade pendant hung.

It seems... ever since I found this jade pendant, my luck has been on a downward spiral. I've been hit by bird droppings when I go out, and even drinking cold water makes me choke. Misfortune just keeps piling up.

Thinking of this, Li Wu couldn't help but smile bitterly. Even at this point, he was still looking for such a far-fetched reason.

Just then, the jade pendant in his hand suddenly emitted a dazzling golden light!

Li Wu subconsciously raised his head to avoid the golden light, but then realized that no one else under the Awakening Altar had noticed his unusual situation.

What's going on?

Before Li Wu could react, the golden light from the jade pendant dissipated!

The next moment, a voice appeared in his mind:

[Congratulations! You have awakened your unique growth-type talent—Soul Devourer (Outstanding)!]

Li Wu was suddenly stunned, completely dumbfounded.

talent?

A soul that devours destiny?

He clicked on the detailed description of the talent with almost trembling hands.

[Talent: Soul of Destiny]

[Rating: Excellent (Yellow) (Growth Potential)]

[Type: Unique Growth Game]

[Effect: Upon killing or participating in the killing of any living being, you can absorb its dissipated life energy and permanently convert it into your own [Luck] and [Intelligence] attributes.]

[Growth Potential: Advancement can be achieved through Luck stats]

Once, twice, three times...

Li Wu stared intently at those few lines of text, his heart pounding uncontrollably, each beat louder and heavier than the last!

It can... increase [Luck] and [Intelligence]?!

Or is it a permanent increase?!

That means that as long as you keep killing monsters and stacking intelligence, even if "Arcane Archer" is an extremely bad class, you can still succeed.

In the future, with its terrifying intelligence stat, it will unleash unprecedented damage!

Not only that, it can also increase your luck!

Luck, the rarest, most mysterious, and almost impossible-to-improve attribute through normal means! It affects drop rates, critical hits, and serendipitous encounters... You could say that high luck equals having all possibilities!

A worthless profession?

A divine retribution at the start?

Fuck it!

At this moment, the despair and gloom in Li Wu's heart were swept away and replaced by a raging wildfire!

The "Soul of Devouring Fate" is his chance to turn his life around and defy fate!

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the ecstasy in his heart. When he looked up again, his eyes had returned to calm, but deep within that calm lay a flame that no one could extinguish.

The mocking and pitying voices around him now sounded utterly ridiculous to him.

You laugh at my terrible profession, but you don't know that I hold the key to defying fate!

The teacher who had presided over the awakening had long since lost her excitement, replaced by a cold, businesslike expression. She waved her hand and said, "Alright, awakening complete. Get down. Next!"

Li Wu walked down the Awakening Altar expressionlessly. The surrounding crowd automatically made way for him, but the gazes they cast were full of mockery and pity.

Just as Li Wu turned to leave the Awakening Altar Hall, a voice came from behind him:

"Isn't this our beloved squad leader, Li Wu? Why is he leaving already?"