Welcome to ScubaBoard. If you enjoy challenging yourself with the more demanding aspects of a hobby, yeah, from what I'm told cave diving could do that, but there are other means, also.
If you anticipate going the technical diving route (and cave diving falls under that), and you haven't bought much gear yet, I suggest you do some checking into what gear choices technical divers tend to make.
I'm a recreational diver, not a technical diver, so I can't give you many pointers. I can suggest this:
1.) You may well want a backplate/wing setup rather than a mainstream 'jacket style' BCD.
2.) You may wish to look into a 'long hose' configuration, which is a different way of handling regulator setup in case you need to donate to a buddy.
3.) If you think you might pursue GUE Fundamentals training (which isn't necessary, but some people seek it out to elevate their dive skills), take a look at their gear requirements to save yourself buying again later. For example, I have a BP/W setup, which should be fine, but my harness is a deluxe hardness, not a single piece webbing, and IIRC from another thread, that could be a issue.
4.) I doubt you'll be diving split fins.
There are some threads in the Accidents and Incidents section dealing with cave fatalities. Please understand your friends regard it as dangerous and best avoided by some people, because it is. With proper training, skill development, gear choice and attitude, you can do a lot to mitigate the dangers.
Take a look at this article on Listverse.com,
10 Final Messages From People Facing Certain Death, and this piece I copied and pasted from that page:
"The cave systems of North Central Florida have claimed
hundreds of lives from inexperienced cave divers. Among those to die there was Bill Hurst, a diving instructor. He failed to return from a dive in 1976, and a recovery team later found his body. On his slate was a simple message: “
I got lost. Tell my wife and kids I love them very much. ”"
