[Editorial Pen Inspection]
Item Name: [Standard Notebook]
Enchantment: [None detected]
Grade: [None]
Item Description:
◇ A small, hand-sized notebook containing 84 blank pages, designed for note-taking. The paper fibers are too porous.
——————
The Editorial Pen floated beside him, somehow waiting for his master's next decision. Then came the question, hanging in the air as plainly as if whispered beside his ear.
[What attribute or detail would you like to edit?]
Ruvian pondered about it for a while.
He remained still in his room, one hand resting on the notebook, the other gently drumming fingers across the edge of the desk in an absent rhythm.
He tilted his head, watching the pen's lazy orbit, its red glint catching the lamplight in a way that made it look more like a scalpel than a writing instrument.
"Does this thing have limits?" he murmured softly, more to himself than to the system.
"Or am I supposed to believe I can scribble any miracles into existence now?"
The system replied, as always, without emotion and without delay.
[Yes.]
Not an ounce of ambiguity came from the system's confident reply.
He leaned back slowly, spine easing into the chair as he exhaled through his nose. Ruvian wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel with that.
"All right," he said, adjusting his posture and resting his elbow on the desk.
"Let's test the water." His voice remained calm, level, but underneath the words was a current of deliberate provocation.
"I want to give this notebook a unique ability," he continued, letting the words roll out like the start of a gamble he already intended to win.
"Hmm, like something that can kill a person… by writing their name inside it."
[Calculating cost of proposed modification…]
The pen glowed once, the red light sharpening, focused now. The room's atmosphere seemed more attentive to any sound now. Then, pages of glowing letters began to appear in front of him.
[Custom Modification Request: "Name of Death" Ability]
Function: [Allows the user to write a target's full, true name into the notebook. Upon completion of the inscription, the target's life function will cease instantly.]
Targeting Condition: [Must possess the complete and accurate name of the individual. Nicknames, aliases, or incomplete identifiers will render the effect null.]
Mana Cost per Use: [50,000 Essence Units]
Cooldown Penalty: [Immediate physical paralysis of the user for a duration of 3 continuous hours after activation.]
Cost to Apply Modification: [1,440,000 (PP)]
———————
'Woah, pricey. As expected.'
He read the final line again, just to make sure he hadn't imagined the number. One million. Four hundred and forty thousand.
That wasn't just high, it was borderline absurdity.
He wasn't even sure if a human being could accumulate that much without toppling a kingdom to earn the plot points.
He leaned forward, elbows on the desk now, hands steepled beneath his chin. The pen hovered quietly nearby.
'This is such a cheat skill to have, the skill could do it. It could actually imbue a mundane object with a power so grotesquely efficient that it bordered on divine, as long as I could stomach the price.'
50,000 units of mana per use.
That alone was outrageous.
Most students couldn't channel five hundred without fainting, and even advanced mages needed focus and preparation to break the thousand-mark threshold.
'Oh well, this wasn't something you could use mid-fight. This was almost like a death ritual disguised as a scribble. A damnable skill for sure'
'And three hours of full paralysis? Nope.'
Still… his lips tugged slightly at the corner. Not quite a smirk but more like the early stages of one.
"Ha! Anyway, it's possible," he said aloud, softly, like testing the shape of the words.
The cost was ridiculous. The flaw was devastating. But the fact that the system allowed it, that was what caught him.
This wasn't just a tool that filtered out balance-breaking edits anymore, but more like welcoming ambition, so long as he was willing to pay.
And that, more than anything, told him what the [Editorial Pen] truly was.
Ruvian stared at the plain notebook resting on his desk, its surface unassuming, the leather frayed slightly at the corners.
A minute ago, it had been nothing. A scrap of academy-issue stationery.
But now, having already inspected it and seen the absurdity of what the [Editorial Pen] could do – it felt wasteful to leave it unchanged.
'I've already opened the door, I may as well step through it.'
He didn't need something absurd like the death-writing trick. What he needed was something practical, something constant and useful.
"I want this notebook to store infinitely any thought or word I choose. Nothing erased unless I will it. And when I need the information, I want it to enter my mind as if I had just thought it – clear, precise, mine. Memory, phrasing, tone. Everything."
There was a moment of quiet, before the [Editorial Pen] reacted to the command. The system responded immediately.
[Calculating cost of modification…]
Proposed Skill: [Infinite Spell and Knowledge Recall]
Function: [User may store any casted spells, written or verbal thoughts, ideas, or recorded data within this object. Contents are preserved permanently unless erased by the user. Stored content can be mentally recalled at any time as if freshly remembered. Spells can also be summoned without casting or conceptual practicing.]
Memory Layering: [Supports infinite entries.]
Cognitive Sync: [Instant mental retrieval.]
Mana Cost per Transfer: (Variable, depends on information) Essence Units per memory slot
Plot Point Cost: [5,000]
——————
Ruvian's eyes narrowed slightly, though not out of disappointment. He'd expected the cost. The price was harsh, but not unreasonable considering what it offered.
'With this thing, I can easily remember all types of Wind Spells Chant.'
Still, the mana drain was significant. And the point cost, while not as comical as the death note proposal, would still leave him gasping.
He glanced at the interface, and then at the pen again.
'Can I shape the downside too?'
He asked it plainly, voice soft but edged with curiosity.
"Can I also modify the flaw? To reduce the cost?"
The system's answer came without fanfare.
[Yes.]
"Woah."
Hearing that Ruvian felt relieved. His gaze drifted slightly.
He was trying to figure out a way to cheat his way to make this unique ability available in his disposal now. A slow breath escaped him, and behind his still eyes, plans began to shift.
"No. There are ways to make this efficient."
Ways to trade weaknesses for smarter restrictions, or attach flaws that wouldn't matter under the right conditions.
And now he had a pen sharp enough to write reality with. All that remained was choosing what suitable chain to put into that reality.
Because he wasn't about to spend over a thousand Plot Points on a utility skill, not when he had less than three thousand left.
He wasn't some story-protagonist idiot with unlimited luck and a death wish. If the system permitted negotiation through flaw manipulation, then there had to be a way to trim the fat.
The gears in his head began to turn as he leaned in his chair.
Then, a thin smile curved at the edge of his lips.
"All right then… let's begin by giving it five flaws."
PP= 2450
ME= 172