Linxia leaned back in his chair, staring at the empty document on his holographic screen. The Duke of Doom was an incredible figure, but writing about him directly? No, that was asking for trouble. Copyright laws in the System's publishing network were ruthless.
Instead, he would do what every smart writer did—take inspiration, not duplication.
"The Duke was powerful, but what about the one who made him powerful?"
His mind raced with possibilities. The being Aldric Voss had made a pact with—the unknown force that granted him his abilities. Who or what had the power to create a monster like the Duke? And why would it choose him?
His fingers moved across the screen, typing out a rough concept.
> Character Concept - The Architect of Doom
Name: ???
Title: The Forgotten Mentor, Weaver of Fate, The Eternal Pactbearer
Abilities: Unknown
Domain: Lies beyond recorded history
He paused, then smirked. Now this... this had potential.
Just as he was about to refine the details, the System chimed in.
[To create a being of this power level, a deduction of 15,000 points is required.]
Linxia nearly choked. "Fifteen thousand?!"
That was almost a third of his total points. His eyes flickered to his balance—50,000 points left from Sightless Path. He could afford it, sure, but still...
It reminded him of when he was first starting out, back when he wrote about the Flute of the Sightless Path. He had wanted to give it reality-breaking abilities, but the System had shut him down.
[Your world-building level and points are insufficient.]
Back then, he had assumed it was just the System's way of making him "earn" his world-building rights. Now, even after completing an entire novel, he still didn't understand the logic behind the cap.
"It's just fiction, right? Why does it need limits?"
But whatever the reason, he knew one thing—he was lucky the System was letting him create this character at all.
He exhaled, then confirmed the deduction.
[15,000 points deducted. New world-building permissions unlocked.]
Linxia grinned. Now... let's see what kind of nightmare I can create.