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Start in-Universe 2nd person segment.
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You are a student at the prestigious Lyceum, heading for another day of classes when one poster draws your attention along with everyone else. People are talking, and the card geeks are already arguing among themselves. Curious, you move between the crowd until you can read the poster at the bulletin board.
> Lyceum's CCLXXVII Cultural Contest
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> Build Optimization Contest
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> By order of the Dean Xalazuniox, the Build Optimization Contest is therefore announced. To participate in this contest, answer the question below.
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> What is the first-tier orange/legendary Skill that is useful for any and all builds?
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> Rules:
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> - The contest is open to both students and faculty members.
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> - Only one submission per person shall be accepted. In the case of multiple submissions, all but one will be randomly discarded.
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> - Cross-Attribute-enhancing Skills will not be considered.
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> - Both passive and active Skills are accepted.
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> - Submissions must include the catalog # of the Skill, as listed in Aluphina Eilinove's Absolute Card Compendium. Several copies of the book are available at the library.
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> If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
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> - For the duration of this contest, the librarians are instructed to not allow students and faculty to check out copies of the compendium.
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> - The submission period ends at midnight the next Sunday.
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> - Submissions will be judged by a panel of specialists from the Lyceum and the Adventurer's Guild.
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> - The decision of the judging panel is final and no recourse will be allowed.
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> - In case of a tie, the prizes will be split evenly.
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> - The winner will be awarded a medal from the Dean, 20 extra credits, and a monetary prize of one million Essence.
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> - The runner up will be awarded 10 extra credits and a monetary prize of three hundred thousand Essence.
You could do with some extra credits to bump up your grades for the semester, but it is the juicy prize that catches your eyes. Your first wish is to rip off the poster, so nobody else knows but it is already the buzz of the Lyceum. Everyone is talking about that already. Maybe you should stop sleeping in...
But that is too good to pass up. You brush up your knowledge of cards and think of what to put in as your submission.
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End in-Universe 2nd person segment.
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Royal Road comment submissions.
Please help me. I have some ideas but I'm rather stumped (I got an allergic crisis and spent the day with body pains - No fever (took my temperature five times as I went shopping for groceries - by law the shops need to measure customers - or other symptoms, so my social distancing is working; I'm way better now). What kind of Skill should Nero put in his precious two Skill slots from his latest Class? Leave a comment with your submission.
Yes, I know you have no idea what cards exist in the fictional world. Guess what, neither does the fictional world people. Yes, Aluphina Eilinove, a gnome writer did a hell of a job writing her compendium. But the "absolute" part is purely bullshit marketing.
So make up your own card. Don't bother with Attribute bonuses. Just the effect of the card. It is orange/legendary so you can go crazy! By sunday may 31st, I'll look at the comment section and pick two among the submissions. And that will be that. I reserve the right to tweak a bit the Skills to balance them and bring them to what I believe a first-tier Skill should be - there's tons of examples already in the story - but I promise they will remain untouched in intent.
Make something cool! Maybe hide a drawback or two in the subtext! 1,000,000 Essence in the fictional world is nothing to scoff at!