- Spoiler:
- Job Title: Size Matters
Rank: C
Player Requirements: 20 Posts of 200 words or more. Maximum 3 mages.
Job Requirements: Defeat at least 5 enemies and defeat the magpie to get the ring.
Job Location: Clover Town
Job Description: Mrs. Cartigan, a retired bromance has lost her wedding ring in her garden and needs help finding it. Her garden is incredibly lush, and as such, searching from above will be neigh impossible. Because of this, Mrs. Cartigan will shrink you down to search for her ring. Beware, for as your size scales down, so does your power. Small creatures like rodents and insects are now very real threats. Characters are shrunken down to 2 centimeters in size.
Note: Due to the fact the mages are shrunk down for this job it is impossible for it to be invaded.
Enemies:
Weak:
Ant: A single and out looking for food for its colony. Not too threatening, but can still have a nasty bite. Takes 1-2 C rank hits to kill. Bites do C-rank damage.
Cricket: Crickets are large and can pack a powerful bite, but are not very predatory. Defeating them just means proving you are too much trouble to eat. Takes 1-2 C rank hits to scare off. Bites do C-rank damage
Normal:
Harvestman: Although their bite is less damaging than that of a cricket, the harvestman's long legs make it difficult to fight against. While they look like spiders, they aren't actually, and lack venom. Harvestmen take 3 C-rank hits to their body to kill, or the removal of all legs. Legs come off after taking 1 D rank hit and are much easier to hit than the body. Its relatively small jaws only do D-ranked damage.
Beetle: A predatory beetle with a sturdy exoskeleton and strong mandibles. Its bite deals C-ranked damage and it can take 4 C-ranked hits.
Strong:
Wasp: A predatory wasp with strong jaws and a stinger. Wasps are sturdy, hard to hit, and deadly. They can sting multiple times and will likely employ hit-and-run tactics. Their wings are the weakest point, and hitting them can force the wasp to land. Bite deals C-ranked damage and can pick up opponents to shake them for additional D-ranked damage. Sting deals D-ranked damage on hit and B-ranked damage over 3 posts. Wasps take 5 C-ranked hits to kill. 1 D ranked hit to the wings from fire, electricity, or water magic or 1 C ranked hit of anything else will force it to land.
Jumping Spider: Nimble and venomous, jumping spiders tend to ambush their prey. It is very likely that these deadly predators will take those seeking the ring by surprise. Their powerful bite deals C-ranked damage when it hits and B-ranked damage over 3 posts. Their incredible speed will make them hard for even the fastest of mages to hit, and their sturdy exoskeleton can withstand up to 5 C-ranked hits.
Boss:
Magpie: A magpie swoops overhead and lands nearby with none other than Mrs. Cartigan's wedding ring in its beak! It won't give up its new prize easily though, the magpie. With you at such a small size, this bird is a fearsome enemy. It can attack with its beak or lash out with its talons to deal B rank damage and flap its wings to knock enemies near it back, kicking up dirt and dust in the process. The magpie will take 15 C-ranked hits before it is defeated and flies away. The magpie will appear after 15 posts.
Reward: 10000 jewels and 12 homemade cookies (cookies do nothing, but are delicious).
’How quaint. I wish Sabertooth could float over some place like this.’
It was hard not to feel a little jealousy of the cute town on its personal island in the middle of the rather large lake. The weather was pleasantly cool thanks to a lovely breeze, the sun playing peekaboo behind various clumps of cottony clouds, and she’d greatly enjoyed the vast expanses of green hills and dotting of trees before catching the local fairy to the town. One wrong turn out of the Sabertooth bar on ground level and one ended up stepping into sunbaked sand with a desert stretching before them. To date she’d managed to avoid it, but at some point a mission might lead her towards Rose Garden or another northern location, and she’d be doomed to take the long route or the very unpleasant one.
Pulling her hood down, Mao allowed her ears to stretch back up and soak in some of that lovely breeze, wind winding through the waves of her hair as the sounds of nearby bustling streets hummed in the air. She wouldn’t need to brave the streets today as the client lived closer to the outer reaches of the town, mentioning something about a large house and beautiful garden. Mao couldn’t help configuring a variety of mental pictures, hoping that there might be a plethora of flowers involved somehow. Would there be a lot of pastel petals with the occasional vibrant blossom? Maybe there were a lot of dark and deep colors with the occasional accentuating lighter hues? ’Then again, it’s all subjective. It could be filled with nothing but weeds and still beautiful to someone.’
Another amusing thought came to mind: Mrs. Cartigan mentioned another mage inquired about the job. Normally a small point, she’d gone on to mention the guild “Lamia Scale” and Mao momentarily pondered if it mightn’t be Mei or Ai. If it was one of them then she needn’t worry too much about the awkwardness of introductions – even if they’d somewhat botched that before, Mao sighing at her accidental rudeness…but to be fair, the owner of the café had been rather pushy about getting them all started. If it turned out to be someone else however, she’d do things proper-like! As if to cement this idea she lightly tapped a fist to an open palm, nodding to the decision while garnering one or two odd-looks from passersby.
About to check the map, as Mao looked up she spotted a mailbox, conveniently labeled “Cartigan.” ’That was easier than I thought…’ A short, tile path lead from the box to a door of a grand, white house, the thing almost too pristine to be true. Whoever lived inside definitely had the money to keep the place in tip-top shape, causing her to wonder why the woman didn’t own some sort of metal detector or magnet that could help locate the missing ring. ’I suppose we’re the metal detectors. Would be a convenient magic to have right about now.’
Another question came to mind however…should she wait outside for her “partner” to arrive, or inside? Someone inside the house chose not to let her dwell too long on such thoughts as the door opened, and a fellow dressed in a suit looked down at her from the doorway, ”Ah, you’re herrrreeee. Madame Cartigan is awaiting your arrival in the gardeennnn. It would seem you’re first, so please feel free to enjoy the tea and crumpets until your partner arrives and then Madame will explain her requessttt.”
The way he stretched out the last syllable every once in a while distracted Mao, to the point she almost missed the raising of an eyebrow when he silently questioned “What are you still doing out here?” Her mind bounced back into her body and the woman quickly skittered around the house to the back where a finely dressed woman in a dark red dress with an eggplant colored shawl sat at a white, circular table with a multitude of shiny white porcelain dishes. Trays of scones and biscuits hovered over one another on a small tower, a teapot close by emitting little vapors of steam through the spout. Unused teacups and plates placed before the empty chairs awaited their turn at some teatime action. Mao would be all too happy to oblige after the pleasantries were done and over with, taking the offered seat and nodding to the woman, ”Hello Madame Cartigan, I’m Mao Nakiri of Sabertooth.”
She laughed, the sound akin to light rain hitting bells, ”Please, simply call me Mrs. Cartigan. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please, enjoy some tea while we wait for the other wizard to arrive, and then I can fully explain your mission.” With a small smile Mao reached for the teapot, completely missing the slight, mischievous tilt of the woman’s mouth.