- Spoiler:
- Job Title: Cave of the Hitodama: Corsair Breach
Rank: B Rank
Player Requirements: At least 2 C ranks, or 1 B rank. 5,000 words per player, or 10,000 words solo. Must roll a monster die in order to face a boss and obtain the extra treasure bonus. The monster die can be two strong, or one boss in order to face the boss.
Job Requirements: Go to the dangerous cave and clear out as many pirate ghosts as you can! The place is dangerous enough without those marauders around!
Job Location: Silent Glaciers
Job Description:
Adept and practiced sailors and pirates alike over a hundred years ago once sailed to this area and stored hidden chests of stolen treasures and their own ships within the entrance of this cave. These old relics are preserved in ice in pieces and in whole parts within the cave. It would be as likely to find half a ship jutting from the ice upwards as it would to be able to find a solid box of ice around a tiny treasure chest. During times of war, this well hidden cave was used for hiding, as a meeting place for spies and as a private place for small communities to rest before escaping by sea. The floor is made of solid slippery rock, as are the walls. There are stalactites and stalagmites, sparkling, rising from the ground or dropping from the ceiling like staves and swords. The cave smells of salt and of sulfur from the deeply located hot spring and a crunching briny crust layers the edges of stone and ice alike in pure white.
Despite the frequency of use in times past, the cave has fallen into disuse with the years gone by. Every now and then, civilians and mages alike choose to investigate the cave for possible usage but few return. They say the cave is awash with floating lights, silver and blue spirits and soul flames of the dead, or hitodama to light the dark cave.
The job is simple, contracted by locals who want to be rid of dangerous ghost pirates and care not for any treasures within the cave itself. Simply go into the cave, destroy the ghosts, and leave.
Cave description:
The cave is located near a loosely-frozen delta facing the ocean in a northerly direction. It is about five miles long, stretching into the arctic mountains of the region, with several deep crevasses spanning the narrow width of the cave. Frozen pathways and stone pathways alike are layered in frost and ice, but lead back to the rear of the cave. The polar cave has ceilings as high as 8 m and as low as 1 m. There are no secret or hidden pathways, just one direct route that the sea itself carved out of the land during times of storms or floods. Along the length of the cave runs a slow moving, 1 m wide river which culminates in a small but deep hot spring in the very deepest point in the cave. This river occasionally freezes over, though due to protection from wind, can more frequently be found moving from the back of the cave to the sea, starting from the spring itself.
Enemies:
Weak:
Wild beasts: Wild animals traverse the tundra looking desperately for food. The wild animals most likely to cross paths include lone Reindeer, Dire Winter Wolf, a pack of Frostfur Weasels, or Blue Horned Ram. These animals (or in the case of the weasels the whole pack together) can deal 1 C rank damage and take 1 B rank damage to take down.
Normal:
Wayward Ghosts: In their former lives, these ghosts were simple sailors with simple minds and a curious nature who found themselves killed in the cave from either frostbite, wild beasts, or the poisonous spores of cave moss. Now, the ghosts which are usually gentle have become angered and strike out against those entering the cave. They deal B rank damage and take 2 B rank damage to disperse. In addition, as ghosts they have 1.5 times B rank speed and are harder to hit.
Strong:
Angry Hitodama: Spirits in the form of small glowing bulbs turn red when disturbed and form into deceased pirates. These dead buccaneers use various kinds of blades, and are adept at using them, and take 4 B rank hits to take down. They know how to block and attack well and deal B rank damage. In addition, as ghosts they have 1.5 times B rank speed and are harder to hit.
Boss:
Marauding Captain: A pirate captain appears with duel blades in each hand. The captain can be male or female, wears a large feathered hat. The captain can block, counter attack, and attack very well. Each bladed attack deals B rank damage. The captain can also whistle or blow a horn to summon 2-3 strong level pirates for aid, and will do so if not killed quickly. The captain takes 5 B rank hits to take down. In addition, as ghosts they have 1.5 times B rank speed and are harder to hit. When defeated, the boss drops a Strong+ Weapon or Item.
Reward: 35K jewels, B rank experience. Those who defeat a Boss (must roll a boss. 2 strong monsters can be used to instead fight a boss.) can have an alternative reward of B rank experience, and a Strong+ Weapon or Strong+ Item of their own customization, and 5K jewels.
"Ghost pirates. What a joke,”
Vandrad had pulled up the job sheet once more, glaring at the piece of paper and the ludicrous words printed on it. It had been quite the shellshock to discover that the way to earn jewel in a guild was to take jobs from an all inclusive board. A literal board that just… listed out requests from people all over the land. It was so free, so wildly lacking order and design. Vandrad hated it. He was used to the procedural operations of the military; where orders were given by those above and those below were to follow them. You earned based on what rank you were, which wasn’t altogether unlike what a guild was. You were ranked into a system within the guild’s databases and whatever rank you were, you could take better paying and arguably more dangerous jobs.
That’s something Vandrad could get behind. And if he wanted to, at the very least, appear to be fully dedicated to Fairy Tail, he had to play the part. He certainly wasn’t lacking for jewel given his heritage but he hated the idea of scouring through the intricacies of transferring literal riches without anyone noticing. Easier to leave behind what he had until he had decided to shed this ridiculous foolery. But he refused to start in the dredges of the lower-tiered jobs. Repairing houses and helping with food deliveries was scoff-inducing and he’d be damned first before he was found helping a goddamn cat out of a tree.
Luckily, there had been a posting that was listed as an alliance job. Fairy Tail was cooperating with the other independent guilds, Silver Wolf and Onyx Moon, and they had formed an impressive symbiotic union. It was rare to see that among any kind of major group in this day and age. But back to the point; this job was a cooperative mission, asking for a member of Fairy Tail to join one of Silver Wolf on a challenging job. Apparently, somewhere in the Silent Glaciers, was a cave that had once been used by pirates. Now they were all dead and their spirits were haunting the cavern. The locals nearby wanted them gone – probably because several adventurous souls had journeyed into the mouth and never returned. While they claimed not to care about the treasure, Vandrad highly doubted the call of riches would keep the townspeople humble for long.
Plus the prospect of working with someone else was… annoying, to say the least. Vandrad wasn’t exactly looking to make friends while he was here. But perhaps this agent of Silver Wolf had some information worth his own personal mission. He doubted it but he also knew better than to cast aside a possibility, at least until it was proven a dried well. And so he waited at the checkpoint he had agreed to meet, stuffing the paper back into his pocket with a snort and looking towards the skyline. He’d been warned about the cold of the land so, in preparation, he had bought the first snow jacket he could find. The bright green jacket was quite the eyecatcher, with large purple letters signifying the brand. Its look and color mattered very little to the Prince; he wasn’t looking to impress anyone. He just wanted to get the job done.
Though he could hardly deny the prospect of fighting was uplifting. It had been some time since he’d been able to unleash his might.