OBS Chapter 4223 The Story of Mr. Finch
Chapter 4223 The Story of Mr. Finch
Chapter 4223 The Story of Mr. Finch
When Shad saw the carriage last week in the factory behind the gear workshop, it was still half-finished, and of course, it was impossible for all the configurations to be completed at that time.
But it's not the end of the world, just a sudden downpour. Mr. Finch obviously just wanted to test his masterpiece in this kind of weather.
The carriage was driven by a local sorcerer from the Hermitage Order. Although Shad had never met him before, Mr. Finch assured him of his absolute reliability. Aside from the driver and the old man himself, he hadn't brought anyone else. Shad understood Mr. Finch's meaning, so he asked him to wait a moment and then returned to the house to say goodbye to Viggo.
"I'll just stick with Mr. Finch; he's a high-ring sorcerer."
Viggo had also heard Xia De mention the [Light-Guiding Hermitage], and she nodded:
"But you didn't bring your sword today."
"As long as the moon remains, I will never lack a sword."
Shad made a sword-wielding gesture:
"Stay home and try not to go out until things are over."
Wei Ge nodded:
"If things go smoothly, come back soon. I've prepared a bathtub for you at home."
The two looked at each other, both thinking about what had happened yesterday afternoon and evening.
Shad tried hard to appear indifferent:
"I hope I can get rid of these relics as soon as possible. Then wait for my return."
Although Mr. Finch's carriage was not yet fully completed, it was at least less empty inside than it had been last week. The cabinets, tool table, and small alchemy station fixed to the carriage floor were all brand new, and hooks on the walls held various readily available alchemical tools and spellcasting materials.
The carriage had windows and doors on all four sides, and even the roof had observation windows and a trapdoor that could barely be passed through. After the carriage started moving in the pouring rain, Shad felt almost no vibration, indicating that the axles also employed some kind of vibration damping technology.
Mr. Finch was quite pleased with his invention, but he hadn't come specifically to show off to Shad.
"The target this time is Rain Man. Do you know anything about him?"
The old man asked the young man, and Xia De shook his head:
"I only know its general characteristics. After all, it is a Sage-level relic. I haven't seen the relevant containment report."
"I'll give you the details later. We won't stay in the upper city. The carriage needs to be disguised; it's a big one. We'll go to the outer city to search for the target. That's where the population is most dense, and once the relic reaches the third stage, the damage it will cause will be the greatest."
If we can find the [Rain Man], we should banish it if possible. Although this relic has a mummified form, it's almost a concept and cannot be contained like the [Leatherwork Guild], which possesses a physical form. The good news is, however, this relic is not nearly as dangerous as the [Leatherwork Guild], which is also a Sage-level being.
“Mr. Finch, you are very knowledgeable about this kind of relic, aren’t you?”
Amidst the rumbling of the carriage, Shad asked, and the old man nodded:
“I actually encountered it once; I was 32 years old that year.”
Although Mr. Finch had encountered this relic many years ago, it wasn't in Arcadia City; the story takes place on the east coast of the Old World. It was a story with an unpleasant ending: a young Mr. Finch was assigned by the Order to retrieve a precious ancient book from a hermit scholar in a small town on the east coast of Carsonrick.
In that small town, which has since been removed from the list of famous towns, someone used a ritual that should not have worked and could not even be explained by mysticism to successfully summon the Rain Man.
On the first day, it rained heavily; on the second day, frogs croaked in the town; on the third day, Mr. Finch arrived and witnessed the town's fate.
“There were frogs everywhere, or things that looked like frogs. I arrived in the city at night, knocked on the door of the eccentric folklorist in the rain, and stayed at his house that night. When I was awakened by the croaking of frogs, it was too late.”
Inside the carriage, the old man sighed as he loaded his double-barreled shotgun. Although the shotgun was merely an alchemical weapon made by Mr. Finch himself, both the weapon and the bullets were imbued with a special fire damage effect against the enemy they were facing.
"That town was too remote, with only the Church of Nature stationed there. The two ring sorcerers in the church, along with another ring sorcerer from out of town who was looking for potion ingredients, and I, the four of us, struggled to protect the only remaining ordinary people who had escaped the frog tide and reached the church during the torrential rain. In the end, we all held on until the arrival of the main church force."
For years afterward, I had nightmares about that incident: swarms of frogs, big and small, gray and colorful, two-headed and three-headed, some with bumps and some without.
The old man picked up the cloth on the table and carefully wiped the barrel of the double-barreled shotgun.
“After that, I would get goosebumps just looking at a frog. It took me at least ten years before I was willing to use materials made of frogs.”
This reminded Shad of the magical technique "Frog Leap" that had been with him since his early days in the rings:
How did the church handle that incident back then?
"After the main force of the church arrived, they completely sealed off the town and the surrounding area. Then, the small teams divided into groups to clean up all frog-related creatures, even ordinary frogs that looked innocent lying in the pond, which were burned to ashes and the ashes were soaked in holy water."
The team leader, Thirteen Rings, along with Twelfth Rings, ventured deep into the town's center, forcibly killing the relic and banishing it. That thing is susceptible to special fire damage, so remember to use fire-based abilities frequently later.
Xia De nodded, then asked:
"Was the guy who used the ritual to summon the relics the folklorist you went to?"
Mr. Finch understood Shad's prejudice against folklorists quite well; in fact, it wasn't really prejudice, but at least this time it wasn't the folklorists who caused the trouble.
"No, it was someone else. The other person messed everything up."
After the incident, the Prophet's Association entered and used divination to recount what had happened. It turned out that a ring warlock of only the third ring level had gone mad while trying to obtain spirit runes through reading. He didn't know whether he had heard murmurs from the void or had simply witnessed a similar ritual before, and after going insane, he summoned relics.
After the relic arrived, he also transformed into a frog monster, and was eliminated when the main force of the church arrived. While most Ring Mages may not be very strong in their normal state, a crazed Ring Mage, even a low-level one, can cause destruction that would surprise even those at the thirteenth ring.
Therefore, our Secret Order has always strongly supported the Church's control over supernatural powers. Ring sorcerers who haven't been trained by legitimate organizations like the Church, academies, or the Society of Prophets are truly as terrifying as unstable steam bombs.
As Mr. Finch told his story, a carriage disguised as a normal-sized carriage traveled from the Upper Town to the Outer Town at the foot of the mountain. The rainy weather had removed the usual misty atmosphere from the Outer Town, but the streets were not deserted; there were many people struggling to make a living.
The "Rain Man" has no detectable features, nor is there a specific way to detect it. Although its true form is a humanoid sage-level relic, the whispering element it possesses is not significant, and as time goes on, the torrential rain caused by it will better conceal it.
Mr. Finch used a more traditional method of searching, which was to drive a carriage through the streets and alleys. If they were to stumble upon the gradually changing mummified corpse, then with Mr. Finch and Shad's perception abilities, they would be able to detect its appearance even without looking out.
So the two horses pulling the carriage are the ones who are working the hardest today. However, Mr. Finch's carriage has mechanical devices and steam power to assist in its operation, and the two horses are said to have a very rare mixed breed, so they should be fine.
Two windows on either side were opened a crack to observe the outside, while inside the carriage, Shad and Mr. Finch continued their conversation about recent events. After the [Leatherworks Guild] was successfully contained, the issue of flesh-and-machine mutation resurfaced.
Because such cases are extremely rare, Mr. Finch has only vaguely heard rumors and is unaware of the specifics. Shad told the old man about what had happened to Eve, and Mr. Finch was just as surprised as Shad had been initially:
"What kind of method could possibly influence all flesh-and-blood races to undergo such a change? An angelic relic? An unknowable relic?"
"I'm curious too. Maybe it has something to do with the talent of the chosen ones."
Shad sighed, then chatted with Mr. Finch about the "Sea of Origins," mentioning what Old John had said about Mr. Finch also going into the "Sea of Origins" to investigate.
"Yes, if that ocean really does descend upon Arcadia, as the local head of the Hermitage, I have a responsibility to enter it and record what I see and hear, just like my predecessors did back then."
Mr. Finch nodded:
"But who knows how many innocent locals will be drawn in at that time?"
"Actually, I have dreamed about that sea twice. The first time might have been due to my own reasons, but the second time should be a premonition."
Shad briefly described his dream from last night:
“Old Man John has given me all the information about that sea from the Secret Order. Although you don’t know what kind of power that sea possesses, is it possible that the ability to cause targeted mutations in flesh and blood is related to the Sea of Origin?”
Shad shared his conjecture:
"After all, that is where the ancient gods created life, the very origin of all life."
"It sounds reasonable, but it's just speculation."
P.S.: Sorry, I'm an hour late today.