Chapter 4178: Mr. Finch's Story

When Xia De saw this carriage in the factory behind the Gear Workshop last week, it was still in a semi-finished state; naturally, it was impossible for all its configurations to be completed by now.

But it was not the end of the world, just a sudden downpour, and Mr. Finch clearly only wanted to test his masterpiece in this kind of weather.

The carriage was being driven by a local Ringed Shushi from the Luminary Society. Although Xia De had never met him, Mr. Finch guaranteed that the other party was absolutely reliable. Aside from the coachman and the old gentleman himself, he had not called upon anyone else this time. Xia De understood Mr. Finch's intention, so he asked him to wait a moment while he returned to the house to say goodbye to Miss Feilian:

"I'll just go with Mr. Finch; he is a High-Ring Shushi, after all."

Miss Feilian had also heard Xia De mention the Luminary Society, so she nodded:

"But you didn't bring your sword today."

"As long as the moon remains, I shall not lack a precious sword in my hand."

Xia De made a gesture of holding a sword:

"Stay at home, and try not to go out until things are over."

Miss Feilian nodded:

"If things can be resolved smoothly, you must return quickly. I will have the... bath prepared for you at home."

The two looked at each other, both thinking of what had happened yesterday afternoon and evening.

Xia De tried to act as if he didn't care much:

"I hope we can deal with this relic as soon as possible. Well then, wait for my return."

Although Mr. Finch's carriage was not yet completely finished, compared to last week, the interior at least appeared less empty. The cabinets fixed to the carriage floor, the tool workbench, and a small alchemical table were all brand new, while the hooks on the walls were hung with various easily accessible alchemical tools and spellcasting materials.

There were windows and doors on all four sides of the carriage, and even the roof had an observation window and a trapdoor that one could barely pass through. After the carriage started in the pouring rain, Xia De could barely feel any vibration; clearly, the axles also employed some kind of anti-vibration technology.

Mr. Finch was quite satisfied with his invention, though he hadn't come specifically to show off to Xia De.

"The target this time is the Rain Man. Do you know anything about it?"

The old gentleman asked the young man, and Xia De shook his head:

"I only know its general characteristics. After all, this is a Sage-level relic, and I haven't seen the relevant containment report."

"I will tell you the detailed intelligence in a moment. We won't stay in the Upper City; the carriage needs to activate its camouflage. It's a big one, so we'll head to the Outer City to search for the target. That's where the population is densest, and once the relic reaches the third stage, the damage it causes will be the greatest.

If we can find the 【Rain Man】, we must banish it if possible. Although this relic has a mummified body, it has already become nearly conceptual and cannot be contained like the corporeal 【Leather Goods Hall】. But the good news is that this relic is not nearly as dangerous as the 【Leather Goods Hall】, which is also Sage-level."

"Mr. Finch, you are very knowledgeable about this kind of relic, aren't you?"

Xia De asked amidst the rumbling sound of the carriage, and the old gentleman nodded:

"Actually, I have encountered it before. I was 32 years old that year."

Although Mr. Finch had encountered this relic many years ago, it was not in the city of Arcadia; the story took place on the east coast of the Old Continent. It was a story with an unhappy ending. When he was young, Mr. Finch was assigned by the Hermit Society to go to a small town on the east coast of Karsenrick to retrieve a precious ancient book from a reclusive folklorist.

It was in that small town, which has since been struck from the records, that someone used a certain ritual that should have been ineffective—and could not even be explained by mysticism—to successfully summon the Rain Man.

The first day, torrential rain poured down; the second day, frogs wailed throughout the town; the third day, Mr. Finch arrived there and witnessed the end of that town.

"There were frogs everywhere, or things that looked like frogs. I arrived in that city at night, knocked on the door of that eccentric folklorist in the rain, and stayed in his house that night. And when I was woken up by the croaking of frogs, it was already too late."

In the carriage, the old gentleman sighed as he loaded his double-barreled shotgun. Although the shotgun was just an alchemical weapon Mr. Finch had made himself, both the weapon and the bullets had been imbued with special fire damage effects targeting this enemy:

"That town was too remote; the only ones stationed there were the Church of Nature. The two Ringed Shushi in the church, plus myself and another foreign Ringed Shushi who was looking for potion materials in the area—the four of us struggled through the rainstorm to protect the remaining ordinary people, including that folklorist, who had escaped the frog tide and fled to the church. In the end, we all held out until the main force of the church arrived.

Afterwards, I had nightmares about that incident for many years. Frogs everywhere, big ones and small ones, gray ones and colorful ones, two-headed ones and three-headed ones, ones with bumps and ones without..."

The old man picked up the cloth on the table again and carefully wiped the barrel of the double-barreled shotgun:

"Ever since then, I feel my scalp tingle even when I see a frog. It took at least ten years before I was willing to use materials made of frog parts."

This reminded Xia De of the miracle "Frog's Leap" that had followed him since he was a low-rank:

"How did the church solve that incident back then?"

"After the church's main force arrived, they completely sealed off the town and the surrounding area. Then, small teams were divided to clear out all creatures related to frogs, even if they looked like innocent ordinary frogs lying in a pond; they were to be burned to ashes and the ashes soaked in holy water.

The leader of the team, a Thirteen-Ring and a Twelve-Ring, went deep into the center of the town together, forcibly killed the relic's body, and banished it. That thing takes special damage from fire; you should also remember to use fire-type abilities more often in a moment."

Xia De nodded and asked again:

"Was the guy who used the ritual to summon the relic the folklorist you went to find?"

Mr. Finch was quite understanding of Xia De's prejudice against folklorists. In fact, it wasn't prejudice, but at least this time, it wasn't the folklorist who caused the trouble:

"No, it was someone else. The other party messed everything up.

After the incident ended, the Prophet Society entered and used divination to retrace what happened. It was a Ringed Shushi who was only at the Third-Ring level. He went crazy while trying to read a book to obtain a spiritual rune. He didn't know if he had heard the whispers in the void, or if he had just seen a similar ritual before. After going crazy, he summoned the relic.

After the relic descended, he also turned into a frog monster and was cleared out after the church's main force arrived. Ringed Shushi might not be very strong when they are normal, but for a crazy Ringed Shushi, even if they are only low-rank, the destruction they cause might surprise even the Thirteen-Rings.

That is why our Hermit Society has always supported the church's control over supernatural power. Ringed Shushi who are not trained by proper organizations like the church, the Academy, or the Prophet Society are actually as terrifying as unstable steam bombs."

While Mr. Finch was telling the story, the carriage, disguised to look like a normal size, traveled all the way from the Upper City to the Outer City at the foot of the mountain. In the rainy weather, the Outer City no longer had its usual smoky appearance, but the streets were not empty; there were too many people here struggling to make a living.

The "Rain Man" had no detectable characteristics, nor was there a specific way to detect it. Although the other party's body was a humanoid Sage-level relic, the whisper elements possessed by its body were not significant, and as time passed, the rainstorm caused by it would also better conceal it.

Mr. Finch adopted a more traditional way of searching, which was to drive the carriage through the streets and alleys. If they could really run into that gradually changing mummy, then with the sensory abilities of Mr. Finch and Xia De, they would be able to perceive its appearance even without looking outside.

So the ones working hard today were the two horses pulling the carriage. However, Mr. Finch's carriage had mechanical devices and steam-powered equipment to assist in driving, and those two horses were said to have very thin exotic bloodlines, so they should be fine.

The side windows were each opened a crack to observe the outside, while Xia De and Mr. Finch in the carriage continued to chat about recent events. After the 【Leather Goods Hall】 was successfully contained, the matter of flesh-mechanical mutations popped up.

Because such cases were very rare, Mr. Finch had only vaguely heard rumors and did not know the specific situation. Xia De told the old gentleman what had happened to Eve, and Mr. Finch was as surprised as Xia De had been at the time:

"What kind of means could influence all flesh races to undergo such changes? An Angel-level relic? An Unknown-level relic?"

"I am also very curious. Perhaps it has something to do with the Chosen One's talent."

Xia De sighed, then chatted with Mr. Finch about the "Sea of Origins" and mentioned that Old John had said Mr. Finch would also enter the "Sea of Origins" to investigate.

"Yes, if that ocean really descends on Arcadia, as the local person in charge of the Hermit Society, I have a responsibility to enter it and record what I see and hear, just like my predecessors did back then."

Mr. Finch nodded:

"It's just that I don't know how many innocent people will be drawn into it by then."

"Actually, I have dreamed of that sea twice. The first time might have been for my own reasons, but the second time should have been a premonition."

Xia De briefly explained his dream from last night:

"Old John has already given me all the information in the Hermit Society about that sea. Although you don't know what kind of power that sea possesses, is it possible that the ability to cause directed mutations in flesh-and-blood life is related to the Sea of Origins?"

Xia De said his conjecture:

"After all, that is where the Ancient God created life, and it is the initial starting point of all life."

"It sounds reasonable, but this is just a guess."

?? PS: Sorry, sorry, I'm an hour late today.