Changes to the Holy Light Cross

Yinsen had no idea how far he had walked when he felt the illusion spell he had cast unravel. It had been a spell set up in advance and triggered directly; after activating it, he had barely interfered with the illusion at all.

Though it had been a dreamlike illusion, it could also be treated as something they had truly experienced.

At the same time, once the illusion dissipated, everything that had happened within it converged into a piece of information and was transmitted to Yinsen, the caster, allowing him to know everything that had occurred there.

"All the treasures I left behind were found."

Yinsen had left a few things in the illusion. Rather than items, they were more like pieces of "knowledge." As long as they were found, the contents would seem engraved in the mind, allowing every detail to be recalled clearly.

If Leon and Claire cultivated according to that knowledge, they might gain abilities far beyond those of ordinary people—though the knowledge would not remain in their minds forever. If they did not believe in it or were unwilling to practice as instructed, it would gradually be forgotten with time.

And it would be forgotten completely. Even if they wanted to recall the details later, they would be unable to. At most, they would know that they had once obtained such knowledge.

I gave you the chance. If you do not want it yourself, then I’ll take the good stuff back.

"I wonder what choice the two of them will make."

Would Leon and Claire truly believe that knowledge? Would they take the initiative to cultivate? Yinsen was looking forward to finding out.

As for teaching that knowledge to others, Yinsen was not worried about that happening.

In this world without magic, cultivating any special abilities was far from easy. The knowledge Leon and Claire had received also came with a "seed." Without that seed, the cultivation methods would be like the ones described in novels—no matter how one looked at them, they seemed completely made up.

Yinsen’s sudden desire to leave Leon an Easter egg was actually related to his Holy Light Cross.

When he entered the research facility to collect Virus Samples, the journey had been relatively easy. After clearing out the Tyrant and G-form William, those two major bosses, ordinary zombies could not cause this small group any trouble. Yinsen was even able to collect Virus Samples while splitting his attention to inspect his Holy Light Cross.

After examining it over and over, he discovered that his Holy Light Cross had undergone a strange change. He had also found Marvin Branagh’s soul inside the cross.

It was the Black police officer he had "saved" with a single shot. The officer’s soul was bathed in Holy Light and praying with immense devotion, while the surrounding Holy Light continuously transformed his soul.

Had that been all, Yinsen’s first reaction would definitely have been to clear out the soul. He was worried that Marvin would eventually evolve into something like the Artifact Spirit of the cross. However, he discovered that as Marvin prayed devoutly, the Holy Light slowly grew, while strange changes also appeared within the cross.

"It looks like it’s slowly turning into a world?"

There was ground formed from Holy Light and a cross the size of a person. Marvin knelt on one knee before that cross, praying without pause.

Yinsen knew that the inside of his cross had definitely not looked like this before. Marvin’s soul seemed to be influencing its interior, causing the cross to evolve toward becoming a Small World.

"Maybe Marvin’s thoughts influenced the Holy Light, so it began evolving a heaven according to his ‘prayers’?"

Yinsen could not probe Marvin’s thoughts, but he could learn a few things from what Marvin muttered during his prayers. The Black police officer seemed to believe that he had arrived in heaven. Being bathed in Holy Light made him feel that his soul had been sublimated. Especially after he began praying, "heaven" had even given him a place to stand, making him increasingly devout.

Even Yinsen was speechless at this development. He occasionally pretended to be some mystical prophet, but he had never expected to somehow become one for real. Marvin’s prayers often mentioned him as well. Through the Holy Light, Marvin had learned that Yinsen was the master of these powers. In Marvin’s heart, Yinsen was probably already on roughly the same level as God Himself.

As time passed and more and more miracles of Holy Light appeared, Yinsen’s status in Marvin’s heart would sooner or later surpass that great being.

Regardless of how Yinsen had inexplicably become a god in Marvin’s eyes, he was now very curious about what Marvin’s soul would ultimately become. He did not know whether it was an illusion, but he felt that a blurry shadow of wings seemed to have appeared behind Marvin’s back. Would this guy eventually become an angel?

That was not impossible. Marvin, who had remained bathed in Holy Light, would most likely eventually condense a body made of pure energy. A body that existed between substance and illusion would naturally no longer be limited to its appearance in life. It would undergo changes based on certain obsessions and thoughts in the mind, spiritual attributes, and energy characteristics.

Considering how well-known angels were in this land, Marvin, who believed he had arrived in heaven, might well harbor a longing to become an angel. If the Holy Light remained influenced by him for a long time, it might truly give him an angelic body.

Besides, Yinsen’s Holy Light itself came from the Power of Faith of countless Christian believers. It already possessed that attribute within it. Marvin’s thoughts were merely a catalyst that awakened that preexisting attribute.

It was precisely because he had witnessed the various strange changes in Marvin and the Holy Light Cross that Yinsen developed a mischievous impulse. He added a few things to the illusion, made some of that Holy Light power into seeds, and left them in the illusion as treasures.

A method for training Mental Power; a way to nurture and strengthen the seeds; and some techniques for using cold weapons and firearms, including Energy Usage techniques such as infusing one’s own power into weapons to enhance their might.

Yinsen had not only left behind the power of Holy Light. He had also incorporated Azeroth’s theories of Holy Light and Shadow into this Cultivation System.

In theory, although he had left behind a seed of Holy Light power, anyone with sufficient talent could also obtain the power of Shadow.

Light and darkness had never existed alone. This principle applied to nearly all Cosmic Planes.

As for whether Leon could understand it and develop Shadow Power, Yinsen could not be bothered—he had already given him so many benefits. Was he supposed to be responsible for teaching him too? Even if Leon first acknowledged him as his master, Yinsen would still have to consider whether to accept him as a disciple.

"If Leon perfectly masters those powers, I wonder whether they’ll feed something back into this cross."

This was also an experiment. If it succeeded, his Holy Light Cross might truly evolve into a powerful Divine Artifact. But if that happened, this Biohazard World would need his focused attention. It would no longer be a world where he could simply make a score and leave.

"Nothing has gone wrong so far. There’s no harm in keeping watch on it."

Turning his attention back to the matter at hand, after separating from Leon and the others, Ada brought Yinsen and Annette to a small town nearby.

Yinsen had not even heard the town’s name before.

There were many inconspicuous small towns like this in North America. Many places had little contact with the outside world year-round and lived isolated lives. The townspeople repeated the same routines year after year, while children born and raised there would, like their parents, spend their entire lives in the town.

Such towns were closed-off and hostile to outsiders, and they did not readily accept new things. But the advantage was that they would not be disturbed here. Even federal agents and Umbrella Corporation special units would have difficulty finding them if they hid in such a place.

Ada had set up the Safe House here, so they would be very safe in the short term.

If it dragged on too long, Umbrella Corporation would have to face the federal government’s condemnation and the furious backlash of ordinary citizens. At that point, they would not have the energy to deal with Annette and the others.

"Just stay here quietly for the time being."

Though it was called a Safe House, this detached little villa was quite comfortable to live in. The remote town also had a pleasant environment, and its only road out was easily blocked by heavy snow in winter. Yinsen could quietly study the Virus Samples he had obtained here.

"Won’t that be too dangerous?"

This was Ada’s Safe House, not some secret research facility. Even if they bought some research equipment, it would all be ordinary equipment. There was no absolutely secure laboratory for him to use, and the Virus Samples in Yinsen’s hands were extremely dangerous.

"I’ll set up a secure space myself, so you do not need to worry about another Raccoon City happening."

To prove that he was telling the truth, he even showed Ada and Annette what kind of spell the Mirror Dimension actually was.

After seeing such a miraculous space, Annette and Ada no longer worried that Yinsen’s experiments would pose any danger. At the same time, they began to grow curious about the wondrous thing called magic.

"Can ordinary people learn your magic?"

"Of course."

Annette was not the only one who looked pleasantly surprised. Even Ada, who had received all sorts of training and could remain calm in most situations, felt her heartbeat quicken slightly.

But Yinsen immediately poured cold water over both of them.

"Whether you can learn it depends on your talent."

Anyone could try to learn, but there was no guarantee they would succeed. Leaving aside the Magic Knowledge Merlin had taught him and Asgard’s advanced magic, even the most basic introductory spells of Kamar-Taj were not something just anyone could master.

Mages had always been a profession with an extremely high threshold, no matter the world.