A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

Otherwise this would not happen.

"That archbishop, at a grand ceremony in Rome, unleashed a magic spell I remember calling 'Heaven's Gate.' Countless holy angels danced in the sky, ethereal flowers of all colors rained down, heavenly music filled the air, and the entire city was bathed in God's glory," he recounted in a tone filled with reminiscence and nostalgia. "People enthusiastically called out to God, praising His greatness..."

His voice suddenly became playful. "But this was also the Archbishop's peak. He accumulated power for decades, only to gain nearly twenty minutes of boundless glory."

"Sir, are you saying..." Thomas asked. "The magic can't be restored?"

It disappears after use?

"It's restored the same way it was created. There are many theories about this. Well, the monastery's books contain relevant content, at least twenty of them... You can read them carefully later. But I agree with a theory prevalent among wizards: magic comes from the Weave. To use the Weave's power, one must exchange a portion of their soul. The essence of meditation is to strengthen the soul. And every time you cast a spell, you are severing a portion of your soul."

"permanent?"

"permanent!"

"And then I practiced for decades..." Thomas asked quietly. "And only used three or five spells?"

The deputy dean laughed. "Not three or five," he said. "Meditation requires talent. While anyone can practice meditation, it takes an average person about ten years of meditation to cast a single first-level spell. He spent his entire life practicing, and even at the end of his life, he probably only had enough to cast a third-level spell. Well, that's enough to hold a ceremony in a rural area, proclaiming the Lord's glory, or at least demonstrate flight."

"How many levels of magic are there?"

"Nine levels. Levels one to three are usually called low-level spells, and they basically have auxiliary effects. Levels four to six are called intermediate spells, and levels seven to nine are advanced spells. Higher spells theoretically exist, but even I've never seen one. There are actually quite a few people who master intermediate spells. In our monastery, there are at least twenty or thirty, and they're mostly ascetics. But for ascetics... advanced spells are probably somewhat useful. Otherwise, they're useless."

Thomas finally understood.

"So, even for a knight, meditation is useful, magic is also useful. It might save your life in a critical moment, but once used, it's gone. As a knight, you can possess magic, but you can't rely on it."

Thomas didn't know how to describe his mood. Extreme joy and extreme sorrow?

Magic exists, but it has little practical value, or at least very little practical value.

No wonder the world is the way it is.

Everyone will practice martial arts diligently, and the spellcaster will only be heard but not seen.

"It's said that those blasphemous wizards have some techniques that can reduce the loss of souls. However, they only reduce it, and the essence remains unchanged. And those blasphemous techniques that go against God are not allowed!" The deputy dean's voice became stern. "Anyone who dares to do so is blasphemous and will be hunted down by the Inquisition!"

"Thank you for your guidance." Thomas stood up and saluted. "Then I'll go find Teacher Giuliano."

"Well, go ahead." said the vice president.

After Thomas left, he narrowed his eyes.

It’s okay, this young man’s character is a little better than he expected.

With him looking after him, it would be difficult for his son to be ambushed... It would be much safer to have someone watching over him.

He slowly pulled out a piece of letter paper from his pocket. Fortunately, he was always cautious and kept this kind of thing close to him. Otherwise...

Later that day, in the grove, beneath a larger oak tree.

Two men stood there. One was elegantly dressed, the other in the simple attire of an ascetic monk. The elegantly dressed man was younger, wearing a pomegranate-red velvet jacket with gold buttons, pale blue velvet breeches, and deerskin gaiters embellished with a variety of patterns. An exquisitely crafted dagger tucked into his belt. He stood there, his gaze shifting, as if examining the surrounding foliage. The ascetic monk, clearly older, simply stood there with his hands clasped in his hands.

"Failed?" the man asked in a very low voice.

"No, either the letter has been destroyed by him, or someone tipped him off and he found out in advance," the ascetic monk replied.

"Known it in advance? Why do you say that? Who leaked the news? Any clues?" The young man was very surprised.

"There's no clue, but he suddenly stopped Otto's plan to go out. So I think he might have noticed something."

"Tsk!" the young man cursed softly. "Guess I have to try another way."

"…Can we try again? What if he doesn't leave the monastery?"

"Of course." The young man laughed. "If he can't say it, then he won't say it?"

"He's so vigilant...it's difficult. After all, no one in the monastery would go against his decision."

"But what if Otto voluntarily disobeys his father's instructions? What if he's determined and sneaks out?"

"How... can you take the initiative?" The ascetic monk was puzzled.

It is not easy for a son to disobey his father.

The young man exuded confidence. "For example, love!"

"love?"

"We need to give that fool a chance. Arrange an opportunity for... a woman to enter the convent. Then let them meet. As long as there's the bait of love, that fool will definitely take the bait. It will even be better than our original plan. No special means are needed. Just a woman's request can make him sneak out. Then things will be easy."

"One more thing. Today our Vice-Dean announced a personnel change! It seems a novice monk named Thomas has been accepted as Giuliano's student. Well, I guess he arranged for Thomas to be Otto's follower."

"Who is this Thomas?"

"He should be a farmer's son, the kind whose parents are both orphaned..."

"It's common for a young monk to encounter accidents when he's out. For example, wasn't the newly appointed dean robbed and killed by a group of roving bandits on the way?" The young man interrupted the other person coldly.

He was just a farmer's son with no family, no connections, and no background. In this operation, he was a completely insignificant character.

Just die, there will be no sequelae.

Section 17 Classification 1

On the other side, in the training ground at the corner of the monastery, Thomas met Coach Giuliano.

The security captain was wearing a very simple leather vest and shorts, with his arms and half of his legs bare.

It was already late autumn, and a strong breeze would make people shrink their necks. But he was oblivious to it, still carefully polishing and wiping a long sword with the whetstone and rag in his hands.

That aura is like a crouching tiger. Even though you know it is harmless, it still makes people feel awe-inspiring.

"Giuliano...Teacher." Thomas came to his side and called softly.

"Hmm...are you Thomas?" The tiger turned his head, his sharp gaze chilling to the heart. The long sword in his hand intentionally or unintentionally shone a cold light into Thomas' eyes, captivating him.

"Yes, I am," said Thomas.

I didn’t feel it before when we were at a distance, but now that we are really up close and one-on-one, I feel the pressure.

Just that kind of look can make people feel extremely helpless and want to run away quickly.

If you were an enemy, you would be trembling with fear, right?

Although I just learned that the martial arts in this world seem to be very low in strength, no different from the magic-free world in my previous life, but right now, this feeling... well, knights still have a future.

Come to think of it, magic also has a future. After all, I still have a damaged divine nature.

Thinking of this, Thomas felt that things might not be as bad as he had just said.

Perhaps I can be an exception?

If divine power is considered a kind of spell, then Thomas's magic is obviously not irreversible.

Just attend a Mass.

But no matter what, it's right to learn some fighting skills first.

"Why do you want to be a knight...or a knight of the church?"

"Because I don't think anyone else would teach me," Thomas admitted.

"Interesting... Did you hear something?" Giuliano asked. "For example, the new dean is dead."

"Dead?" Thomas's surprise was not fake.

"Well, we encountered bandits on our way to our post..." Giuliano said, examining his sword carefully. "The whole team is dead. Ha... can you believe it?"

"Uh..." Thomas didn't know how to respond.

"My boy, this world is more complicated than you think. You see, the selection of the new abbot is not so easy to decide. For several months, or even longer, this monastery will be without an abbot. It may seem chaotic, but... don't be too hasty. The choice you make now," he paused. "You may regret it in the future!"

"I've made up my mind," Thomas replied. "I want to be a knight!"

Regardless of whether the dean is dead or not, this is a decision he made long ago.

This answer surprised Giuliano a bit, and he smiled. "Put on this bag, run around in circles, and let me see what you've got!"

It was a bag full of sand, and it felt heavy on my back.

This should be a measure of Thomas's physical fitness. Later generations called it weighted running, which is also a very typical test.

There was nothing much to say. Thomas put on the sandbag and started running around the perimeter of the martial arts field.

Round and round, they ran six times. When Thomas felt that he was about to lose strength, Giuliano called a halt.

"That's enough," Giuliano said, clearly a little surprised. "You have a really good foundation."

Thomas bent over, panting, sweat dripping from his body. This was already his limit, but he didn't know what level it would be in the eyes of a knight like Giuliano.

"Teacher, how is my physical condition?"

"Not bad, your physical condition is surprisingly good," Giuliano said. "You've never exercised?"

"Hmm...does labor count? Farming, washing clothes, things like that..."

"That's useless," Giuliano said impatiently. "It seems you have some talent. If that's the case, then we can save ourselves a lot of trouble. We don't have to spend so much time on preliminary training."

"Let's try this again." Seeing that Thomas's breathing had evened out, Giuliano pointed to a nearby tree. "I'll knock on the tree, and you grab the fallen leaves."

After saying this, he kicked the tree trunk. The tree trembled and countless leaves fell.

The leaves seemed to fall slowly, but catching them was not so easy. Thomas was so flustered that he only caught seven or eight.

"Not bad, the physical reaction is also acceptable!" Giuliano was slightly interested. He didn't want to waste his time on a useless person with no future, but if there was really that much talent, he wouldn't mind teaching a qualified disciple.

After all, he was the monastery's security captain, and although he had nothing else to offer, he still had plenty of free time.

"That's quite interesting," he said quietly, then studied Thomas's figure carefully.

"Teacher, I heard someone say before that knights also need to practice meditation?" Thomas felt uncomfortable with the other party's gaze and couldn't help asking a question.

"It doesn't matter whether you learn or not," Giuliano said. "Ten years of training will only give you enough time to use one spell. Think about it yourself. But..." He suddenly smiled again. "Come to think of it, knights have free time too."

"what?"

"While martial arts require a lot of time to practice, the reality is that people only have a limited amount of time to do so each day," Giuliano said. "You can't increase this indefinitely without incurring significant strain and causing additional damage to the body. So, whatever you choose to do with the extra time is your own decision. Meditation... is indeed a required course for knights."

His meaning was clear. Spells weren't very useful, but if you had too much time, it would be nice to make use of them.

"It's too late to practice swordplay today." Giuliano glanced at the sky. Thomas had just run with weights, and his energy was already greatly depleted. It was indeed not suitable for exercise. "If you want to learn, I can teach you the meditation method."

"Teacher, can I ask what level of martial arts training is to reach the pinnacle?"

Thomas was not unwilling, but since he knew that supernatural powers did exist in this world, the knight's fighting power must be higher than that of the magic-free plane.

"Mastering martial arts is incredibly difficult. Regardless of the fighting technique, it takes a decade or so to even achieve even modest success. When it comes to determining strength, equipment must be considered first. Only when the equipment is equal can strength be compared. If you're unarmed and your opponent is armed and armored, even ten years of diligent training would hardly defeat an ordinary person. With equal equipment, you could easily defeat ten against an untrained mob. But facing a well-trained soldier is a completely different story. It's hard to say, but if you're surrounded by three or more, you'd probably be lucky to find someone to take with you. So, don't ever think you've achieved academic success and want to become a mercenary and go to war!"

"So, martial arts are of little use on the battlefield?"

Giuliano laughed and pointed, and Thomas saw a matchlock gun placed over there.

It was indeed a matchlock gun, the kind I had seen many photos of in my previous life, with the matchlock burning.

"Do you think you can withstand this thing, no matter how powerful you are? Armies everywhere have always had no shortage of archers, and in recent years, there have been more and more firearms. No matter how well you practice the art of fighting and killing, you will be helpless against these long-range attacks!"

"This..." Thomas began to understand. The military power of this world was undoubtedly stronger than that of Earth in his previous life, but it was hard to say how much stronger. At least, the basic order and rules of war had not changed.

"Then... why do we still need to practice martial arts?" And practice for more than ten years?

"Because not everyone needs to challenge the regular army. For self-preservation, for self-defense, for dealing with ordinary thieves or rioters! Of course, there are exceptions." He sighed softly. "If we talk about combat power, there are five levels!"

Section 18 Classification 2

"Speaking of strength, different martial arts schools and weapons have distinct criteria and growth milestones. For example, the most common longsword swordplay, as far as I know, has sixteen schools. If you include sword and shield, the number doubles. It can be said that there are an infinite number of fighting styles in this world," Giuliano said. "Each path progresses differently, and the stages are divided into irregularities. Therefore, there is no absolute standard for measuring strength. For example, beginners are known by at least dozens of terms, including 'novice,' 'trainee,' 'apprentice,' 'newcomer,' 'apprentice,' and so on. These are all different names, but they all refer to the same person. And as for accomplished students, there are at least a host of titles, including 'coach,' 'instructor,' 'master,' 'consummated,' 'victor,' and so on."

"No one can truly understand the relative strengths of different schools. Who's more powerful, a swordsman or a shadow assassin? Is there any point in forcing different fighters into a duel? Those assassins who delve deeply into their potential, consuming their entire soul, and paying the price with madness and death... those types of people strike with high-level spells, possessing theoretically superhuman power, yet inevitably fall after a brief period of glory. How can they be compared to other schools?"

"So the so-called 'five-level system' isn't an absolute division of strength, but merely a conventional reference."

"It was probably during the time of Charlemagne. To address issues of deployment, personal safety, and rewards, he established a five-level system, which wasn't very precise, but was better than nothing, as a reference for the knights' respective strength."

"The first level is the novice. The reference standard is a healthy young man who has not received any training."

"The second level is ordinary. The reference standard is soldiers with more than three years of service experience and at least two combat operations."

"The third level is the core. In my words, these are knights who have trained for more than ten years, have achieved some success in martial arts, and have a certain amount of combat experience. This combat experience must include both individual combat and group combat."

"The fourth level is the elite. This is a standard that normal people can never reach. It requires exceptional talent and long-term training. Even in battle formations, one must possess the ability to break through enemy lines head-on. If you've read those chivalric legends, you'll find that the protagonists in those stories meet this standard."

"The fifth level, Protector of the Nation. Even in Charlemagne's time, there were only twelve. In theory, they possess the ability to single-handedly defeat a small enemy army. They could form an army all on their own. Of course, in actual combat, this is impossible. Muskets and crossbows are not just for show. No one, even the elite or Protector of the Nation, can withstand bullets and arrows with their flesh and blood. If they were hit by a bullet, it's hard to say how much fighting power they would have left."

Giuliano looked at Thomas and told the story in detail.