A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

There are other apprentices, but they are not in the monastery at the moment.

However, in this assessment, Thomas was just a passerby because no one from top to bottom thought he was qualified to pass.

After all, he had only been training for a few months. In this era, years of sword training were considered a small achievement, so a few months of training meant nothing.

This assessment was proposed by Giuliano, and once passed, one can become an official knight.

Although he was a knight of the church, he could still obtain knighthood, and this status was also widely recognized.

He could stay in the monastery and live a peaceful life, or he could leave the monastery and go anywhere with his status. In this era, turmoil was not unfamiliar, and conflicts between Bohemia and neighboring Poland were commonplace. A powerful knight was welcome wherever he went.

Although knights were like this when facing muskets and crossbows, that was only under normal circumstances. On the battlefield, while you could use muskets and crossbows, knights could also wear heavy armor.

In addition to them, there were five or six unfamiliar faces at the edge of the field.

There were five or six strangers, all dressed differently but exuding a sense of vigor and energy.

These people were mercenaries hired by Conrad.

The superficial reason was that the church was short-staffed and lacked sufficient defenses. The underlying reason was harder to pin down. They were also here as spectators, observing this assessment.

First, some basic martial arts exercises.

Five people stepped forward one by one and performed martial arts.

Conrad wasn't a professional warrior himself, but he had seen pigs walk, and he knew a thing or two about the ways of the sword. From the speed and strength displayed by these apprentice knights, he could roughly gauge their strength.

In reality, only one person was taking the test; the others were accompanying them. The reason they participated was to encourage them and increase their motivation to practice martial arts.

By this time, the first four had already completed their practice, and their performance was only decent. Only the first apprentice, Visa, stood out. He was also the actual test-taker.

This man has been training for five or six years, and his strength has reached the core level. With this level of skill, it is truly worthwhile to give him the title of knight.

It is said that it takes ten years to train to become a core player, but in fact, if you are really talented, have a teacher and practice hard, it is normal to become a core player in five or six years.

After watching everyone's martial arts performance, Thomas was convinced that the level of martial arts in this parallel dimension was probably a little higher than that of the Earth in his previous life.

The core players are probably at the level of world champions.

However, this small gap is not enough in the face of muskets. In other words, no matter how strong the melee ability is, it will disappear in the course of history.

Of course, if you include magic, that's another story. It's a shame that after ten years of meditation, you can only use magic once. Magic is simply not something a normal person can afford.

Visa's movements were very skillful and agile, with a wonderful rhythm between his steps and movements.

His sword-swinging speed cannot be said to be particularly fast, but rather sometimes fast and sometimes slow, but there is a natural rhythm between his movements.

Sometimes the rhythm of footsteps and swordplay merge, the whole person feeling like one, while other times the hands and feet move completely independently, with two completely different rhythms.

This is the combat capability level of the core members.

Facing such an enemy, a warrior of insufficient skill will be completely unable to grasp the opponent's rhythm and will easily fall into the dilemma of being led by the nose.

It's Thomas' turn.

He didn't show much of his skill, just moving his feet and swinging his sword in a standard manner. His moves were practiced, but nothing much was visible.

There's nothing special about speed and power.

But considering that he has only been practicing martial arts for a short time, this performance is considered average.

"What are you practicing?" After everyone finished their performance, Conrad finally called Visa over. "Is that also the Qi-raising Slash?"

"Yes," Visa replied.

"Qi-lifting slash?" Thomas was shocked. What was this?

"Knight's magic." Giuliano, standing next to Thomas, seemed to have noticed him. "It's too early for you to know this now. You'll understand once you're able to access the first layer of the magic web... Actually, it's nothing. Knight's magic isn't as flashy as ordinary spells. After all, close combat requires effectiveness and low cost."

"Is Qi-Boosting Slash low-cost?"

"Well, the Qi-lifting Slash is the simplest magic, equivalent to a first-level spell, but it can be used three times. It's so simple that it doesn't require instruction; anyone who reaches a moderate level can master it on their own. It essentially involves channeling magical energy through a sword, with an effective range of no more than ten steps," Giuliano said. "It's far inferior to a musket, but... it can be quite deadly in certain situations!"

Thomas looked back at the other apprentices. Several of them were biting their lips slightly. Even though their expressions remained unchanged, it was clear that this incident had had a significant impact on them.

This guy named Visa is far more powerful than everyone else. He'll be eligible for knighthood in five or six years.

But Thomas was more concerned about those strangers. As mentioned earlier, they were mercenaries recruited by Conrad.

For some reason, these people seemed to value him more than Visa. Their gazes would occasionally turn towards him.

This aroused his vigilance.

It's important to note that although Conrad was the examiner, Thomas knew that the Vice-Chancellor did not have the power to knight. The true knight should be Bishop Chomutov, or even Archbishop Litoměřice.

So there is also a reporting process.

That is why it is important to have all the details of your visa ready for reporting purposes.

The leader of the mercenaries stepped forward. He was a very tough-looking man.

It's time for him to come up.

Although this was an internal assessment within the monastery and ostensibly had nothing to do with the mercenaries, asking them to watch was actually a very obvious hint.

This is also to see what these people are capable of.

There are five apprentices with distinct strength levels on the scene, which can be used for comparison and reference to understand the strength of these mercenaries.

"Not bad, not bad," the man said. "Excellent, but it's just a performance after all. Without some practice, you won't be able to show your true strength."

His eyes flicked to Thomas.

"Why don't we have a sparring match to see how strong we are?"

Chapter 34: Fighting 2

Both sides donned training armor and weapons—the martial arts arena was fully equipped with various training equipment. But everyone unanimously chose swords. Different people chose different swords.

Spears and halberds had a significant advantage over swords, but unless they were on the battlefield, no one would carry such heavy weapons, let alone bows, crossbows, or muskets. In fact, these weapons were so cumbersome that even on the battlefield, knights would have to have a servant carry their spears.

In daily life, the sword is the most suitable weapon.

Thomas took the first round, wielding a standard longsword while his opponent chose a broadsword, which was wider and heavier than an ordinary longsword.

The opponent was the tallest of the group, who called himself "Rousseau." He only gave this first name, without a surname or his father's or mother's name.

From the beginning, there was no preparation at all. The opponent just leaped over and used the most ferocious chop with a top chop.

This was typical bullying as Thomas was a newbie.

Leap attacks are powerful, but they're definitely not suitable for use against unfamiliar enemies. After all, if a sword strike is blocked, deflected, or dodged, there's a high probability that the enemy will take advantage of the opportunity to counterattack. In actual combat, it's easy to be instantly killed.

Thomas didn't know how strong the opponent was, so he didn't dare to take it head-on. Instead, he carefully took a step back to avoid the sword.

He did not take the opportunity to fight back.

A flicker of disdain flashed in the opponent's eyes. Immediately after landing, he used the remaining momentum from his previous missed strike to thrust his broadsword forward, slashing across Thomas's leg.

He didn't care about Thomas's counterattack at all, because he knew very well that Thomas would not have time to fight back.

Ordinary people may not understand this, but any truly trained warrior will know that exercise not only increases human strength, but also increases human reaction and speed with long-term training.

Of course, like strength, speed and reflexes can't be improved indefinitely. If anything, they peak after about one or two years. Continued training will yield improvements, but the magnitude will be minimal. They can even slow down with age.

In other words, although Thomas's movements were normal when he was performing martial arts before, when he really started fighting, his movements were slower.

In Thomas's eyes, Rousseau's movements were fast, but in Rousseau's eyes, Thomas's movements were slow - that was probably the case.

So, this is a game of fast versus slow. The advantage is mine!

Giuliano frowned.

Something was not right... After all, everyone knew about Thomas's situation and knew that he was a newcomer who had not been trained for long.

Rousseau's attack was too fierce, not only fierce, but also all-out.

This isn't a life-and-death battle, but a contest to the point where your opponent is a complete newcomer.

Even if you win, you won't get anything, not even honor.

If the situation is really bad and you are forced into a corner, that's another matter. Why be so fierce at the beginning of the fight?

Thomas did not retreat further, or rather, when the opponent's first attack missed, he predicted the opponent's next attack.

The broadsword struck his legs, while Thomas thrust the tip of his sword into his opponent's head.

He gave up the opportunity to counterattack after the enemy's first attack missed, and thus gained enough leeway at this moment to make up for the defect of being slower than the enemy.

While he attacked his enemy's legs, the enemy attacked his unprotected head—though training with a sword wouldn't kill him, the exchange was certainly a loss. Rousseau abandoned the attack, choosing to retreat and stand upright.

After the first round, the two sides were surprisingly evenly matched. At least on the surface.

Giuliano couldn't help but gently applaud—Thomas's performance was unexpectedly good. Facing an opponent who surpassed him in both strength and speed, he decisively forfeited his first chance to retaliate, only to execute a perfect counterattack.

Rousseau began to attack again, with a series of jabs forcing Thomas back step by step.

The vice-president looked at the two people competing and nodded slightly.

Thomas's performance was better than expected. Although he appeared to be losing ground, those familiar with the situation knew that his footwork was impeccable and his balance was always in good control. This meant that even though he appeared to be losing ground, he still had the ability to strike back at any time.

This kid has some talent, and it's hard to train to this level in a few months.

Giuliano's eyes were fixed on Rousseau's movements - which were strange.

The broadsword can certainly be used for thrusting, but its real use is in slashing.

And the opponent's movements, that level of proficiency, that subtle sense of disharmony... in other words, the broadsword is not his usual weapon?

The opponent should be more proficient in other swords, such as standard swords, or swift swords, otherwise he would not be good at this kind of serial assassination moves.

Did he choose his weapon haphazardly because he looked down on Thomas, a newbie? Or was there something more to the story?

While others were still staring at the two people in the field, he had already picked up a spear from the side - it was called a spear, but the training equipment had no sharp blade, so it would be more appropriate to call it a long stick.

Suddenly, Rousseau roared. The sound was so loud that it made even those a little further away's ears ring. Thomas, who was close by, bore the brunt of the impact, his body slightly stifled.

This is a little trick used in battle. Although it is not very popular, it must be admitted that it has a surprising effect.

Rousseau raised his sword with both hands and slashed at Thomas' neck.

Thomas' eyes narrowed slightly, like a beast ready to attack at any moment.

Although the broadsword is an unsharpened training sword, it is still a solid steel weapon. Moreover, the broadsword is very heavy and its lethality is not inferior to weapons such as whips and maces.

If this sword hits the body, no matter where in the upper body, it will be fatal. A hit on the head will directly cause the brain to explode, a hit on the shoulder will directly shatter the collarbone and shoulder bone, and a hit on the neck will immediately break the neck.

This is not a brief competition, but a blow that is enough to kill.

This guy wants to kill me?

Thomas gathered all his strength, ready to block the attack.

He couldn't block it head-on because the force was too great and difficult to resist. He wanted to release the force and push away the opponent's broadsword.

This was not the style of swordsmanship he had learned, because Giuliano's swordsmanship emphasized using the strong blade for defense and the weak blade for attack.

Thomas's current thought was to "poke." Using the weak blade and relatively small force, he could influence the opponent's attack trajectory, thus making the opponent miss.

A little effort can move a huge object.

It was completely different from what he had learned, but Thomas subconsciously wanted to do it.

At the last moment when the two swords touched, a huge force came from the side.

Giuliano acted in time, stabbing Rousseau from the side with the long stick in his hand, causing him to lose his balance and stagger two steps to the side.

The blow, like a mountain falling on one's head, dissipated into nothingness. Thomas's sword also missed.

"You!" Rousseau stood firm, shocked and angry.

"You win," said Giuliano, throwing away his long stick.

Rousseau wanted to do something, but his companion came up behind him and patted him on the shoulder.

He turned around and left angrily.

Section 35 Backbone

This battle actually did not cause any consequences, so at least everything could be covered up.

If you don't experience it yourself, you won't understand the murderous intent of that sword just now.

This guy really wants to kill me!