A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

"My original world... well, how should I put it? Compared to this real world, it's a truly extraordinary world that exists in another dimension. There, the laws of nature are relatively distorted, and the normal laws of physics are completely different from those here. In fact... dear friend, please forgive my weak language. This is really the best I can describe it to. Without personal experience, you can't understand what this other world is like."

"Can you be more specific? How distorted is it? If I were to go to that world, what would I see?"

"You'll see countless strange creatures living in that world. Some phenomena can become alive and even possess intelligence!"

"what……"

"In this world, wind is just wind, and clouds are just clouds; they are just natural phenomena. But over there, some winds and clouds possess intelligence."

said the voice.

"Then, my dear friend, it is my turn to ask a question. How far have you come on this path?"

"I don't understand what you mean by far."

"Haha, dear friend, don't mind me. I don't want to pry into your secrets. After all, some secrets are inappropriate to share even among colleagues. Then let me tell you. In my opinion, although every step on the road to becoming a god is extremely difficult, if I have to say which step is the most difficult, it is undoubtedly the first step. The first step I'm talking about refers to the three steps of obtaining, giving, and knowing. I guess you should already know the secret of one of these three steps?"

"Yes."

"Ha... Then I can be a little proud. I might be ahead of you on this road. Slightly ahead of you."

"Those corpses in the cave...are they the price?"

"What's wrong?" The voice noticed the unkindness in Thomas's voice.

Chapter 276: Lord of the Forest 2

"How many people have you killed?"

"A few thousand... something like that. My dear friend, you sound as if you're saying I'm doing something wrong."

"Of course, those thousands of people are my kind," Thomas said coldly.

"Oh, but...but...I think what I did was legal by your human standards. Please don't misunderstand me, I have no ill will towards humans, or any other race."

"No ill intentions? How could you say such a thing?" Thomas was surprised.

"Well, isn't it? But I have clear evidence that in your society, whether according to your laws, customs, or practices, slaves are not considered human beings! They are no different from tools and livestock. Their lives belong to their masters, not to themselves. Am I mistaken?"

"Uh, this...how did you know?" Thomas wanted to refute, but he couldn't.

Because that's the truth.

"Ah, that's what the person I traded with told me. I have a certain ability to detect lies, so I'm sure he wasn't lying! So, since I purchased the slaves through a legitimate transaction...however I deal with them shouldn't be against the rules, right? Even according to your human rules or laws, I can't say I did anything wrong, right?"

Thomas's mouth twitched.

"You said you obtained...slaves through trade?"

"Yes, it was a fair, consensual, and completely legal transaction. In fact," the voice said, "it is unseemly for us to harbor hostility toward the intelligent beings of this world."

"If you say so, why did you send those evil tree people here to kill people?"

"Murder? I'm afraid you've misunderstood," the voice said. "Those are my guards, of course, but as a master, don't I have the right to deal with unwelcome guests who don't come in person? After all, I want to conduct my experiments here undisturbed. I'm very friendly to my neighbors and have provided them with channels and methods of communication. But if someone ignores my kindness and warnings and insists on coming into my home, then by any standard, even human standards, they are thieves and robbers."

"Isn't it natural and normal for you humans to let your dog bite those uninvited thieves and robbers?"

This statement was at least logically consistent, and Thomas had nothing to say.

"Am I also a thief and a robber?"

"Oh, my dear friend, of course you are not. That's why, when my guards noticed your presence, they didn't attack and retreated. Isn't that right? If they behaved in a disrespectful manner, I would really be upset, because it would prove that my guards have failed. I gave them orders, but they didn't follow them. This is obviously a bad thing."

"What's your name?" Thomas changed the subject.

"A name is just a nickname, it's not important. But if you must, you can call me the King of the Forest or the Lord of the Forest. What about you, my friend?"

"You can call me Aragorn." Thomas narrowed his eyes. Judging from the name, this King of the Forest... could actually control the forest? "Why... did you want to become a god in this world?"

"Haha, this can only be described as accidental," the Forest King replied. "In any world, the path to godhood is an extremely difficult one. At the very least, to claim to have taken the first step, one must understand how to receive, how to give, and how to know. And I, thanks to the accidental gift of arriving in this world, have learned how to know. With such convenient natural conditions, I dare to embark on this path. Aragorn, my dear friend, if you will allow me to call you that, I imagine you share this understanding."

"Unless you have these convenient conditions, it's really too difficult. Most importantly, for those who don't have these conditions, everything is a mystery. There's no clue. Can I know what you have now?"

"Yes, I have the ability to 'get,'" Thomas said. "And perhaps give."

"Ah, I'm glad you're so frank," the Forest King continued. "Although I can't meet you in person, I believe it's every host's duty to entertain you. Please allow me to give you a gift as a token of our friendship."

Thomas noticed something coming towards him... not flying, but being picked up by the vines on the ground and sent all the way to him.

Thomas had seen this thing before; it was a magic scroll.

When the scroll is torn, the magic takes effect immediately, and the scroll itself burns up immediately, turning into a pile of ash.

Although it is a disposable item, in fact, if this thing is sold, it will cost at least hundreds or thousands of florins.

But I don't know what kind of scroll this is... I'm afraid I need to find a professional magician to identify it.

Although Thomas himself is also a spellcaster, he has not conducted any research in these areas and does not know how to judge.

Since others have said so, it would be impolite for him not to take it.

Thomas took the scroll, examined it briefly, and put it in his backpack.

"It's a rare opportunity for such a small place like mine to have such distinguished guests," the Forest King continued. "I imagine you, like me, don't think it's a good idea to return empty-handed. How about we make a deal?"

"Trade? Do you have something...um, you can give me?"

"A lot. Intelligence, knowledge, potions, magic, and other things. I need a lot of things. Whether it's knowledge, intelligence, or something else, even money, I'm happy to accept it."

"Oh," Thomas thought for a moment. "In that case, I want to know the secret of being promoted to Protector of the Nation. Do you have it?"

"Protect the country? My dear friend, have you still chosen the path of ascension?"

"Shengyang?"

"There are many ways to elevate your life in this world. I call them paths. The Path of Ascension and the Path of the Demonic Web are the two most common paths."

Is it... rising?"

"Promotion? Ah, no, no, my dear friend, that's not promotion, that's ascension. The word promotion is only suitable for those kinds of advancements that don't affect one's essence. Ascension to the position of Protector of the Nation... how should I describe it? It's an improvement in the essence of life. Ascension is more appropriate and accurate."

"Is there still such a thing?"

"Please believe me, dear friend. I have conducted many experiments on the nature of life and I am very confident in my conclusions."

"So, every improvement after protecting the country..."

"They are all ascensions. There will be many more ascensions after protecting the country, and each time will more or less enhance the essence of life. However, out of my personal kindness, I do not recommend you to take the path of ascension."

"why?"

"While the Path to Deification doesn't conflict with other paths, and a person can pursue both simultaneously... realistically, any individual's time and energy are limited. It's not enough to devote that limited time and energy to just one path, let alone two. Furthermore, the first step on the Path to Deification requires a significant investment of time and energy. Furthermore, the end of the Path of Ascension is very likely to be the Path to Deification... So why bother going the long way when the near is near?"

"Of course, the above is just my suggestion. You can also stick to your own opinion."

"I still stick to my original idea," Thomas said. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Have."

The weeds in front of the cave squirmed, and a vine with a crystal stuck out.

It was a very ordinary vine, but in the grayscale vision, it was now covered with a strong red light, and it was as flexible and powerful as an octopus tentacle.

Chapter 277: Lord of the Forest 3

"This is... a natural crystal," the Forest King said. "I carefully refined it. The correct way to use it is to soak it in a glass of clean water. Drink it within three minutes, and it will transform into the purest magical energy, which should allow one to ascend to the rank of Protector of the Nation. Of course, I should warn you that it can remain this way for a long time, but if it remains in water for more than three minutes, the magical energy will begin to dissipate."

Thomas immediately remembered what Gandalf had said.

Powerful magical items can allow a person to directly ascend to the Protectorate, ignoring other requirements. For example, the ancient hero bathed in dragon blood, or the authentic golden apple.

But Gandalf also said that this is a probability.

Why some people can do it and others can't is a mystery even to seasoned magicians. There are many conjectures, but no real evidence.

“It will definitely work?”

"I can't guarantee this for others, but I can be sure of you. Because for those who walk the path to godhood, your body, mind, and soul are naturally intact. You only need a sufficient external force to infuse... unless..."

"Unless something."

"Unless your body and soul are incompatible," the Forest King said with a smile. "Of course, this possibility is very small... It is said that when the undead are about to collapse, there is a certain chance that they will possess the body of a nearby living being. In this case, the body and soul are incompatible. Ah, my dear friend, what happened to you?"

"No, nothing!" Thomas replied. "Just a little surprised. What I meant to say is that I've seen some records of similar unsuccessful attempts, and I'm sure there weren't any cases of undead possession."

"Oh, I can answer that question," said the King of the Forest. "You have been observing for too short a time."

"What do you mean?"

"The path of ascension is most profound during the Protecting the Nation stage. Therefore, the body, mind, and soul will all undergo drastic changes. This change can easily lead to a lack of coordination and mismatch. However, this mismatch is temporary and unstable. Alternatively, if you do nothing and wait patiently for a while, the three will naturally align."

"how long?"

"That's hard to say. The duration varies. After all, some people undergo drastic changes when they ascend. A large portion of those we usually refer to as 'half-step protectors of the nation' are in this state."

"Half-step Protector of the Nation..." Thomas understood. After using this crystal, he could be promoted to Half-step Protector of the Nation.

But going further, that's impossible.

Family members know their own business. Others may have a mismatch caused by the drastic improvement process, which will recover naturally after a while, but he is different.

Because Thomas clearly remembered that when he was cursed before...

I actually met my parents in this body.

The problem was that his parents had died before he traveled through time. Or rather, he had never met them.

Ever since the memory fusion, I have never thought about my parents. Even if I do, it is only about my parents from my previous life.

My memory of my parents is very vague.

But under the control of that sorcerer, they actually appeared, and appeared in their complete form.

To the extent that this body will produce a strange yet distant sense of familiarity.

This means that there is no real perfect union between this body and the traveling soul.

This is probably what is called the mismatch between soul and body.

A very slight mismatch, but fatal for the path of ascension that requires perfection.

What’s worse is that no matter how much time passes, it seems that this mismatch is unlikely to change.

"Well," Thomas said, throwing in the towel, "what if I don't want to wait?"

"Do you want this natural crystal?" The King of the Forest did not give a direct answer, but changed the subject.

"Yes, what's the price?"

"Well, if it comes to money, I'd like to exchange it for a million florins!"

Thomas's mouth twitched unconsciously. "What else?"

It's a pity that he worked so hard to save up money for so long... Even if he often killed people, set fires and robbed people, he couldn't get together one million!

"If you don't want money, then I hope to exchange it for two items from you," said the King of the Forest.

"What item?" Thomas took a deep breath.

The vines gently reached into Thomas's backpack like octopus tentacles and deftly took out two things.

One was a golden apple encased in glass.

The other item is a small cloth bag.

The bag contained nothing but the ashes of Marlowe.

When Malovit first descended into the mortal world, he was defeated and burned to ashes.

Thomas and Gandalf both collected a lot of ashes, but Thomas collected more than a dozen large bags.

He took some of the ashes with him, mainly because he wanted to study what this thing was used for when he had free time.

But I haven't had much time for research.

Anyway, this thing is light and doesn't take up much space, so I just left it in the package.

“These two?” Thomas asked.

"Yes," replied the King of the Forest.

"The golden apple is fine, but this... this is the ashes of a god," Thomas said. "I paid a huge price, risking my life, to obtain this trophy after battling the evil god. It's practically one-of-a-kind in the world."

The Jungle King mentioned before that it has the ability to detect lies, so Thomas wasn't lying either.