A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

"Yes," Thomas said. "He was a great mentor."

"So, do you remember the other people in the monastery?"

"Yeah, I still remember some of it," Thomas said. Thinking back to his former classmates, while he still remembered their names, their faces and voices were a bit fuzzy.

"Then why did you consider learning martial arts in the first place?" he continued to ask.

"Magic is great, but it's too difficult to practice. Martial arts, on the other hand, are much faster to learn," Thomas said sincerely. "I don't know what others think, but I personally decided to learn martial arts out of sheer utilitarianism."

"But learning martial arts means facing the risks of combat, doesn't it?"

“But the risk… is worth it,” Thomas replied.

"But you've also learned magic," the old man continued, smiling. Unconsciously, he had switched to Latin. "And more than that, you've learned everything you need to learn. Why is that?"

"Maybe it's because I'm too ambitious." Thomas also laughed and answered in Latin.

It turns out this time it wasn't just a magic test. I guess someone thought his file was a little too perfect.

He has learned martial arts, magic, and knowledge. Although he is not particularly outstanding, he is a hexagonal warrior without any shortcomings.

Perhaps it is because of this that some people have doubts about Thomas.

But what can I say... these are all true, Thomas really has learned them all.

So there is no need to hide anything.

"Good!" The old man patted his knee and smiled. "You're exactly what I like. Indeed, how can anyone be without ambition? Even if it's to bring glory to the Lord, it requires the right position."

"Tell me, what is your ideal self like?" the old man asked with interest.

"This... is more complicated. I have bigger ambitions."

"That's all right. Let's talk about it one by one," the old man said, looking very interested. "What's your purpose in learning martial arts?"

"Well, I want to be a protector!" said Thomas.

Chapter 24: Secret Visit 2

"Protecting the country..." The old man smiled, but remained unmoved. "That's a fine ambition, indeed. But it's certainly more than that. If your sole goal was protecting the country, you wouldn't have studied magic as well. And certainly not the various disciplines."

"I also want to become the master of at least one city or one place," Thomas said.

There's nothing wrong with talking about ambition; it's perfectly acceptable. After all, ideals and reality are two different things. "Once promising to be the best in the world" is the inevitable ideal of all young people. A soldier who doesn't want to be a general isn't a good soldier, but not every soldier can become a general.

"That's not easy," the old man laughed. "The Protectors are called 'Protectors' because they possess the ability to defend a nation. But defending is different from conquering. As everyone knows, attacking and defending are different. The attacker must have a threefold advantage in strength to overwhelm the defender. Even if you become a Protector, unless you can find two like-minded friends... allies who also serve as Protectors, you'll have no chance of conquering a small nation."

"If it's a Protectorate's pledge of allegiance, at least it could be exchanged for an earldom," Thomas said. "There are rulers all over the world willing to make such a deal."

"Young man, if you think that, you're underestimating those khans, emperors, kings, and sultans." The old man slapped his thigh and laughed. "Who in this world would do business at a loss? Even if those rulers themselves are fools, their subordinates are not stupid!"

"So, if you use this method to gain your own territory," the old man said, "people will definitely use you to death. You will not have freedom at all, but will be completely enslaved. Just like the donkey tied to the millstone in the story, desperately pulling the millstone for the carrot in front of you."

“That’s true,” Thomas replied.

He had thought about this, but how should he put it… there was always a price to pay for gaining territory.

There is no free lunch in the world.

"Let's see if the conditions are suitable. If you really can't stand it, you can give up your title and territory and leave." Thomas said.

"That's a bit... how should I put it, too irresponsible. Besides that? Have you ever thought about... replacing them? For example, the Habsburgs were just ordinary nobles, but later became the royal family of the Holy Roman Empire."

"That's too difficult," Thomas said seriously. "While I'm ambitious, I'm also rational. Some things require the accumulation of generations, not just one person. Even defending a nation isn't omnipotent. I believe that, from the very beginning, the Habsburgs never harbored any ambition to rule the Holy Roman Empire. It was God's will that allowed them to ascend to the throne step by step."

"That makes sense!" the old man clapped his hands. "Rational ambition isn't ambition, it's ideal!"

He poured another glass of wine. "Cheers to our ideals!"

Thomas drank a glass.

I feel that this person is good at chatting and has a friendly attitude, which makes people feel good about him.

"Since you aim to protect the nation," the old man said, "why don't you join the Knights Templar? Martial arts are different from magic. Although I don't understand martial arts, it's widely said that martial arts can't be learned on your own. Only with sufficient practical experience can one break free from limitations and ascend to higher levels. And within the Church, only by joining the Knights Templar can one have more opportunities for practical combat. In Rome, or even in the Vatican, there are no such opportunities."

"I have the idea." Thomas was cautious about the topic. "But it's not possible yet."

"Oh? What's wrong with that? Do you need an introducer? I can help you. Even though I'm not a big shot, I do know a few powerful people in the church. If I write you a letter of introduction or recommendation, I believe many people will approve. The Knights will not reject a young man like you."

Thomas was moved by his enthusiasm.

Perhaps I could ask the old man for some information. After all, searching through every library without knowing anything would be too time-consuming.

Not only was it time-consuming, but it was also very risky. If the real secret technique was kept somewhere like the Pope's private library, then Thomas would be doing nothing.

"I suffered a mental attack during a previous adventure, leaving me with hidden dangers," Thomas said, choosing the right words. "Someone told me that to advance to the Protectorate, one needs to be both spiritually and physically perfect. And here in Rome, there's supposedly a secret technique to cure this hidden danger."

"Ah...ah..." The old man nodded slightly. "I've heard of this."

"Have you heard of it?" Thomas was overjoyed. Finally, he had a clue. "You know?"

"Not only do I know, I've tried it," the old man said. "It's a strange secret potion. It can cause the soul and body to enter a state of semi-detachment. It also has a specific meditation method. Well, when we first heard about it, we subconsciously thought it would aid meditation and allow people to connect to the magic network more quickly. But in fact, it has no such effect at all."

"But we're overthinking it. The description of the secret technique is true. It's a secret medicine that repairs the soul and body, allowing them to merge into one. It has no other use. The medicine is called... well, if I remember correctly, it's called 'Jade Bait'. It's a secret recipe passed down from China. Those Eastern monks use certain techniques to separate the soul from the body. One of the side effects of this technique is that it causes a mismatch between the soul and the body. In such cases, they take Jade Bait to keep the soul and body aligned."

Thomas was overjoyed. This was like pie falling from the sky.

I originally thought this was an ordinary assessment, but I didn't expect that after chatting for a while, I actually got a direct clue.

This feeling is very similar to when I was pursuing the secret art of Steel Soul and then met Gandalf. I was so lucky!

He began to consider what price he would have to pay.

In the church, it’s all about money.

While he was considering this question, the old ascetic spoke.

"Okay, next is the magic verification. When I verify, you need to tell me your reaction and feelings truthfully. This way it can be genuine. If you deliberately conceal it, I can still detect it!"

The old man's voice was full of confidence.

"Yes." Thomas nodded.

He was also a little excited, wondering if the old man in front of him could measure his true magical skills.

"Hold out your hand," the old man said. Thomas held out his hand, and the other man held his pulse and began to measure it.

The room was silent for a moment.

The old man's brows gradually furrowed. The other person's pulse was completely different from what he expected.

As exposure to the Demonic Weave deepens, the human body will be affected to a certain extent, for example, metabolism will change.

And all changes will eventually be related to the heart, or pulse.

He loosened his grip, picked up the hammer, and stabbed Thomas somewhere between the chest and abdomen.

"Does it hurt?"

"No pain."

"Does it hurt here?"

“A little bit…”

"What about here?"

"It hurts quite a bit."

No, absolutely not! Thomas should have been exposed to a second-level... or third-level magical network. But this reaction was wrong.

"That's not right. If you follow what your file says and come into contact with the third layer of the magic net, it shouldn't hurt here." The old man muttered to himself in some confusion.

"Is there any way to say whether it hurts or not?" Thomas didn't understand either.

"Of course, the magic network will transform your internal organs," the old man said. "So you shouldn't feel any pain here!"

"Maybe it's my personal problem?" Thomas said casually.

It turns out that the magic net has this effect?

Chapter 25: Secret Visit 3

But when you think about it carefully, it seems normal.

After all, the world is material, and the effects of the magic network will eventually be reflected on the material level.

Just like a simple example, improved physical fitness and enhanced resistance also mean enhanced liver detoxification ability.

The liver cannot become stronger out of nowhere. It must be because there are more nerves and blood vessels and the blood supply is increased that the liver's capacity can be enhanced.

Since the nerves and blood vessels are more abundant, the pain sensation is naturally enhanced. A normal liver may not feel anything when someone pokes it, but an enhanced liver can feel it.

The old man suddenly stood up and walked behind Thomas. He suddenly stretched out his hand and put the ring on his hand against Thomas' neck.

The force of this contact was not great, but the ring immediately emitted light.

The old man withdrew his hand and his frown deepened.

Impossible... This has never happened before.

In Rome, or within the entire church, magical ability has always been directly related to treatment.

Many people inflate their spellcasting abilities in order to get better treatment, and they usually do this by exaggerating their abilities.

Even though they can only touch the second layer of the magic network, they often claim to have touched the third layer. The reason is "I can already feel the third layer of the magic network."

As for whether this feeling is reliable or not... only God knows.

In order to apply for a higher position, many people are willing to pay money to bribe the examiners in charge of the assessment.

However, I have never heard of anyone having high-level spellcasting ability but reporting it as low-level.

After a long time, the old man sat down.

"Master, what's wrong?"

The old man brought over a bowl of water and gave Thomas a thin needle.

"Put a drop of blood here," he said.

Thomas pricked his finger with a needle, squeezed out a little blood, and dripped it into the water.

After the blood turned into thin threads and completely dissolved into the water, the old man immersed his finger wearing the ring in the water.

In an instant, a faint light emanated from the ring again.

The old man sighed and stared at Thomas.

"Your magical skills have been measured," he said.

……

An ordinary house in the civilian area of ​​Rome.

A man wearing even more luxurious and colorful clothes was walking slowly on the street.

In this city, surrounding God's earthly dwelling place are ruins, slums and brothels, and this area is only frequented by low-class prostitutes.

Yes, in this city ruled by the Pope, there are as many prostitutes as there are fleas in a beggar's bed.

They either wore yellow clothes or decorated their clothes with yellow ribbons so that they could be recognized at a glance. This was both the law and the custom.

In winter in Rome, the wind has brought the chill.

The man seemed to be trying to avoid the cold wind, or perhaps to satisfy his own desires, so he went into a brothel. Soon, he entered a room with a beautiful and plump prostitute.

Like many sophisticated clients, he did not push the woman directly onto the bed. Instead, he sat on a chair, holding the woman in his arms, or letting the woman sit on his knees.

Anyone who sees this scene will think it is a very ordinary flirting scene, and will not realize that two people are having a secret conversation in such an ambiguous posture.

"They already know... Although the church's top leaders have kept it a tight seal, they must have known the outcome of the naval battle. Um, that messenger stayed the night with me before leaving..."

"It wasn't me who received him, but one of my girls... He told me that there was very bad news from the front. The Knights were defeated and their leader was killed."

"Hehe... the Pope knows about this too," the man said. "He'll definitely take action... to have someone new lead the Knights. And I have to find out who this new Grand Master is."

"As long as we lose control of the sea, the fall of the Holy Land... is only a matter of time!"

"...That's difficult. Even the church's top brass wouldn't know this kind of news. Unless the Pope comes." The woman chuckled, deliberately shouting twice before lowering her voice. "By the time I get to know this news, I'm afraid most people in the city will already know it."

"It doesn't matter," the man said confidently. "A little delay won't make a difference. We have birds to carry messages, so we can definitely get the message across beforehand."

"What benefits have the Star-Moon Cultists offered to make you so active? And what do they want to do?"