A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

In the sunshine of late winter and early spring, the training swords in the hands of the two men sparked as they collided, and the dust from the ground floated and scattered in the dry air with their swift footwork.

The clash between the two stalwarts...it's hard to describe.

If Thomas had to say, he felt that both of them were trying their best to disrupt each other's rhythm and try to pull the other into their own rhythm.

He also gradually understood and felt the difference between battles at different levels.

For a contest between novices, the difference between victory and defeat lies in who is faster, stronger, or even more powerful.

For ordinary contests, the key to victory or defeat is the proficiency in using various fixed techniques, such as upward slashing, downward sweeping, and straight stabbing.

For the core players, it's all about rhythm. Whoever pulls the opponent into his own rhythm wins.

It was just a personal feeling, difficult to describe. Thomas felt that now, with just a little observation, he could more accurately judge others' rank.

At least the three ranks are Novice, Ordinary, and Hardcore. As for Elite, Protector of the Nation, etc., I haven't seen them yet, so I don't know what they are.

But then they heard the sound of weapons clashing between the two sides, and someone stumbled back, and the winner was decided.

After all, it’s just training equipment, so it won’t hurt to determine the winner.

"Thank you." Giuliano smiled and put away his sword in greeting.

Rostislav stood there, his face slightly flushed. In terms of strength, Rostislav was still slightly inferior.

Just now he was in a hurry to succeed and his opponent took advantage of an opportunity.

But Thomas saw clearly that if they fought steadily and cautiously, the two would not be able to determine the winner even if they fought for another hundred rounds.

"You guys come and practice too." Giuliano gestured to the others.

So people began to find opponents to practice with.

On the side, a knight's apprentice came up to Thomas.

It should be noted that Thomas's training time was different from most people's - because he also had to study cultural courses. So in most cases, Giuliano and he were taught one-on-one, without anyone else.

It is also because of this that Thomas is not very familiar with the others and only knows their names at most.

This apprentice was called Ezio, and he had trained for a year or two longer than Thomas.

According to common standards, he is already an ordinary-level warrior.

The two men stood facing each other, and Ezio made the first move.

The sword flashed, and it stabbed straight at Thomas.

It was a very simple move, but the body's center of gravity, balance, posture and footwork were all very good. After the move was made, some people around couldn't help but cheer.

But in Thomas' eyes, the opponent's movements were slow and rough, and his moves seemed weak.

He lightly blocked the attack with his strong sword and easily deflected the opponent's sword to the side, almost causing him to lose his balance.

"Come again!" Ezio stood firm again and rushed forward again. The sword flashed, but it avoided Thomas' body and aimed at Thomas's sword hand.

It was a surprise sneak attack.

Unfortunately, the sword move was intercepted by Thomas before it was halfway through. Thomas simply lowered his wrist slightly and used his hand guard to block the opponent's attack. The opponent could no longer use his strength and could only change his moves.

Then, for more than ten consecutive moves, no matter how Ezio changed his moves, Thomas accurately deflected or blocked them.

It was obvious that Thomas had no intention of counterattacking and was simply defending, but the result was that he gained an overwhelming advantage effortlessly.

Several coaches nearby looked surprised.

"This is... no longer an ordinary level." Rostislav discovered something and came over to observe carefully.

As the fight continued, he became more and more certain that Thomas was no longer ordinary.

"If the actual combat is at this level, the evaluation of the backbone is completely correct." This is Rostislav's conclusion.

"Coach Rostislav, is this the core level?" Someone nearby heard Rostislav's evaluation and asked.

"It's not certain yet, but we can only say we have reached the core strength," Rostislav said. "Actual combat and training are different things. To reach the core strength requires breaking through certain limitations."

Fighting is not only a test of physiology, but also of psychology. A deficiency in either will greatly hinder the performance of one's strength.

Having the strength of a core member does not mean you are a core member.

The battle was over, and Ezio had already conceded. The difference in power was too great. Even if Thomas only defended and did not attack, continuing the fight would be fruitless and would only lead to ridicule.

Everyone's view of Thomas has obviously changed.

Thomas has only been training for less than a year, right? He's definitely the newest of the newcomers. He's already reached mid-level proficiency... that's a truly incredible talent. It can only be said that Giuliano has a good student.

"What a shame," someone whispered. "You need to endure years of hardship in the church, otherwise you won't be able to become a knight."

"Why?" Someone nearby asked in confusion.

"Yes, a special skill. One of the most important requirements for canonization by the Church," the man said. "To be canonized as a knight by the Church, you must at least be able to raise your spirit and slash."

"Ah... what a pity," the man lamented. "But with that level of skill, he'll probably leave the monastery sooner or later..."

Suddenly a monk came hurriedly and asked Giuliano a few questions in a low voice.

Giuliano shook his head, making an "I don't know" gesture.

"What's going on?" Rostislav asked after the man left.

"Our Vice-President is looking for Otto. He just asked me if I had seen him."

"Ah? That guy...ran out again?" Thomas understood.

I guess he was asked out by that green tea bitch again.

Thomas was very concerned about that green tea bitch, but the vice president had sent someone to investigate her background and found nothing. This showed that either Thomas was overthinking it, or the other party was laying a deep ambush.

Considering the Red Girl's treasure...the latter is more likely.

However, Thomas was no longer Otto's follower. Conrad had personally told Thomas to get out, and he had already returned the twenty florins he had received from Conrad.

Thomas wasn't sure whether Otto had been kidnapped or had simply sneaked out, but now that he had been expelled, there was no need to get involved in this mess again.

If you meddle in Otto's affairs again, you'll be like a dog catching a mouse and meddling in other people's business!

Chapter 52 Kidnapping 2

Otto was locked up in a house.

Specifically, he was tied up and a piece of rag was stuffed into his mouth to prevent him from making any sound.

He looked through the crack in the window in despair and saw that the sky was gradually getting darker.

The robbers' methods were extremely brutal, and the ropes made his whole body ache. But this physical pain was nothing compared to the despair and fear in his heart.

He had no idea where he was and could only assume he was in some small village within the confines of some monastery's lands.

Now, his whole body was tied up tightly and he couldn't move. Only his head could move with difficulty.

Fear was constantly eroding his heart, and without him realizing it, his tears had already wet his clothes.

Occasionally there would be voices outside.

It was a conversation between villagers and bandits - obviously the villagers didn't know the identities of the bandits.

These robbers must have rented this house.

He wanted to call for help, but the rag was stuffed tightly around his mouth, and he couldn't even whimper.

The rope was so tight that I couldn't move at all.

"Master, what are you doing here?"

"Nothing, we have an appointment to wait here."

If a villager asked the question, he would probably get this answer.

Of course, if the villagers were more curious, they would get a more rude response: "Don't mind our business. Be careful."

Even though the villagers were a little curious, they did not dare to take the risk of provoking these outsiders who looked difficult to deal with.

Every time this happened, Otto would twist his body as hard as he could and shout at the same time.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't make enough noise to attract the villagers' attention.

In addition to the people arranged outside the house, there were also people in the front hall of the house.

In fact, there were probably seven or eight, or even more, robbers gathered in the front hall.

Every once in a while, someone would come over to look at Otto.

There is absolutely no chance of escape.

This time, the robber dragged Otto's body back to the center of the house, cursing.

"Boy, be obedient. If you weren't still useful, I would have destroyed you long ago!" he said viciously.

Otto closed his eyes gently, tears streaming down from the corners of his eyes.

In the outer room, his dream lover, Sister Catherine, was laughing and playing with the group of robbers.

She came to ask for money.

In other words, getting paid.

Her laughter, which had once enchanted his whole soul, now made him suffer unbearably.

Despair mixed with regret was like a sharp blade, constantly cutting the boy's fragile heart.

All hope is gone.

Thomas was right, there was something wrong with this woman.

It was his lack of vision that brought this disaster upon himself and his father.

He brought this all on himself.

Intense fear continued to invade Otto's heart.

He is not afraid of death.

When filled with remorse, humans will have the urge to die and will no longer be afraid of death.

But he knew that these people's target could not be him, but his father.

Only my father, who is the vice-president, is qualified to be their target.

Although he was a novice monk, he was not that devout to God. But now, he finally prayed to God wholeheartedly for the first time.

"It's almost there. The message should have reached our vice president, right?" he heard a voice say.

A young and bright voice - but judging from the conversation between these robbers, this voice should be the mastermind of everything.

On the other side, inside the monastery.

Conrad's face turned pale as he threw his cherished porcelain tea set to the ground. The expensive porcelain from the East turned into countless fragments and scattered to the ground.

He looked at the letter paper on the table in front of him, his chest heaving violently.

The letter arrived at noon, but only now could it be confirmed that Otto had been kidnapped.

The entire monastery was dug deep, but Otto could not be found.

In the office were several of his trusted subordinates, led by Brother Sesley.

"What's going on? What's going on? Now the person is gone. Just disappeared like that?"

Conrad's face was distorted as he stared at Sesley and scolded him.

"Sir... neither the patrols nor the guards found any suspicious signs... We've inquired around, but we've come up empty-handed. If he'd been abducted, he'd have screamed, but he didn't." Sesely looked guilty, bowing his head and apologizing with the utmost formality. "I'm afraid they didn't sneak into the monastery and abduct him, but rather lured him out and then kidnapped him. We're truly unprepared for this situation..."

"However, the only good news now is that the other party has other intentions and will not do anything to Brother Otto. We must redeem him as soon as possible."

Conrad turned his head away and remained silent for a long time.

It's not easy to redeem someone now! Even if you use your toes to think, you know that the other party will ask for an exorbitant price!

For a moment, he thought it would be better not to have this son.

But in the end, he still let out a long sigh.

"The letter mentioned that I should go alone to the agreed location," Conrad said. "I'm afraid those bandits won't keep their promise!"

Human desires are endless, and they are even said to be those robbers who don't even care about the glory of God. Conrad is well aware of this. What if the other party kidnaps him as well?

"But we can just quietly follow behind and provide support at any time," said Sesley.