A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

"Thunderbird?" Thomas was puzzled. Isn't that a creature from American mythology? This is Europe.

Moreover, he was not sure whether the Age of Exploration had begun, and it was even a question whether America had been discovered.

"You are a knight of the Order," the old magician said, "yet you seem quite ignorant of this. You should know what happened two years ago, right?"

"I'm sorry, I really... know nothing." This was all Thomas could say.

"North of Russia, um, over in Novgorod, a frost giant appeared. A catastrophic creature. The Sunflower Knights sought aid from the entire Christian world, including Rome and Constantinople. Ultimately, they lost over a hundred knights before destroying it. Several renowned knights perished in the battle," the old magician explained. "Precisely because of this, even the Latin heretics sent some knights to support the Knights, fearing the reappearance of such catastrophic remnants of the past."

This was the first time Thomas had heard of the specific events of the "Old Ones" incident.

"Where did these... Frost Giants come from?" Thomas asked.

"From a Christian's perspective, that's certainly a devil's scheme. It's sent by demons who are jealous of Christ's glory and want to destroy human peace and stability..."

"From a magician's perspective?" Thomas continued to ask.

The author says:

Author's words: Thanks to book friends Gu De and Tina Wo for the reward.

Belated thanks.

I haven't read your comments much in the past few days, sorry.

Chapter 37 Sword and Knife 2

"Ah, that's much simpler, visitor from another world."

"A world with frost... giants?" Thomas was shocked. Damn, there were other time travelers?

"No, that's not how it's understood," the old magician said. "Another world is a rather broad concept. If the two worlds are on similar levels, it's fine, just like moving from one country to another—the environment changes, but you don't. But what if the two worlds themselves are dimensional? If that were the case, then to maintain existence in another dimension, you would have to use this world's material intelligence as a medium, absorbing information from the outside world to achieve stability in mass and form... Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I think I can just barely understand."

"So, whether it's dragons or frost giants... to be honest, perhaps they were just people's fantasies at first, with no corresponding objects in the entire material world, but they actually appear in our world."

"Strictly speaking, there aren't many brutal Old Ones. In reality, as far as I know, most Old Ones maintain a neutral stance toward humanity, neither good nor evil. However, the reality is more complex. These Old Ones and humans struggle to understand each other harmoniously, as humans' logic is fundamentally different. During contact, there's a high probability of conflict arising from a lack of communication. So, while theoretically, it's easy, in practice, they're essentially mortal enemies. This is the fundamental reason why the Church never lets go of the Old Ones." The old magician sighed. "If there's no communication, then there's no coexistence. So, it's best to strike first! If they gain the upper hand, things will be very difficult."

He had been observing the magic sword while he spoke, and now, satisfied, he returned the sword to Thomas.

"Well, Aragorn, thank you for bringing me this sword. It has given me much to learn," he said.

Thomas did not sheath his sword.

"Oh, what else do you think of this sword?"

"This weapon's features are too obvious. I want to modify it."

"Oh..." The old magician let out a long, meaningful sound. He observed it again. "What degree of transformation?"

"In terms of appearance, and... other things." Thomas took the sword and swung it. "Look, the arc jumping like this is too conspicuous, but it has no value."

The sword's lightning power doesn't actually reduce its opponent to charcoal. In fact, it doesn't rely on electricity to injure, but rather to cause temporary numbness and weakness throughout the body. Given this, the seemingly cool visual effect is not only unnecessary, but even a demerit.

"Ah...ah..." Gandalf stroked his beard and thought. "You have found the right person, but the price is not low!"

"How many?"

"Two thousand florins!" said Gandalf.

Thomas couldn't help but gasp.

Black! Really black! This is pure extortion!

But...it's worth it!

Damn it! There's nothing you can do. You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child.

"Okay!" Thomas said decisively. "But I need to specify the appearance."

His decisiveness actually surprised the old magician a little.

"What appearance do you want to change to?"

Thomas thought about it and realized that he was best at using the standard sword. The swift sword was actually also good... but if he wanted to use lightning to kill people, the swift sword that was specially used for stabbing would not be very good.

"A standard longsword would be fine," Thomas said. "The most important thing is that it doesn't emit lightning when swung."

"Five days!" said the old magician.

"Okay! I'll bring the money when the time comes."

"Hmph, young man, you're a bit too confident. This sword could easily fetch tens of thousands of florins. Aren't you afraid that I'll disappear along with the sword?"

"No, I don't believe you're that kind of person," Thomas said. "I can see you're doing an experiment here, one that won't yield results very quickly."

"The experiment can be suspended."

"No," Thomas said. "Because a wise man like you would surely judge that a few tens of thousands of florins is not my limit. A fair trade with me would only give me more, wouldn't it?"

"Well, you've convinced me." The old wizard smiled, then noticed that Thomas had no intention of leaving.

"Why, anything else?"

Thomas pulled out a pocket and showed the contents to the other man.

"What is this...a fragment of a weapon?"

It was the fragment of the sacrificial knife. The sacrificial knife that was apparently bound by someone and finally shattered into pieces when Thomas touched it.

As for this weapon, Thomas's focus is still on the Thunder Sword.

Because although it was physically broken, it appeared on Thomas's damaged godhead, and incidentally brought Thomas more than forty groups of divine power.

Thomas was completely baffled by this unprecedented situation, and with so little information available, he couldn't make any assumptions.

In fact, there are many conjectures, but many conjectures are equivalent to no conjectures, because it is impossible to verify each conjecture one by one.

From this point of view, the old wizard who calls himself Gandalf is the best person for Thomas to seek advice from.

The old magician took out the fragments and slowly pieced them together, soon forming the fragments into a sacrificial knife.

This jigsaw puzzle is actually not difficult, but the old wizard's speed is still far beyond Thomas's expectations.

"This isn't an ordinary weapon. It's likely a sacrificial blade forged from a mixture of bronze and steel. This design isn't particularly suited to actual combat, but rather to killing victims in blood sacrifices." The old magician stared at the object. "I sense a strange power within it. Is it related to a deity? Where did you obtain it?"

"I happened to witness a very strange battle," Thomas said. "And this was left by the loser. I saw... two men fighting, one holding a sword, the other holding this knife. The victor struck his opponent's hand, reached out and picked up this sacrificial knife from the ground, and it shattered in his hand and was then discarded."

"And you picked it up?"

"I think this knife seems a little unusual."

"This is a sacrificial knife, usually only equipped and used by high-ranking priests of gods," the old magician said. "It doesn't have any special value... You know what gods are, right? Or as you Christians say, God is the only omnipotent and all-knowing God, and the others are demons or spirits. Oh, and angels too."

"Angel, demon, or spirit?"

"Yes, what Christianity calls angels, demons, or spirits, in Paganism, are gods who control various phenomena," the old magician said. "As for your question... from a human perspective, I can only say that it's impossible. Even I can't give a precise description of a deity."

What he said was based on a magician's perspective, but to Christians it was pure blasphemy.

Of course, Thomas had no intention of stopping the other party, nor did he consider himself a true Christian.

"Can it be repaired?" Thomas asked.

"Repair? It's just a pile of metal fragments. You can find any blacksmith to fix it. No alchemy is needed," the old magician said. "Of course, after repair... it will just be an ordinary knife."

"Master Gandalf," said Thomas. "What are gods to you?"

Chapter 38 Sword and Knife 3

"It's hard to describe," Gandalf said. "I can't guarantee the accuracy of this information, so I won't charge for it. I can only say it's about authority. A deity possesses a certain authority. For example, we're familiar with Perun. Perun is the god of the sky and thunder, and is also associated with war and oak trees. In other words, he possesses these powers. This is the greatest difference between humans and gods. Of course, Christians have a completely different theory on this. I don't need to elaborate on this; you understand it better than I do."

“Why does He have such authority?”

"From what I know now, it's because they are in a special position. Some kind of... fundamental power or law channel beneath the surface of the universe. Therefore, they can control this fundamental power or law to a certain extent and hold power."

"As far as I know, there's a god in the north called Thor, the god of thunder, who also possesses the power of thunder and lightning. And to our south, in Byzantium, there was once an ancient faith among the Olympian gods. Among them was a god who wielded thunder and lightning, called Zeus. This Zeus was also the chief deity of the Olympian gods. Furthermore, in India to the east, there's also a deity believed to wield thunder and lightning, called Indra. He's also a chief deity. How is it that these different gods, from different mythologies and civilizations, wield the same authority?"

As for China, which is further east, we won’t talk about the Thunder Generals directly under the Heavenly Court, as well as the Thunder God and Lightning Mother, as it would be a bit shocking.

"Ha, of course, it's because they occupy the same path, just in different locations," Gandalf laughed. "When you walk on a road, it feels smooth, so you can go faster. But this doesn't stop others from taking the same path. That's about it. You seem to have an interest in the gods?"

"Well, actually... I've always been very curious about this."

Gandalf made a gesture, and Thomas subconsciously took out the gold coins from his pocket. But before he gave the money, he came to his senses in time.

"Master Gandalf, didn't you say there would be no charge?"

"Those are free. But this is an exception. Everything has a price, and knowledge is the greatest luxury." He repeated his mantra. "I learned this from a high-ranking priest some time ago. It cost me a lot."

I would be sorry to myself if I didn't take the money.

"Okay." Thomas had no choice but to give the money.

"I'll tell you two secrets. First, many gods are inherently incomplete. They aren't actively, but passively, integrated into the fundamental forces or laws of the universe beneath its surface, ultimately losing even their own will," the old magician said after collecting the money. "Second, there are still gods in this world who can walk the earth!"

"A god walking in the world?!" Thomas was shocked at first, and then delighted.

"Not only that, there is such a person in the land of Ross!" the old magician whispered.

"who is it?"

The old magician made another gesture.

It really is true... Everything has a price, but knowledge is the greatest luxury!

Thomas found he could no longer afford it.

I used to think I was rich, but now I realize that this money is not enough to spend.

It's not that this information is unaffordable, but that the subsequent information is likely unaffordable. Without the subsequent information, this information is useless.

No, I don’t have that much money. I can’t spend so much money casually just to satisfy my curiosity.

Thomas could only control himself and gave the other person an awkward smile.

Maybe it would be better to become a magician instead? At least it wouldn't be so itchy.

The old magician didn't care. "It's a deal, even if it doesn't go through, there's still a sense of righteousness. Anyway, getting information from me costs money."

"Master Gandalf... do you know anything about the Godhead?"

"I have heard of it, but I am not sure," said Gandalf. "Sometimes it is difficult for people to explain what they have seen."

"The essence of the world isn't chaos; some solid, stable truth must always exist. What exactly are gods? The same question has different answers. This is due to the inherent flaws of humanity, which allows us to see only a limited aspect of the truth. It's also due to the weakness of 'language'; language struggles to describe the unknown. Even if a description is forced, it's bound to be incomplete. Once the witness dies, what they saw is forever buried. All that remains in the world are fragmented descriptions," the old magician said. "Perhaps it's for this reason that people came up with the concept of 'godhood,' believing that godhood is the essence of a god."

"But, although I can't be sure, I tend to think that this statement is vague and unreliable."

Thomas entered a state of meditation again, took a look at his damaged divine nature, and for some reason felt a little more condescending and proud in his heart.

Old miser, there are things you don’t know too!

"So, this knife is completely useless?" Thomas finally turned the topic back to the original one.

"It's not useless. Maybe it can be exchanged for half a Su?" said the old magician.

It is enough for an ordinary family to have a good meal.

"How much would it be worth if it were in its original condition?"

"What's valuable is not the knife itself, but the priest holding it, and perhaps the god the priest serves." The old magician looked at the pieced-together sacrificial knife with little interest.

“Why are priests worth money?”

"Priests can draw upon some of the power of the gods," the old magician said. "This is a reliable path to elite advancement. I've mentioned before that awakening the instincts within your bloodline... but why is it essential to awaken the instincts within your bloodline? Or, how did our original ancestors acquire this instinctive power?"

Thomas suddenly realized what was going on. Now he understood.

It turns out that the Rotten Nightmare is a...priest?

Thomas remembered the news he had received from the crow.

Magicians possess an evil magic that can allow people to break through the middle rank and reach the elite level.

It seems that the rumors are not without reason.

Thomas benefited a lot from this conversation.

It’s not that I don’t want to ask more questions, but I don’t have the money.

It seems that I have to find a way to make money.

But how to make money is a real problem. If I follow my past success, is robbery really the only option?