A Guide to Becoming a God Starting from a Monastery

"His name is Demetrios, and he's the clerk of the Knights of Rhodes... According to the original plan, he was supposed to come and see you in twenty minutes. But just now, while he was waiting outside, he saw you from afar and rushed over."

This person was in fact a distinguished guest, one who could legitimately have met the Pope. However, his sudden and impulsive behavior was unexpected.

So although the guards dragged him away and subdued him roughly, they did not dare to use weapons against him.

Demetrios? Judging by his name, his looks, and his hair, he must be Greek.

Leo XI signaled the two guards who were holding him down to let go.

Demetrios immediately rushed over again and hugged the Pope's legs as if he was holding on to a lifeline.

"Quiet, child, quiet," said Leo XI. "Why do you say that?"

He is much calmer now.

His calmness also infected Demetrios, and at least this time he didn't hug him as tightly as before.

"Who said I was going to abandon you?"

"I heard from them, Holy See, that you have appointed one of your disciples as the new Grand Master."

"Indeed."

This matter has been confirmed. In fact, the documents have been issued. It’s just that a ceremony is still needed.

"And you are unwilling to cast a divine revelation spell on him?"

"...That's right!"

Demetrios immediately burst into tears again.

"Holy Father, the Knights' situation is dire. Without a fighting force to protect our nation, we simply cannot persevere. Everyone, myself included, is willing to die for Christ, but we are insufficient to defeat the Crescent Moon Cultists... You are abandoning us... the entire Knights."

"Don't worry, child," Leo XI tried to explain. "It's not that bad. Don't believe the rumors. And why would I abandon the Order?"

"Aren't you angry at the traitors within the Order? It's said everywhere that you feel such a major betrayal has occurred within the Order, and that you've lost faith in it... Holy Father, please..."

Leo XI looked up at the guards.

"Has this rumor spread all over the city?"

The guards looked at each other, but they couldn't lie in front of the Holy See, so they could only bite the bullet and say yes.

"Those rumors...what exactly are they about?" Leo XI asked a guard.

"Rumor has it," the targeted guard said, his head bowed. "You were deeply displeased with the traitor within the Order. In your rage, you felt the Order could no longer fulfill its original mission. That's why you randomly picked someone to be Grand Master."

"..." What else could the Pope say? He could only sigh. "Anything else?"

"You refused to provide any aid to the Knights..." the guard whispered. "So, to appear justifiable, you accepted a random person as your disciple. For eight thousand florins... you sold the Knights to him..."

"Eight thousand florins?"

"The price you pay for becoming a disciple," the guard added softly. Throughout Rome, almost all high-ranking clergymen had a price for becoming a disciple—as long as you paid, they would acknowledge you as their disciple.

Even though you may not have even met each other.

But the church is honest in this regard, and if you pay, they will accept it. This is true for everyone, from top to bottom.

The current Pope, Leo XI, has the highest price for apprenticeship, which is 8,000 florins.

Leo XI was so angry that he laughed.

"Okay... okay... How is this rumor spreading now? Who started it?"

"Now... the whole city is saying this..."

The guard who was stared at was uneasy, like an elementary school student facing an angry teacher.

As for who spread the rumor... hey, if you can find the source of the rumor, you'd be amazing.

"Okay, I get it. Secretary Demetrios, right?" The old man looked down at the Greek who was still hugging his leg. "Don't worry, I won't abandon the Knights of Rhodes. I have already made arrangements."

He said it very clearly.

"You go down first, I'll see you in ten minutes... Forget it, just wait here." He motioned for the other person to get up.

His attitude also affected the other party, and Demetrios climbed up and stopped hugging his legs.

Oh no! Leo XI suddenly came to his senses. How long had just passed?

Although he was dressed like an ascetic, this was not a real ascetic robe. There were secret pockets inside to hide things. And in the pocket, Leo XI had an hourglass as a timekeeping device.

This is a very accurate timing device, and it lasts exactly five minutes.

But because of this sudden accident, especially the struggle when someone hugged his thighs, he accidentally turned over the hourglass.

But there is no way to figure out how much time has passed.

Leo XI was shocked and immediately turned around and grabbed a rope beside the basement entrance.

The rope is connected to a bell, and when it is pulled, the bell will ring in the basement.

A very simple, yet very effective device.

He yanked the rope hard.

Please...don't let anything happen! He was extremely anxious.

Because even he himself didn't know what the consequences would be if he stayed in the basement for too long.

Chapter 51: Profligate Merchant 1

Unlike last time, Thomas' pace was much faster this time.

There are only five minutes, so every second counts.

A short while later, he was already in the basement. Just like last time, a voice from nowhere rang in Thomas' ears.

"Oh, young god, you are here again."

The other party seemed quite interested in Thomas's arrival.

"You said last time that you could help me enchant a flag." Thomas said as he unfolded the flag he was carrying.

Thomas had the flag made by a tailor in town, using the finest and strongest materials. "What's the price?"

"No, I don't need it. It doesn't cost me anything." The voice was generous. "This flag is quite nice, though."

The flag had a scarlet cross in the center, and a circle of light red, shaped like a sword, surrounded the scarlet cross.

"Is this pattern a reference to something?"

"Well..." Thomas wanted to say it was a reference to the Order of the Sword, but after all, the Order of the Sword had never appeared in this world (so Estonia was still a tribe), "I just thought it up."

"Young god," the voice laughed. "Are you going to fight for Christianity?"

"Ah, why do you say that?"

"Because anyone who sees this flag will know it's a battle flag. But this is also good. As long as the power of the blood crystal is absorbed into it... it will absorb the power. But how do you plan to use this power?"

"Ah...this..."

"Normally, you can prepare a spell, and as long as there's enough energy on the flag, the spell will automatically be cast."

"Prepare a spell...how do I do that?"

"You can't?" the voice said in mock surprise.

"No, can you do it for me?"

"This isn't free." The voice laughed.

"This flag and this crystal are both yours. Enchanting them does not require my power. But this magic..." the voice said. "It must remain fixed on the flag. The cost is a bit high."

"If there wasn't this spell..."

"This flag will be filled with power, but you won't be able to use that power. So it will be no different from any other flag."

"It's like an extremely sharp, indestructible sword, but I can never draw it from the scabbard?"

"That's a very fitting metaphor."

"It shouldn't be that serious... First of all, if you enchant the magic, what price do I want?"

"I suggest attaching a second-tier spell: Regeneration. This way, every time you activate the magic flag, all creatures within its range will be healed. You can also attach a third-tier spell: Haste, which will grant everyone a speed boost. You can also attach a first-tier spell: Morale... and you can go all the way up to fourth-tier spells. But then again, in my opinion, third-tier spells are the limit for this flag. Higher-tier spells aren't impossible, but... well, they require a lot of time to build up enough energy to activate. So, the actual effect would be worse than lower-tier spells."

"I understand what you mean... then the costs of enchanting spells of different levels should be different, right?"

"Yes, for a first-tier spell, I need an angel feather... which is currently in the hands of the Catholic Pope. For a second-tier spell, I need the remains of an ancient god. It's supposedly in Egypt, but I don't know its exact location. For a third-tier spell, I need a fragment of the True Cross... which is in the Holy Land. It's probably well-protected."

"Wait, wait, wait, I don't have any of these things you're talking about right now! I didn't know about them beforehand, so it's impossible for me to carry them with me."

Just by looking at the names of these things you can tell they are awesome, they must be extremely precious treasures.

"Well... that's a problem," the voice said. "How about this: you can promise me something and do it for me in exchange."

"That... let's forget it," Thomas replied. "Help me enchant it first. Maybe I can find a way to directly harness the power of the flag."

He now understood a little bit. The other party called him "young god" because they felt that he was on the road to becoming a god.

Rather than realizing that he possessed a damaged godhead.

Just like the Deer-Headed Demon, it could tell at a glance that Thomas was a colleague. However, it didn't know the specific methods Thomas relied on.

It is difficult to become a god, but walking on the road to becoming a god seems to be no big deal.

For example, Princess Long Sword can try to take this path if she wants.

Thomas never thought of using his magic flag to cast spells.

Others might not be able to utilize this power, but Thomas knew that as long as they came into contact with it, this power would be absorbed by the damaged godhead and transformed into divine power.

Moreover, the other party's behavior...

It can only be said to be very bad.

It was as bad as the unscrupulous platforms Thomas had seen in his previous life.

First, they give you ten minutes of free viewing, then pique your interest and ask you to recharge your membership. After you recharge, a bunch of ads pop up, and to turn off the ads, you have to recharge your VIP membership. After recharging to become a VIP member, you find that your permissions are limited and you can't watch the latest episode. If you want to watch it, you have to recharge your VIP Gold membership...

It vividly illustrates the truth that "free things are the most expensive."

Of course, Thomas felt from the beginning that the other party's kindness was a bit too deliberate.

Now the fox's tail is finally revealed.

"Forget it, you should just enchant the flag first." Thomas took out the crystal prism and held it in his hand. "You said it was free."

With bursts of laughter, a gust of wind blew by, and the flag in Thomas's hand fell to the ground and spread out flat. The prism also floated from Thomas's hand, shining brightly.

In the glow, the prisms turned into countless crystalline dust, which then fell on the flag.

Thomas was also someone who had access to the fifth layer of the magic network and could vaguely sense the flow of magic power. Therefore, he felt that this enlightenment process seemed to involve a small amount of magic, and a very subtle power in the magic network was being mobilized.

The entire flag began to glow faintly.

Thomas took out the eye mask and put it on. Then he found that the ordinary flag was now full of magical light.

And the intensity of this magical light...

All I can say is that he is very strong, even stronger than Hajime.

Thomas gathered up the flag and rolled it up.

The voice just chuckled, but did nothing to stop it.

The bell hadn't rung yet, which meant Thomas still had time.

"By the way, you said before that gods also have lifespans? How long is it usually?"

"Haha... Generally speaking, young god, once you complete this journey, you can live for a thousand years like you do now."

"During these thousand years, you may enjoy all the pleasures of the flesh."

"After a thousand years, your physical body will decay, and you will be able to descend only as a clone. You will no longer be able to enjoy the pleasures of the physical senses, but you can still enjoy other stimulations. For example, manipulation, victory, and the admiration and awe of the crowd."

"After two thousand years, your spirit and willpower will no longer be able to bear the cost of a clone. Then, you will be left standing high in the sky, watching the world change."

"It will take almost three thousand years for the spirit and will to be completely exhausted."

"Three thousand years..." Thomas couldn't help but sigh.

This is indeed a long time. It can be said that it has lived from the Qin Shi Huang all the way to the Republic.

"So, the gods of this world... have already lived for three thousand years?"