Chapter 123- The Undead forging Branch of Eternal Forge.

Chapter 123: Chapter 123- The Undead forging Branch of Eternal Forge.

[Ding~]

[New Realm Detected.]

[The Hall of Undead — a separate realm of undead, a world entirely its own, folded beneath the fortress and directly linked to the Death Mana Vein, yet existing as its own distinct dimension.]

[Ding~]

[Registering Forger...]

[Identity Confirmed: Leo Stone.]

[Primary Authority Recognized — Eternal Forge Holder.]

[Ding!]

[Realm Linking Complete.]

[Realm Owner: Leo Stone.]

[Current Realm Population — 0.]

[Classification: Forge Facility for Soul-Forged Existences.]

[Current Functionality: Limited.]

[Known Functions:] Soul Preservation, Body Preservation, Undead Dormancy, Soul Forging, Vessel Forging,. Repair, Reconstruction, Development.

Leo’s eyes went wide at the sight of it. Now that’s genuinely eye-opening. Is this some kind of dimensional space similar to the Eternal Forge’s own dimension?

He already possessed one such personal dimension, and now, apparently, there was a second one entirely. I wonder if I could set up an entry point into this realm back at the guild, the same way I did with the Eternal Forge.

Another panel followed shortly after.

[Hall of Progression]

[Additional functions and chambers will become accessible as the Hall’s development progresses.]

[Known Chamber Records:]

[Hall Core.]

Every undead created will be registered here upon completion. Their ongoing progress and current state will be tracked and saved within the core.

[Soul Repository.]

Linked directly to the soul bank/ Soul Receptacle, allowing souls to be stored via soul receptacles, which significantly increases overall soul storage capacity.

[Preservation Chamber.]

The first gate of the entire process. Whatever time and corruption have already damaged is held steady here — stripped of any lingering foreign energy, stabilized fully — until proper forging can finally begin.

[Repair Chamber.]

Where broken vessels are made whole again: cracked bodies, failed forms, anything left damaged from battle. Undead can recover here on their own, without requiring the forger’s direct intervention, though the recovery process runs considerably slower than active repair would.

[Training Grounds.]

The undead don’t experience fatigue, meaning they can train relentlessly without rest. Whatever discipline an undead wishes to train in will be manifested here, creating a proper, tailored training environment for them.

[Evolution Chamber.]

Once an undead meets certain specific requirements, they may enter the Evolution Chamber to undergo evolution.

Another notification followed close behind.

[Soul Bank — Status: 22/28.]

[Registration Complete.]

Leo finally began to piece together a real understanding of this new realm. It was, by every measure, far more advanced than the Eternal Forge’s dimension — though it was only suited for undead, or for those who carried genuine undead affinity themselves.

As he studied the Hall of Progression further, he could tell there was still plenty more waiting to be unlocked down the line.

There was simply too much coming at him all at once. Leo felt a familiar wave of overwhelming sensation settle in, but he pushed through it and kept reading regardless.

Just as he finally started to feel like he had some handle on what the Hall of Undead actually was, yet another notification arrived.

"Sigh," he muttered.

[Ding~]

[Undead Creation methods unlocked.]

[Creation Method A — Forged Vessel.]

[Requirements:]

[Soul + Forged Vessel + Death Mana.]

[Result: Soul-Forged Undead.]

[Potential: Dependent on Soul-Vessel Compatibility and Forging Mastery. Can reach 50% of the original body’s capability, or exceed what the body possessed while alive.]

Creation methods? Before he could think it through any further, another panel appeared.

[Creation Method B — Original Soul + Original Body.]

[Requirements:]

[Original Soul + Original Body + Reforging + Death Mana.]

[Result: Reforged Soul-Forged Existence.]

[Reconstruction Potential: 100%+.]

Leo stared at the notification, comparing the two methods side by side, slowly working out what the system was actually telling him.

"You’ve got to be kidding me," he muttered. "You’re saying that if I use someone’s original body and original soul together, the result could end up stronger than they ever were while alive?"

Just as the thought left his mouth, another panel unfolded, laying out exactly why that was the case.

[Soul-Body Memory]

[Original vessels retain structural and physical memory accumulated over the course of their entire existence.]

[Muscle pathways.]

[Bone structure.]

[Physical habits.]

[Reflexive patterns.]

[Long-term adaptations.]

[Original Soul + Original Body may produce significantly higher Resonance.]

"So that’s what ’the body remembers’ actually means," Leo murmured to himself, still slightly dazed by the implications.

Beside him, Elly logged every last detail into her database, quietly analyzing the data for possibilities they might have otherwise overlooked.

Leo glanced down at his own hands. He’d always intuitively understood that a body remembering things worked something like instinct. A swordsman spending decades drilling the same forms, a craftsman logging thousands of hours at the anvil, a mage endlessly repeating the same spellwork — none of that experience lived purely in conscious memory. Somewhere along the way, it became part of the body itself.

He kept scrolling through the notifications, and his eyes eventually landed on the section covering soul potential.

[Soul Potential.]

[The theoretical upper limit of what a Soul may ultimately become.]

[Soul Development.]

[The portion of that Potential which has actually been realized so far.]

He nodded slowly to himself. Every soul carried its own potential, sure — but how much of that potential actually got unearthed and developed depended just as much on the forger’s skill as it did on the soul itself.

There was a whole cluster of other descriptive notifications tied to the class branch as well.

Some of them explained the mechanics behind increasing soul-vessel compatibility over time. One section even included a worked example: suppose the initial compatibility between a soul and its vessel started at 63 percent. After the forging process itself, that number might climb to 79 percent. Following resonance adjustment, it could rise as high as 91 percent. And with proper vessel optimization layered on top, it could reach 97 percent or higher still.

There were still more panels beyond that, packed with further descriptions, but it was simply too much to process all at once. "Elly, go through the entire class branch description for me," Leo said. "Give me a condensed summary — what does what, what’s capable of what, that kind of thing."

Elly nodded and got to work analyzing everything.

"Master, I’ve gone through the full set now," she said, continuing after a brief pause. "There’s a section outlining the various failure conditions for forging an undead — cases where the soul is unstable to begin with, or badly damaged, or where the vessel being used is either too weak or simply incompatible."

"There’s also a section addressing the general difficulty of forging undead. It frames that difficulty in terms of something called soul weight. I can show you a brief summary of it now."

As she spoke, a hologram materialized in front of Leo — not a system panel this time, but Elly’s own holographic breakdown.

[Soul Weight represents the density and complexity of an existence.]

[Potential factors:]

• Accumulated Memory. • Strength of Will. • Depth of Identity. • Existing Power. • Complexity of Potential.

Leo caught the general idea. "So some souls are just naturally harder to work with than others, depending on how much life expereince and potential they carry."

Elly nodded. "Master, beyond the six disciplines you were shown earlier, there also appear to be four additional disciplines. Currently, though, they’re all grayed out and locked." She brought forward another panel as she spoke.

[Advanced Disciplines — Locked.]

[Soul Blueprint.]

[Soul Resonance.]

[Soul Development.]

[Soul-Body Memory.]

Leo raised an eyebrow at the four grayed-out, locked passive skills sitting in front of him.

"They’re locked? How do I unlock them? Does it say anything about that?" he asked.

"Yes, Master. According to the description, advanced disciplines aren’t handed out through simple level progression. They have to be discovered and unlocked through practice, observation, experimentation, and genuine innovation on the forger’s part."

Leo nodded at that. It sounded reasonable enough, all things considered.

"There are quite a few other sealed aspects as well. Would you like me to go over those too?" Elly asked.

"Yeah," Leo said. "Go ahead."

[Further Development — Sealed.]

[Soul Imprinting — Sealed.]

[Soul Repair — Living Targets — Sealed.]

[Forged Existence — Non-Humanoid Forms — Sealed.]

[Advanced Reforging — Sealed.]

[Reforging Death — Sealed.]

"There’s no description of what any of these actually do," Elly noted, "and nothing explaining how they might eventually be unsealed."

Leo skimmed over the list briefly, but the moment his eyes landed on that final line — Reforging Death — a sudden wave of goosebumps crawled across his skin. A strange, inexplicable fear settled over him, one he couldn’t quite account for.

The words themselves felt unusually heavy, carrying weight far beyond their simple meaning.

"Reforging death..." Leo murmured, then shook his head firmly. "That’s a problem for another day."

...

He finally made his way through every remaining aspect of his newly evolved branch.

He turned back to the death guardian and offered her one more deep, respectful bow, expressing his gratitude once again.

His Eternal Forge class had, in its own way, taken the raw knowledge of the Death Sovereign and reinterpreted it entirely through the path Leo was already familiar with.

What resulted, bore some resemblance to necromancy, to raising the dead in the traditional sense — but the underlying methods were something else entirely.

"There is still much more exploring to do, especially when I forge an undead."

....