Chapter 390 - 390 The Taboos Of Forging
"I do not know what possessed you to think that adding a part of yourself would stabilize your weapon, but you are very lucky that you did not end up dead, or worse."
Hearing Thabon say this, bit of fear creeped into Marcus' eyes, and he looked at his scythe dubiously.
However, Thabon shook his head and said, "There is no need to be afraid, your weapon is stable, and should not have any problems. But I must tell you that for every stable soul bound weapon made, a thousand more are the end of their makers."
Thabon then let out a long sigh before saying, "I suppose I should have told you about the taboos of forging. I honestly did not ever dream that you would accidently do one and was hoping to never even need mention them."
Taking a pause to focus himself, Thabon racked his brain for all of the information he wanted to tell Marcus, and when he was ready said, "The first of the three main taboos, is what you just did. Binding your own soul to a weapon often has dire consequences, but still many try it since it can create an incredibly strong personal weapon just as you have made. Yet, most of the time it simply results in the forgmaster's soul being shattered and their body becoming a lifeless corpse. Unfortunately, this is normally the best outcome for one who tried to bind their soul to a weapon, and in the worst case a monstrous weapon will be created instead."
After saying this Thabon took a moment calm himself down, and Marcus could tell he had some sort of bad experience with one of these monstrous weapons.
"These weapons feel incomplete after the soul bonding failed and will begin reaping lives in an effort to make themselves feel whole. Sometimes, the nastier ones will even possess the bodies of people always trying to find a stronger host while leaving wakes of bodes in their way. Truly they can give rise to calamites, and the stronger the forgemaster the more powerful this weapon will be."
As Thabon told him this, Marcus gulped imagining what could have happened in the worst-case scenario.
Yet, he quickly realized that the worst case was probably impossible for him.
He was not human and was both a ghost and a great spirit, making his case pretty unusual.
'Hm it is possible that my nature just makes me more in tune with creating a soul bound weapon. With soul regeneration as well as deny destruction it should be pretty much impossible for me to have a bad outcome'
And Marcus was actually correct in his assumption here.
Since he was a purely spiritual being, it was much easier for him to bind a part of himself to a weapon.
Still without his soul regeneration skill, it would be quite likely that having his soul ripped apart would have destroyed him, or at the very least left him permanently damaged.
"I see. Well, I am glad that I got lucky. I would not have wanted to start a calamity." Marcus said, trying to sound apologetic.
Of course, he was actually pretty happy to hear that his weapon was not going to have any adverse effect and that it was pretty special.
"Yes, you did get very lucky. But never show anyone you do not completely trust this weapon, and especially never show another forgemaster. What you have done here is normally grounds for expulsion from the forge, and criminal charges. At the very least that weapon would be destroyed, and you would receive a hefty fine. However, just this once, since you were unaware of what you were doing and it is partially my fault for not teaching you about this aspect of forging, I will look the other way."
Bowing his head, Marcus thanked Thabon for his understanding and discretion, and said that he would follow his directions.
"Now I should tell you about the other taboos, though I doubt that you would ever do either one, since there is no way they could ever be accomplished accidentally."
Thabon then told Marcus about the second taboo of forging and that was to make an undead weapon.
And while this could end up similar to some of the monstrous weapons, they were quite different as these weapons had no souls in them and were made entirely out of monster and beast parts that were reanimated.
"Weapons like these can turn whole cities into desolate ghost towns full of shambling undead. And while I do not know much about them, I have heard that an incredibly powerful one once turned an entire kingdom into an undead horde until a band of heroes gathered together and destroyed it."
As Thabon said this, Marcus could see the fear in his eyes, and he could only imagine what an undead weapon made form the parts of a powerful beast or monster could accomplish.
Still, there was one more taboo, and this one seemed to be the one that disturbed Thabon the most, as he was having difficulty talking about it.
"The third taboo is similar to the first, however, it is far more vile. Instead of trying to bind your own soul to a weapon, you forge a living person into it."
Thabon visibly shuddered as he said this, and Marcus could tell he also had a bad experience with this taboo just like the first one.
"In doing this, some of the most despicable forgmasters try to create a truly living weapon with the poor person's soul bound to it, and being partially made from their flesh and bones. And those that do this unspeakable act, hope to create a weapon that can level up."
Watching Thabon, Marcus could see that he was clenching his fists so tightly that they had gone white, and that this subject was really brining out his fury.
"And I have never heard of this method being successful in its claims. All it does most of the time is kill the poor person or create a monstrous weapon similar to the first taboo. But of all the taboos this is by far the worst and can lead to a mad man sacrificing hundreds of people to an agonizing death."
Seeing the sorrow in Thabon's eyes, Marcus could tell he had not wanted to talk about this subject which is why he had never told him to be wary of these methods before.
Though it was also a preventative measure, since some masters who had told their disciples about these taboos only gave their disciples the idea to give it a try.
"Now you know the taboos of forging. I should have told you earlier and you may not have accidently bound you soul to this weapon. Luckily it turned out alright this time, but never try anything like this again. If I find out you attempted any of these taboos again, I will expel you from the forge and hand you over to the authorities. Though if I ever here you attempted the third taboo, I will put you down personally." Thabon said with a deadly serious expression.
"I understand master and you have nothing to worry about from me. I will take your words to heart, and I thank you for your guidance." Marcus said bowing his head.
"Good, make sure that you do.. I would not want to have to kill another disciple with my own hands."