Soulforged: The Fusion Talent-Chapter 207—First Mission

The joint deployment assignment came through official channels three days after Mara’s breakthrough.

MANDATORY SHROUD DEPLOYMENT - TIER 2 BREACH

Location: Eastern Border, Sector 7-Delta

Duration: 5 Hours

Objective: Breach Containment and Crawler Elimination

Mara read the notification on her academy bracelet twice, feeling the familiar pre-deployment tension coil in her stomach.

This time it was a joint deployment with Sparkshire, solhaven and Ashmar students working together.

This would be her first mission since integrating Phase Strike. Her first opportunity to test the core’s capabilities in actual combat rather than controlled training.

And it would be under observation by foreign students who’d spent weeks establishing dominance over Republic recruits through Johnmark’s challenge spree and countless smaller confrontations.

Perfect.

She’d been wanting to demonstrate that outpost recruits weren’t inferior.

Now she’d have an audience.

-----

The deployment briefing took place in Sparkshire’s tactical operations room—a large chamber with holographic displays showing the breach location, Crawler density estimates, and terrain analysis.

Instructor Vex stood at the front, his expression carrying the professional neutrality of someone who’d overseen hundreds of these missions and knew exactly how dangerous they could be.

"Listen carefully," Vex began without preamble. "This is a Tier 2 breach, which means Crawlers will range from Tier 1 cannon fodder to Tier 2 specimens capable of killing Initiates if you’re careless. Estimated Crawler density is moderate—you’ll encounter resistance, but not overwhelming numbers."

He gestured to the holographic display, which zoomed in on the breach location. An industrial zone on Central’s eastern border where reality had thinned enough that Crawlers were manifesting semi-regularly.

"Your objective is containment. Military teams will handle perimeter security and extract any civilians who haven’t evacuated yet. Your job is to clear Crawlers from the breach zone and prevent expansion into surrounding districts."

Vex’s gaze swept across the assembled students. "You’ll be working in mixed squads—Sparkshire, solhaven and Ashmar students together. This is not optional. You will cooperate. Any student who prioritizes they do called national pride over tactical effectiveness will be removed from deployment and face disciplinary action."

Several Ashmar students shifted uncomfortably. A few Sparkshire students looked relieved that cooperation was being enforced rather than assumed.

"Squad assignments are posted on your academy bracelets. Review them now. Departure in thirty minutes."

Mara checked her assignment.

Squad Seven:

- Mara (Sparkshire - Combat Specialist)

- Duncan (Sparkshire - Defensive Specialist)

- Lia (Ashmar - Combat Generalist)

- Shawn (Ashmar - Tactical Support)

She recognized Duncan immediately—her squadmate, a reliable tank, someone she’d fought beside dozens of times.

Lia and Shawn were Ashmar students she’d observed during dining hall interactions. Mid-tier Initiates. Competent but not exceptional.

It was a balanced squad. Not ideal, not terrible.

Workable.

Duncan caught her eye across the room and nodded once. They’d coordinate. Watch each other’s backs. Make sure the Ashmar students didn’t do anything stupid.

-----

The breach zone was worse than the briefing had suggested.

Reality was thin* here. Mara could feel it the moment they entered Sector 7-Delta—a sensation like walking through atmosphere that was simultaneously too dense and too empty. The air shimmered with distortions that hurt to look at directly.

Crawlers manifested constantly. Not in overwhelming numbers, but in steady flow. Spider-variants. Centipedes. Scorpion-types. The standard Tier 1 and low-Tier 2 specimens that the Republic’s military encountered regularly.

Squad Seven moved in tactical formation. Duncan at the front, his Bone Guard already manifested, spear held in ready position. Lia and Shawn flanking with standard combat positioning.

And Mara at the back, twin daggers drawn, waiting for targets.

The first engagement came within five minutes.

Three spider-variants dropped from overhead structural beams with a coordinated ambush attempt that would have worked against less experienced students.

Duncan’s Momentum Control absorbed the kinetic force of their descent and redirected it into the ground, destabilizing the spiders before they could properly engage. His spear took one through the neural cluster with practiced efficiency.

Lia and Shawn handled the second spider with competent teamwork—fire manipulation from Lia to distract, precise strikes from Shawn to disable and kill.

The third spider targeted Mara.

It was fast. Tier 2. More intelligent than standard specimens. Its leg-strikes came in coordinated patterns designed to overwhelm single opponents through speed and positioning.

Mara’s Clear Mind core filtered incoming information with perfect clarity. Eight legs. Multiple attack vectors. Venomous fangs aiming for her torso.

She moved.

Not away but Through.

Her Phase Strike activated as she committed to the attack. For exactly half a second, she became partially intangible—solid enough to maintain physical presence, ephemeral enough that the spider’s defensive leg-blocks passed through her harmlessly.

Her daggers found the spider’s neural cluster from an angle that should have been impossible to reach.

Both blades buried simultaneously in a precise and fatal position.

The spider collapsed mid-strike, dead before its momentum carried it to the ground.

Mara withdrew her daggers and stepped back, assessing for additional threats.

The entire engagement had taken four seconds.

She looked up to find her entire squad staring at her.

Duncan was grinning. He’d seen her fight before, knew what she was capable of.

The others looked shocked.

"What..." Lia started, then stopped. "What was that? You just... your body phased. The spider’s legs went through you."

Mara simply stared not bothering to humor the Ashmar student, she wasn’t interested in discussing her mysterious merchant encounter and the core she had integrated. "We’re moving. More Crawlers ahead."

They continued deeper into the breach zone.

Over the next three hours, Mara’s capability became increasingly undeniable.

Every engagement where she committed to strikes, her Phase Strike allowed her to bypass Crawler defenses that would normally block or deflect attacks. Armored carapaces. Defensive positioning. Environmental cover.

All irrelevant.

If she decided a Crawler died, it died. The only limitation was her stamina and the half-second timing window that her Clear Mind core helped her manage with surgical precision.

By the fourth hour, the Ashmar students had stopped being shocked and started being respectful.

In no particular fashion the deployment concluded successfully. Squad Seven eliminated forty-three Crawlers with zero casualties and minimal injuries. Their performance was rated in the top ten squads across the entire joint operation.

When they returned to Sparkshire’s debriefing area, Mara noticed something.

Students were looking at her differently.

Not just her squad. Other students who’d observed portions of the deployment. Ashmar students who’d heard reports from their squadmates.

The looks carried respect. Recognition. The acknowledgment that she was dangerous in ways that couldn’t be dismissed or minimized.

She’d been "the weak one" of the Vester squad.

Not anymore.

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