As Ashley stepped out of the portal, he instantly fell forward. The Marksman Pillar cursed as he tripped over a stone brick. After recovering, Ashley began to scan his surroundings and found that he was in a dilapidated slum.
Moss had overtaken the area, and most of the hits looked like they had been bombed several times. The site was littered with dead twigs and dried leaves, especially on the roads. Even the pathway was rough, with Ashley constantly having to watch his steps...
The Marksman froze as he heard something snap as he took a step forward. Ashley peered down to see a long, human bone. The Marksman shivered but remained calm. That thing must've been there long since bones aren't meant to snap that easily. But, wait...
The Marksman blinked a few times at the broken 'bone' and was shocked to find that it was just a stick.
"Maybe I should get my eyes checked... Wonder if Mages have eye doctors or something..." murmured Ashley, continuing.
As he walked halfway through the slum, Ashley felt the omnipotent presence of another Mage. The Marksman summoned his rifle and went to take cover by hiding behind a wall that belonged to the house. The sniper made sure to stick his back against the wall.
"There's no point in hiding around this place... Or me," echoed a voice as Ashley looked around.
A single Tick passed; Ashley took out a small pistol and fired several shots at the source of the voice. But each bullet was being destroyed, but an arrow was covered with red light. The Marksman cursed as it was now the opponents' turn to launch an attack.
Ashley could hear five strings plucked as if someone was playing the harp. It was only a split Tick when the arrows plummeted into the wall that Ashley was leaning against. The Marksman made the excellent choice of changing positions as the arrows glowed and exploded, bringing down the wall.
Another few plucks rang out in the area, and Ashley found himself in the open. The Marksman turned around to see three bright red arrows tunneling towards him. Ashley smiled as he held up his master sniper rifle and took aim.
Three consecutive blasts and out came three bullets from Ashley's gun. Two shots decimated two arrows while the last bullet had split the arrow cleanly in half. Ashley looked straight ahead as the divided projectile went past his head.
"In a battle between arrows and bullets... I dare say that bullets will always be far superior to the old product. And as long as I possessed these Eyes, I will never lose to a third-rate like you," said Ashley as he loaded up more shots.
A single pluck reverberated through the area as the Marksman's eyes darted around to find the target. The arrow appeared on Ashley's left, and he merely stuck out an arm to grab the fired arrow.
The Marksman was annoyed with fighting a faceless enemy as he instantly snapped the arrow in his hand. Ashley faced forward and allowed his Elemental Aura and Energy levels to soar into dangerous heights.
"Sorry, boss... But I'm going all out for this first battle," said Ashley as his Elemental Energy started to appear in the physical world.
Several orbs of aquamarine water emerged around Ashley, floating as the Marksman continued to draw more power from Mavislin. The Valkyrie felt the pull on her Elemental Energy supply but signaled the Marksman to continue. Ashley grinned as he wielded his rifle with one hand.
He then raised his arm and pointed the rifle towards the sky, causing more of the orbs to appear around the Marksman. A series of plucks occurred, along with an onslaught of red arrows. Ashley merely looked bored as he sighed as the orbs started spinning midair.
"A lady who could rival the Gods' beauties has become a hideous and powerful monster beneath the ocean. If you sail away from Charybdis, you sail towards its twin. She, who holds the wrath against humans... There's no escaping her hold..." chanted Ashley.
"My eyes, I activate thee. Pierce all fragile hearts... Round Undefined; Infinite Shots Of Scylla!" shouted Ashley as he brought down his gun and fired a massive shot of Seawater Elemental Energy towards the arrows.
As he made that move, the orbs surrounding Ashley instantly shot forwards, clashing with every arrow coming for him. Yet, the Marksman remained unfazed as he watched the bright arrows and water orbs explode into different colors.
But Ashley knew not to let his guard down and quickly used the chaos of the two spells to find his target. Ashley finally reached his target and fired a water beam from his rifle, bashing through most of the arrows while the orbs cleared the rest.