Airu Koruto—that was the name Julius had chosen for himself in Eclipse Conquest: Omega.
On Planet Virelda, the wind was currently mild—by the planet's standards.
The sky was vast and crystal-clear, a breathtaking shade of blue that felt unreal. Towering trees surrounded him, their massive leaves swaying with each passing breeze. Even the grass reached higher than his head—tall enough to completely engulf him.
What the system considered "moderate wind" was more than enough to send Julius flying. He clung tightly to a thick grass blade, struggling to stay grounded.
Back in the control room, the president furrowed his brow.
"Looks like we set the wind speed a bit too high."
An expert nearby responded calmly,
"Just give it a few more seconds, Mr. President."
Right then, another virtual screen appeared in front of Julius with a system prompt:
"Do you want to adjust your body size to better suit this world's scale?"
Two options flashed: Yes and No.
Of course, Julius chose Yes.
Immediately, his body began to glow and grow, expanding to match the scale of Virelda. In seconds, the towering grass now looked ordinary to him—like regular Earth grass.
The trees, mountains, and structures, however, were still colossal—unchanged and impossibly massive in comparison.
He took a few cautious steps forward, starting to explore.
The forest was dense and endless. On foot alone, there was no way he could escape its vastness.
Then, a new message popped up:
"You have a new message in your inbox."
Julius spoke:
"Open inbox."
The screen shifted, and a message from a system bot appeared:
"Hello Julius, I'm one of the experts who worked on this game. I'm sending this message from the control room to let you know that you can summon a flying super bike from your inventory, and also access the Soul Injection to receive a random superpower. Thank you."
The message was a big help.
Julius himself had worked on the game—not just him, but nearly all the programmers in the company had played a role in developing it.
He knew most of the internal systems and commands, but in the heat of the moment, his excitement had clouded his memory.
"Inventory," he commanded.
Three items appeared before him:
Advanced Super Bike
Soul Injection
Life Manual
The Life Manual contained detailed guidance about everything a player could or couldn't do in the world.
But in this stage of development, there were essentially no restrictions. It was still in the testing phase, meaning full freedom to experiment and explore.
Julius gave the command:
"Summon Advanced Bike."
In an instant, the bike appeared before him—shimmering into existence in a burst of glowing light.
It was beautiful—a pure crimson body, accented with sleek yellow and blue gradients. The design was sleek, compact, and absolutely futuristic. It had no wheels—instead, it hovered gently above the ground with a low hum.
There was no key or ignition.
The bike was biometric. It responded only to authorized users.
Since it was freshly summoned, no one had registered to it yet.
Julius stepped forward and placed his palm over the handprint scanner near the speedometer.
It flashed and locked in his identity.
From now on, only Julius, or someone he allowed, could access this bike.
He climbed aboard.
Slowly, he lifted into the air—rising above the forest floor, though still surrounded by the towering alien trees.
He could feel everything:
The cold wind rushing past his face, the pressure shifts in the air, the sound of rustling leaves, and even the faint buzz of distant insects.
He realized: if he hadn't resized himself, even the insects here might have been lethal obstacles.
After riding for a while, a new sensation crept in—thirst.
He flew around, trying to find a source of water, but then remembered—
"Wait... the game has a virtual map."
He spoke aloud:
"Open map."
As soon as he opened the map, Julius could see a detailed view of the area within a 2-kilometer radius.
Roughly 1.7 kilometers ahead, there was a large body of water visible on the map.
Julius felt a surge of excitement at the thought of drinking water in this vast virtual world.
But just as he was about to fly toward it, he sensed something approaching from his left.
He turned—and spotted an arrow, made of stone, flying straight toward him.
He instantly boosted the speed of his advanced bike and managed to dodge the attack. But almost immediately, a second arrow followed. Trying to avoid it, Julius panicked—he twisted too sharply, lost control, and crashed to the ground with the bike.
Luckily, he wasn't seriously hurt.
He scrambled to his feet and looked around—he was surrounded.
Dozens of tribal figures had encircled him. Their faces were monstrous—some resembled oni masks, others more twisted and grotesque—but their bodies were completely human in form, albeit with skin as black as obsidian. They wore leafy garments made from massive jungle foliage, primitive but functional.
Some held stone spears, others had bows drawn, their eyes fixed on him with aggression.
Julius smirked and muttered under his breath,
"Finally… my first battle."
He raised his voice:
"Open Inventory."
A cyan system message flashed before him:
"You cannot open your inventory while in combat."
The moment he saw it, Julius froze.
He remembered—he was the one who had programmed that restriction.
Right now, all he could feel was pure frustration with himself.
One of the spear-wielding tribals suddenly charged toward Julius, and the rest of the group followed right behind him, roaring in unison.
But Julius didn't panic.
Instead, he gave another calm command:
"Open Fighting Styles."
Immediately, a glowing screen appeared before him, displaying a list of available martial arts:
Street Fighting Style
Judo
Karate
Taekwondo
Jiu-Jitsu
Muay Thai
Xing Yi Quan
Shaolin Kung Fu
Wing Chun
These were the basic fighting styles available to beginners.
But considering the current chaotic situation, the most adaptable and practical one was clearly Street Fighting Style—raw, unpredictable, and effective in real-world brawls.
Julius nodded and said,
"Select Street Fighting Style."