The Optimal Start
‘Who is that man…?’
It was the moment he stepped aboard the private jet.
A man caught Gracia’s eye.
An elderly British gentleman.
He was old, but there was no mistaking him.
‘Melson! Why is he in Korea?’
Melson.
A legendary figure who had reached the absolute pinnacle of his field.
Gracia had heard the rumor that after retirement Melson had been appointed as an official of the British royal family—but after that, news of him had vanished as if scrubbed from existence.
And now that man was in Korea.
Accompanied by another man, no less.
‘…A guest of the royal family?’
Even so.
Someone of Melson’s caliber had come all the way to Korea in person just to collect that man?
It made no sense.
Who on earth was he?
Melson was a man who would not even personally escort the president of Korea.
He had not so much as glanced at Gracia himself.
There was no way he did not know who Gracia was—the world’s star, the strongest man on Earth.
Yet toward that other man, Melson wore an endlessly kind smile.
‘…………Who is he?’
He had no idea.
“Young Master Oliver. Going to meet a girlfriend today? You’re all dressed up like a flower~”
In front of the vanity.
At the old woman’s words, Oliver shook his head with a stiff expression.
Then he looked into the full-length mirror before him and spoke.
“It’s nothing like that. More importantly… do I look healthy?”
“Of course you do~ You look perfectly healthy. No one outside would ever guess you were ill.”
A finely tailored suit.
The old woman finished knotting his tie and checked Oliver’s face once more.
She had covered his pale complexion with makeup—just enough to give the illusion of color, of health.
‘I’m getting old and foolish. Why am I about to cry?’
She carefully wiped away a tear.
It had been nearly five years since Oliver last went to meet anyone.
For five years he had not taken a single step outside this castle.
Oliver, who had shown interest in nothing and given attention to no one, was now dressing himself up like this to meet someone.
Having cared for him since childhood, the old woman regarded him as her own son and fretted over him constantly. But Oliver, born with a weak heart, had always looked as though he might die tomorrow.
He had no will to live.
He never so much as glanced at this reality.
And yet that same Oliver was preparing with real purpose now.
Without rest for half a day, no less.
Even going to meet a girlfriend, he would never have prepared this thoroughly.
“Do I really look healthy?”
He had already asked dozens of times.
Each time, the old woman smiled brightly and nodded.
“I told you so. Even I can barely tell, and I did the makeup myself.”
“Then… that’s enough. Let’s go up.”
Oliver climbed the stairs, tense to the core.
As he headed for the rooftop, the rough sea surrounding them came into view.
“There’s still a long while until the scheduled arrival. Will you be all right?”
“Yes. I’m fine. The outside air is nice.”
“It’s cold. Shall I bring something for you to wear?”
“No, really. I’m fine.”
Oliver kept staring only at the sky.
The plan was for them to cross the sea by plane, then take a helicopter the rest of the way here.
There was something almost reverent about the way Oliver stood.
Facing the sun, he was making some silent preparation of his own.
The old woman, who had watched over him for so many years, trembled at that bearing.
‘He’s preparing to face the world.’
At last she understood: Oliver was preparing to break out of his shell.
Preparing, at last, to stand against the world.
For a full two hours, Oliver waited for the helicopter without moving an inch, despite his frail body.
And then, when the helicopter finally appeared on the horizon of the sunset sky—
“…….”
Oliver clenched his fist with all the strength he had.
What should he say?
How should he greet him…?
Nice to meet you. I’m Hudson.
No—I’m Oliver.
What name should he use?
Phantom? Randolph? Or Mr. Park Hyunmyung?
“They’ve arrived, Young Master.”
I looked quietly out beyond the helicopter.
An endless stretch of sea. Far off, a single small island.
‘Like something out of a comic.’
A castle rising alone in the middle of an island.
It looked exactly like something from a comic or a movie.
This was my first time in England, and my first time seeing a castle like this in person.
Ah. And my first time floating in the air for twenty-five hours straight?
All in all, a day full of firsts.
‘Hudson is here?’
An island and castle of this scale, a helicopter, a private jet—
No matter how I looked at it, this was no ordinary status.
I had simply thought of him as a shrewd gambler from the Golden City of Arcana.
“We’ve arrived.”
Melson, who had been piloting the helicopter, spoke.
The craft settled quietly atop the castle.
A moment later the door opened, and I stepped slowly down to the ground.
“Welcome.”
A sturdy man stood before me in greeting.
I studied him carefully.
About a hundred and eighty-five centimeters tall.
Wavy golden hair and blue eyes.
Slender of build, but striking all the same.
This was Oliver. Hudson’s true face.
“I’m Hud—… Oliver.”
“Park Hyunmyung.”
I took the hand he offered.
Sweat poured from his palm; he was clearly nervous.
And the smile at the corner of his mouth was awkward beyond belief.
Completely different from the confident Hudson I had known in Pangenia.
He was trying hard to look composed, but, well.
“One moment. Excuse me.”
Oliver suddenly raised his hand.
A faint golden light gathered at his fingertips.
A Broken Fragment of the Golden Rule.
When he touched the light to my head, my mind felt slightly clearer.
“Can you understand me?”
“……It has a translation function too?”
I was mildly surprised.
I had never imagined the Golden Rule fragment possessed a feature like this.
It would have been nice if someone had mentioned it, but what more could I expect?
This game had always been that kind of game.
Oliver gave a small smile.
“Yes. The Golden Rule fragment includes an automatic translation function.”
Automatic translation.
There might well be other functions I still didn’t know about.
When I glanced toward the old woman, Oliver hurried to speak.
“Ah. You can trust everyone here. They are as dear to me as my own heart.”
“So it seems.”
“Besides the four of us, there is no one else in this castle. Security is thorough, the island does not appear on any map, and it cannot be confirmed by satellite either. You may rest easy.”
An island not marked on any map?
A place satellites couldn’t even verify?
A sudden question rose to my lips.
“How do you get food and supplies?”
“Melson brings them once a week. In any case… you must be tired after such a long journey. Allow me to show you to your quarters first.”
So they resupplied by helicopter.
Oliver then took the lead.
The old woman and Melson watched him with a peculiar look in their eyes.
It felt like watching a child step out of a cage.
‘Looks like there’s a story there.’
I shrugged.
There was clearly a story, but asking would be meddling.
Besides, one did not dig deep into another family’s private affairs.
Unless they brought it up first, there was no need for me to ask.
After unpacking, we sat at the table for a meal.
It began with roast turkey, then grilled vegetables and steak, lasagna, and wine to accompany it all.
Watching Oliver sit with perfect composure and eat with such disciplined manners, I felt as though I alone had wandered into another world.
‘Is he a real noble?’
It wasn’t just his bearing.
The paintings, photographs, and objects hanging throughout the castle were all far from ordinary.
“If I may be so bold—where did the two of you meet?”
Melson, standing beside us in butler’s attire, asked the question.
I had sensed it from the moment we left: he seemed to know nothing about Oliver and me.
For an instant, bewilderment filled Oliver’s eyes.
Defining exactly where we had met was rather ambiguous.
……Should we say we met at a casino?
Telling him we had cut a deal over the Fairy Queen’s Tears would have been amusing, at least.
I spoke as if it were nothing special.
“We met in a game.”
“Ah! Gaming friends, then!”
Hearing it put that way made the whole thing feel somehow trivial.
Still, it wasn’t wrong.
Melson laughed heartily.
“I’ve heard that in this day and age, making friends through games is nothing unusual.”
“……Melson. I would like to focus on the meal.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Melson nodded with clear pleasure.
Judging by how composed he had been earlier, he seemed to know that Oliver was a Dimension Warrior—but he apparently did not know the full story.
Cutting into my steak, I slowly turned my gaze on Oliver.
‘I can see it after all.’
Just as I had been able to see Hudson’s status window, Oliver’s status window now entered my vision as well.
Name:Oliver (Hudson)
Sex:Male | Age:29
Alignment:Neutral Good
⚠ Special Notes:Heart Disease (Worsening), Liver and Pancreas Abnormalities, Diabetes, 18 Other Complications
There were no ability scores, but the special notes came through clearly.
Illegitimate son.
England still retained some remnants of a class system—but was he truly of noble blood?
And I could see with certainty that his physical condition was so dire it would not be strange if he died at any moment.
Along with that, the gulf between Hudson and Oliver.
‘So his obsession with Pangenia was because of his real body.’
It hadn’t been simply because he had fallen in love with Serengeti.
With a body like this, of course he would cling to anything beyond reality.
To Oliver, Pangenia must have been a perfect refuge.
An ideal place where he could live an entirely different life as his second identity, Hudson.
‘In that condition, even an elixir wouldn’t work.’
Even a supreme-grade elixir would not restore internal organs. It was not entirely without effect, but for a body in that state it would be of little use.
Of course, that did not mean there was no way to heal him.
‘If it were a Saintess…’
If a Saintess blessed him directly, there would be a chance of recovery.
But I could not bring a Saintess to Earth, and the only Saintess with that level of holy power had already died in the Great Expedition.
…Saintess Seia.
If it were her, she could have healed him.
“Is the food not to your liking?”
“No. It’s good.”
I shook my head firmly.
He was trying hard not to show his illness, but I had already seen every detail of his condition.
Even if I didn’t want to see it, it was visible—there was nothing I could do about that.
But there was nothing I could do for him right now either.
I did have one blessing-related skill, but Star’s Blessing was a skill that erased curses, not one that restored the body.
The best thing I could do for Oliver right now was—
‘Don’t let it show.’
Treat him as if nothing were wrong.
After the meal, Oliver led me down into the castle’s basement.
There, a massive circular door stood waiting. After several layers of authentication, a sterile laboratory-like chamber revealed itself.
Looking at the enormous circular pods at its center, I asked,
“What are those?”
“State-of-the-art life support systems. They have auxiliary power, so even if the castle loses electricity, they can sustain operation for a full half year.”
There was a reason Oliver had been so confident he could help.
This was no mere castle. It was a fortress.
A cutting-edge fortress converted into a bomb shelter.
And all of it had been built for one person alone: Oliver.
“Impressive. But why two?”
“One is mine. The other is for you, Mr. Park Hyunmyung.”
Of course. If there had been only one, it would have been awkward. The life support systems were here to prolong Oliver’s life, after all.
In any case, the defenses were perfect.
With facilities like these, we should be able to hold out until the labyrinth was fully cleared.
Honestly, it exceeded my expectations.
How many people prepared this thoroughly before entering a labyrinth?
“I’ll be counting on you while the labyrinth is underway.”
“Yes! Leave it to me.”
Only then did some of the tension leave him. Oliver smiled with real energy.
Oliver could not control his trembling heart.
Phantom. He was standing right in front of him.
Though his appearance was completely different from the impression he left in Pangenia, the atmosphere itself was the same.
‘So the rumors were true.’
The rumor that Phantom was likely Korean.
It had been true.
But beyond the rumors, no one had ever actually met Phantom in person.
Plenty of people claimed they had, of course—but every one of them had been lying.
‘I am the first.’
The first to stand face to face with Phantom.
How could he not be thrilled?
Phantom was legend and myth itself.