"…Right" says Levon, with a serious curious look on his eyes.
Karam turns his body and rests his hands on top of the sink. "Well… I understand your surprise to find out about such rule. But, what else is there to say besides what you already read about it in the watch?"
"Wh..What do you mean? Is that it?!" Levon is perplexed!
"Are you afraid to die here Mr. Graham?" Asks the chef.
Levon. "… For sure I am, why would I not be? Who plays games to die?!"
Karam. "Hm?! Back in my day plenty did just that… but is this really a game after all?
Isn't life but a game?"
Upon this question, Levon is even more confused.
"… You still have your 2 lives, right?"
"Yes."
"Then if you're that afraid, you can play on until you lose one and quit after that, the option of resigning is always available for you." Karam calmly suggests.
The young man remains silent for a couple of seconds, but then quickly bursts out. "But wait a minute, this isn't all to it! This rule only appears to me and not others!!"
Karam raises his right eyebrow and asks. "Huh?! What do you mean by that?"
Levon. "Just as you heard, It seems I'm the only one aware of it so far. I met a player on my way here, and I specifically asked him about it."
"He probably did not read the rules carefully, such thing might happen when you are careless."
"No! Of course I would have thought of this possibility beforehand, but I went out of my way and insisted that he checks his watch again, there is no mention of any rule N°14 in his! And before you say otherwise, I saw him check it with my own eyes." Levon explains.
Karam changes his tone and posture to a more serious one, as he himself does not quite understand the situation. "…This is weird. It doesn't make sense why he would lie about it in the first place…
Kid, tell me something.
How many players were allowed to enter the game?"
Levon couldn't draw the link between this question and his, but he goes along with it anyways.
"I don't have the exact number in my head, but it's in the ten millions."
"TEN MILLIONS!!" Karam reacts uncontrollably!
"Yes… Why did that surprise you?"
Now, Karam is the one remaining silent… he's thinking in his head!
"…Levon Graham, listen to what I will tell you carefully. I don't know what were you told before entering this world, but you must.. UGHHHHH!!!" Karam suddenly clinches hard as if he got shocked with electricity!!
"…Chef! What is happening?!"
I.. I must what?!" Levon is oblivious to Karam's sudden pain, all he cares for is the information he was about to receive.
Karam tries to recover and stretches his hand to grab the chair and sit on it.
While halting a bit, few seconds of excruciating silence passed by…
Levon. "…Chef, why did you stop talking? Continue!"
Karam. "...Nothing, there is nothing. I just have a health condition…
I was going to say, you must not be reckless, don't take bigger risks than you know you can handle."
Levon. "…But, that doesn't answer any of my questions Karam! How come another player doesn't have the rule in his watch? Not only him, I am sure of another person that is ignorant of it, I took his first life with my own hand!
And on top of that, why did you ask me about the number of players?! How is it…"
"SILENCE!" Karam shouts, for the first time!
…
"you exceeded the amount of questions you are allowed to ask, and therefore, as a punishment, you will not get any further response." He firmly declares.
"NO!! How come? You haven't even answered my first question old head!!!" Levon is losing his temper!
Karam. "I said silence brat! Don't talk to me in this manner or I'll kick you out!"
Levon wastes no time and removes his waiter outfit, he decided to quit this challenge!!
Karam. "…Wait! What are you doing?
Comeback kid!!"
He gets no response.
Levon walks outside the restaurant without looking back.
'…Unbelievable!! This was truly a waste of time. I feel like I was tricked, what was the point of all of this? I walk out with more questions than I previously came with!!' Levon's eyes right now can truly show how pissed he is.
More will piss him off.
As he's walking away, the watch displays a new message!
· You have failed to complete the "Working in the restaurant for 24 hours" challenge!
· You broke some rules of the challenge.
· Penalty: -10% of health
-10% of speed
-10% of power
· Penalty timespan: 48 hours
"DAMN IT!!!!" He shouts.
"Not only I go out with no benefits, but I also got penalties for this!!
What mistake did I do?! This is just stupid… stupid doesn't describe it well, I just feel so uneasy, there is no word for this…
Or maybe there is, I just don't know it."
Levon's anger slowly faded, but it transformed into disappointment and sadness, he is constantly pushed to face his ignorance.
For a genius, nothing is worse than feeling ignorant, and worse it is when he doesn't know how to replace that ignorance with knowledge.
Yet, this may very well be the reason why Levon will continue pushing forward. He may not be aware of it yet, but he's the type to rather feel worse than feel nothing at all, that is why he isn't trying to rationalize the decision to quit the game like Karam suggested him.
As he's wandering aimlessly in the labyrinth, Levon conversates with his one and only true friend.
'I'm tired already, when will the picture be clear?
I don't know if I can do it like this...
It is impossible to make progress with a heavy brain…'
Suddenly, Levon stops.
'Maybe fighting Psemas will help me clear my mind.'
He surveys the wall on his left side with his eagle sight, detects the limestone that will transport him into Kardia, takes his gun out, and shoots it.