The Questioning

Levon tried his best to remain calm although he has no interest whatsoever in the mission itself. Karam first assigned him the task of washing the dishes, something this young man has never done…or so he thought!

The moment Levon opened the tap, and the water fell down like a cascade on the glass, it unlocked a memory he has long forgotten.

He recalled the sound of loud little kids in the background, and another of a middle-aged woman near his ears, teaching him how to do it properly… Malika!

Levon froze for a moment, reminiscing the past, until Karam tapped him in the back! "Hey! Where did you go? Stop wasting water young man!"

"Oh… Yeah" right away, he starts washing them, not according to what the chef has taught him a moment ago, but according to what his mama taught him years ago…

'…I didn't realize I can remember this so accurately, it's like it was deleted from my memory and then installed once I experienced something similar! And this isn't the first time it's happening…

…

..

.

Malika: "Follow me, Levon!

First, you wet the dish with water, just a little…

Second, you apply the soap …

Third, you use the sponge and spread the soap all over the dish…

And at last, you wash the entire dish with water.

Taraaaa!!

See? Look how clean you dish became!! Good job, my Levon!"

…

..

.

He recalls it all, even the smile she gave him at the end, a smile that cured him the days…

"You're quite good at this, I'm surprised!"

Karam's remark snaps Levon out of his day dreaming, but he does not reply…

Karam. "…It seems like you already knew how to do it, It doesn't look to me like it's your first time."

Graham stops, and looks back at Karam. "Yes, It's not! Why does it interest you?" his tune sounded a bit defensive.

"Well, I thought I could make you speak but you seem very reserved. Anyways, as long as you're doing it the right way, that's what I care for". The chef says, as he resumes his cooking.

An hour has passed, the monotony of the task is driving Levon impatient, all what was heard inside is the sound of water crashing down on dishes, and the sound of the knife cutting through food on hard wood.

"…Old man!" He calls out.

"Humm?" Karam replies.

Levon. "Can I ask a question?"

Karam. "Depending on what is it about?"

"…" Levon tries to come up with a reply that will grant him a chance to receive one back, but it took him too long that Karam was the one to say something.

"…Alright, you can" To Levon's surprise, he found out that silence can sometimes serve better purpose than words can.

Levon. "… Do you know by any chance, if the timeline within the world's game is identical to that in the real world?"

Suddenly, the knife sound stops.

But the water did not, Levon wanted to act so normally just to make sure he gets an answer and not sound like his life depends on such information.

"…Interesting question, Levon Graham!" Says the chef, with a genuine smile. "…the answer is yes, and no!"

Levon's eyes widened, signifying his shock, as every time something that doesn't make sense enters his ears. "…What do you mean by that?" He asks.

"Careful! In your tenure here in this challenge, you have the right for 3 answers.

You might want to rethink the choice of your questions now." Karam announces, he continues. "And I'm counting my previous answer too…

you have two left, Hahahaha!" Irony was written all over that laugh.

"Hey! That should be illegal! You should have informed me before I ask any questions!!" Levon is visibly pissed.

Karam. "… Why did you have the impression that what I did was illegal, Mr. Levon?"

"Because…" Graham finds himself at a loss of thoughts!!

Karam. "Right! Nowhere does it say it's illegal to hide such information from you, or doing it one way and not another. Yet, you felt it was. Consider the following my one and only question for you, why did you f e e l that way?"

Levon still cannot formulate any answer, it was like he got struck by electricity, he didn't even move!

"Don't worry, you got from now until the end of the 24th hour." adds Karam.

"I... Okay! Let me think of what my next two questions will be then." Replies the perplexed cultivator.

Levon gets back to washing the dishes, and the chef to cooking and getting the orders…

'Damn it with these old hea

ds… they always make me lose my chain of thought! Let's remain collected, I don't have to answer his weird question anyways, but what I must get out from here with is the information that will help me solve the mystery of this game.' He says in his mind.

'Coming in here, the things that I wanted to inquire about are the timeline, rule N°14, and the underground arena Kier mentioned… What else?

Nothing comes to mind, for the time being if I had any valuable information about these it would be considered a great help. Now I ask about the timeline but his answer got me even more confused, what kind of bullshit answer was yes and no simultaneously!?

Should I try to figure that out myself, and use the two questions left for the other two things?

No.

I believe just as Kier knew about the underground arena, I will too someway, it would be a waste to waste this chance on something that I can find out myself.

I will stick with the timeline, and use the other question for the rule… But! What if he gave a half assed answer again? I value the information in regards to the rule above that of the timeline… Therefore, I'll ask about it first, and depending on his answer, I'll decide the next question… I'm in no hurry, time seems to be moving even slower in here.'

Once Levon's internal dialectics settled down, it was time for his mouth to open. "My next question is…"

Karam lifts his head up and shifts his attention towards his new employee.

"… Can I know everything you know about Rule N°14?" He asks!

Karam lets go of his knife, wipes his old wrinkled hands, then says. "… You're such a fast learner Levon, I like how you formulated the question in such way that leaves me no room to dodge it Hahahahahaha!

Alright alright, rule Number 14 you say…

Oh! You mean, the rule of death?"