Chapter 17: Sharing
With his second day of classes wrapping up, Vahn made his way to the Old School Building with a notable skip in his step, this time entering it of his own accord.
"My, you got here quickly," remarked Rias, getting up from her desk and making her way around it to greet Vahn as she playfully inquired, "Did you miss me?"
"It's similar but different..." answered Vahn, reciprocating Rias's embrace as she wrapped her arms around and leaned into him for a brief, welcome kiss. When she pulled back, he smiled and added, "I was looking forward to seeing the real you, but your memory never left my heart..."
"I see..." hummed Rias, angling her head slightly to look up at Vahn with upturned eyes. It had only been a day, but he had gotten much better at speaking...
"Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until after club activities before I can reward you for being so adorable," said Rias, releasing her hold on Vahn's body and using the index finger of her left hand to trace the underside of his chin.
Nodding, Vahn turned and sat on one of the two sofas while Rias leaned against the edge of her desk, waiting for the members of her Peerage to arrive. Akeno was the first, offering a few playful remarks to both him and Rias, but Kiba and Koneko arrived not long after, prompting Rias, standing with her arms crossed, to nod and state, "Alright, now that everyone has gathered, today's club activity will be training and familiarizing ourselves with Vahn's Corridor of Intertwined Fates. Its unique rules will allow us to improve our teamwork and coordination, and after discussing it with Vahn, he has generously agreed to allow you to retain any items from monsters you defeat individually. You can also submit these items to him to acquire points toward unique items and equipment."
"It reminds me of a video game," remarked Kiba, a glimmer of excitement in his usually calm blue eyes as he rarely got to wield his sword in such an active manner. The ORC occasionally hunted Stray Devils that trespassed Kuoh Town, believing it was a good place to hide, but that happened once or twice a month on the high end.
"Just don't treat it like one," appended Rias. "The safety measures of the Corridor might prevent death, but we don't know how severe the mental collapse Vahn referred to is. Be sure to treat it like real combat. Because there are no second chances in a real battle."
"Yes, of course..." responded Kiba, offering a slow, affirming nod as his smile faded to a calm but serious expression.
"Alright...!" exclaimed Rias, unfolding her arms and clapping her hands together. "Everyone's first goal within the Corridor should be to acquire enough points to obtain protective equipment similar to Vahn's. This will require defeating approximately three to five hundred ordinary monsters each, so let's get to it."
Following a round of nods, everyone stood up from the sofas and linked hands. A moment later, they were at the entrance to the fifth floor, which now had a small encampment set up after they had spent approximately half a day exploring the previous afternoon.