It seems I’ve been transferred to a desert island. It’s a stroke of luck that Chiyu is with me, but I have no idea what to do from here.
「Sou-kun…」
Chiyu’s expression doesn’t change, but she’s probably extremely worried. A normal high school student would panic if they suddenly found themselves in an unknown place.
I’m trying my best to stay calm, but if Chiyu wasn’t here, I might have already panicked.
「It’s okay, Chiyu. No matter what happens, I’ll――」
「Is this a class transfer?」
I feel like I should be making a big show of it if this were a variety show, but I’m just relieved.
「Yeah, Chiyu is still Chiyu.」
This childhood friend of mine being in a panic is something I can’t even imagine. Then, Chiyu suddenly tightens her grip on the hand I’ve been holding since earlier.
“Liar. I’m scared too. I’m glad you’re here.”
”…Yeah. Let’s get through this together.”
“Right. First, we should assess the situation.”
“Agreed.”
First, we check our possessions. This is done in an instant. We only have our school uniforms and slippers. Our pockets are empty, and we don’t have any bags or phones.
Next, we take a quick look around. We avoid entering the forest to prevent the risk of getting lost.
We were transported to a beach, and there are no other islands within sight.
The sun was one, the sky was blue, and the clouds were white. If there were two suns, it would definitely be another world or planet, but I couldn’t tell here.
I didn’t run into any other humans, but I think my classmates probably transferred too.
“Maybe it’s not a desert island after all.”
“I hope so, but I think it’s probably a desert island.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
It wasn’t a dream; we answered the question written on the blackboard and were transported to the desert island.
Of course, I could pretend to be shocked. I could stubbornly believe it was a dream, or think it was a TV show or a kidnapping.
But Chiyu and I accepted the situation for reasons different from being jaded modern kids or familiar with other-worldly comics.
The reason is simple—I can use my abilities now.
This happened just a little while ago, when I was exploring the beach.
A pebble got inside my slipper, and I stepped on it at a bad angle, injuring my foot. I took off my slipper and sock, and there was a bloodstain.
“‘Healing Magic’—Basic Healing.”
Chiyu said that, and light enveloped my wound—fixing it in an instant.
“Wh-What!? Chiyu, what you just did was…?”
“Mm. It seems the mysterious blackboard gave me my abilities.”
“That’s amazing…!”
“I’m blushing. How about you, Sosuke?”
The entity that sent us to this island. Chiyu calls it a mystery blackboard, so I’ll follow her lead, but it’s clear that the abilities were granted properly.
Even if it’s hard to believe, there’s no point in denying what happened right in front of me.
“Got it! So, how do we use the ‘Crafting Abilities’?”
The moment I focus my mind on the ability, the method of using it flows into my head.
――Crafting Ability
――It’s possible to transform objects detached from the ground into items.
――Items can be stored in the Inventory and placed at any location.
――Items in the Inventory can be used for Crafting.
――Items that can be Crafted refer to Recipes.
――The way to increase Recipes is to find them yourself.
「Wow, there are so many terms mixed in here.」
Just like when a game quickly explains the setting, it’s hard to remember everything right away. So, like a game, I decided to try it out and learn as I go.
「I see, I pretty much understand.」
Basically, you can’t get seawater from the ‘Sea.’ It’s because it’s connected to the land. This is the same even if you try to scoop it up with your hands; if it leaks out right away, it’s not considered separate.
When I tried using a seashell as a container, it seemed to ‘Itemize’ successfully, as it vanished.
The ‘Inventory’ is like a storage or item box. When I focused on it, a game-like screen appeared in my vision, displaying ‘Seashell (Small) x1’ and ‘Seawater (a tiny bit) x1.’
They’re the same when you put them in, but as items, they’re separate.
Once an item is successfully crafted, it can be retrieved as a single unit, such as ‘Seawater (a small amount) × 1’.
The recipes are displayed in the form of the item and its materials. Currently, the available recipes are ‘Lime’, ‘Soap’, ‘Salt’, ‘Spear’, ‘Stone Knife’, ‘Stone Axe’, ‘Wooden Utensil’, and ‘Wooden Cutlery’, which is not a large number.
It seems that it’s not just limited to items.
Lime and soap were unlocked after obtaining shellfish. Salt is made from seawater. Wood… I’ve looked in the direction of the forest many times, so it’s visible in my line of sight. Stone is the same. The spear’s recipe showed wood, stone, and vines as materials.
In other words…
“Will the recipes increase if I find myself in a situation where I can craft them?”
To be more precise, do I need to discover them?
Of the items required for the recipe, some might be hidden, or there might be certain conditions to find them.
Or, in a game, they might only become available after reaching a certain level or making a certain number of items, or you might only be able to obtain them by completing specific quests…
But relying too much on game or other-worldly comic knowledge isn’t a good idea… Since there are no books written by people who were transferred to a desert island, there’s no point in referencing them.
For now, I’ll try generating some salt.
――Generated ‘Salt (a small amount)’.
――Also obtained ‘Water (a small amount)’.
It’s displayed on the screen.
“Wow…!”
“Did you manage to generate it?”
“I did it, I did it.”
Indeed, this is convenient. The most important item in case of a shipwreck, drinking water, is now easily obtainable.
Anyway. I specified my palm and placed “a small amount of salt.” A few grains of salt landed on my palm.
”…Salt?”
Chiyu tilted her head, probably because it’s hard to see.
“That’s right, salt. But it’s pretty mundane.”
“It’s not. If you can use ‘Crafting Abilities,’ it’s incredibly useful.”
「After all, I chose this ability because it seemed convenient.」
In games where you survive on a desert island, this ability is almost always included. Well, in the game, it wasn’t referred to as a crafting ability, but rather as the main character’s craftsmanship.
「Should we start by securing water?」
「This ability might come in handy for that.」
「…Could it actually separate ‘salt’ and ‘water’ from seawater?」
Her voice didn’t change in tone, but I could tell she was surprised from years of knowing her.
「Yeah. You can check the details of the items, and it says it’s drinkable.」
「…Removing impurities as well, that’s a worthy ability.」
「Wow!」
「And how about the sodium chloride alternatives?」
「Hm?」
「…You know, the ‘brine’ stuff.」
「Ah, yeah! That’s right… But there’s no indication of it.」
There must be some reason for this. There are still many mysteries.
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