Looks like we really did get transferred to a deserted island.

The one bright spot is that I’m here with Chiyu... but what the hell do we do from here?

“So-kun...”

Chiyu’s expression doesn’t change, but she’s probably terrified inside. Any normal high schooler would be shaken if they got dropped into some random unknown place out of nowhere.

Honestly, I’m only trying my best to stay calm. If Chiyu hadn’t been with me, I might’ve panicked.

“It’s okay, Chiyu. No matter what happens, I’ll—”

“Is this a class transfer?”

If this were a variety show, I would’ve wiped out in an exaggerated pratfall. That’s how hard the tension drained out of me.

“Yeah... you’re really you, Chiyu.”

I can’t even picture her completely losing it.

...Or so I thought—until Chiyu, who’d been holding my hand this whole time, squeezed harder.

“Liar. I’m scared too. I’m glad you’re here, So-kun.”

“...Yeah. The two of us will get through this somehow.”

“Mm. First, we figure out what’s going on.”

“Right.”

First: check what we have on us. That took two seconds.

Just our uniforms and indoor shoes. Our pockets were empty, no bags, no phones.

Next: a quick survey of the area. We avoided stepping into the forest—getting lost out here would be the worst possible start.

We’d been dropped on a beach, and within visible range there weren’t any other islands.

There’s one sun. The sky is blue. The clouds are white.

If there were two suns, I’d call it an isekai—or another planet—no questions asked. With one, it’s harder to tell.

We didn’t run into any other people, but I’m pretty sure our classmates got transferred too.

“Hell, there’s still a chance it’s not even a deserted island.”

“Having hope is good. But it’s probably a deserted island.”

“Yeah... I mean, I think so too.”

That “dream” wasn’t a dream. We answered the question written on the blackboard, and then we got tossed onto an island.

Sure, we could do the standard freak-out routine.

Insist it has to be a dream.

Assume it’s a TV shoot.

Suspect kidnapping.

But me and Chiyu—our acceptance of the situation wasn’t because we’re jaded modern kids, or because we’re used to isekai manga.

It was something else.

The reason was simple—

We can use abilities.

That became obvious just a little earlier, while we were checking out the beach.

A small rock got inside my indoor shoe, and I stepped on it at a bad angle. I ended up scraping my foot.

When I took off the shoe and sock, there was blood seeping out.

“‘Healing magic’—Basic Heal.”

The instant Chiyu said that, light wrapped around my wound—

—and it healed completely, just like that.

“Huh!? Chiyu, just now, that was—”

“Mm. Looks like the mystery blackboard actually gave us abilities for real.”

“Holy shit...!”

“Embarrassing. What about you, So-kun?”

Whatever force had thrown us onto this island—Chiyu called it the “mystery blackboard,” so I went with that too—it had properly granted us what we answered.

Hard to believe, but there’s no point denying something that literally happened right in front of me.

“Right! Okay—how do I use a ‘crafting ability’?”

The moment I focused on it, the usage instructions poured straight into my head.

—Crafting Ability

—You can Itemize “objects” that have been separated from the land.

—Items can be stored in an Inventory, and can also be placed at any location you choose.

—Items inside the Inventory can be used for Crafting.

—Craftable items can be checked via Recipes.

—How to increase Recipes: figure it out yourself.

“W-wow. That’s... a lot of mixed terminology.”

It was like when a game dumps its settings on you all at once—you don’t memorize it immediately.

So, like a game, I decided to learn by doing.

“Okay. I’ve got the gist.”

In other words: I can’t take seawater directly from the ocean. It’s connected to the land.

Even if I scoop it with my hands, it leaks away too fast—apparently that doesn’t count as “separated.”

I tried using a seashell as a container, and that worked: the moment I successfully Itemized it, it vanished with a smooth whoosh.

Inventory is basically storage. An item box.

When I willed it, something like a game UI appeared in my field of view:

Seashell (Small) ×1

Seawater (Very Small Amount) ×1

Even though I put them in together, they’re treated as separate entries.

Once something is Itemized, I can also take it out individually—like pulling out Seawater (Very Small Amount) ×1 by itself.

Recipes show up as “what you can make” + “materials required.”

Right now, the recipes available aren’t that many:

Lime, Soap, Salt, Spear, Stone Knife, Stone Axe, Wooden Bowl, Wooden Cutlery... stuff like that.

And it doesn’t seem like recipes unlock purely based on what I’ve Itemized—there’s more going on.

Lime and soap probably unlocked because I obtained a shell. Salt is obviously seawater.

Wood... I’ve been looking toward the forest, so trees have been in my field of view repeatedly. Same for stones.

For the spear, when I checked the recipe list, the materials were listed as wood, stone, and vines.

Which means—

“If I get into a situation where I can Itemize something, I unlock more recipes?”

Or, to be more precise... maybe it’s about “discovering” them?

Still, it might not be that simple.

Maybe you need to discover half the components first, or meet certain conditions.

Or—if we lean on game logic—recipes might unlock based on level, number crafted, or clearing specific quests...

...No. Depending too much on game knowledge and isekai manga tropes is probably a bad idea.

It’s not like they sell “How To Survive After Getting Isekai’d Onto a Deserted Island” at bookstores. Real-world knowledge isn’t much help either.

For now, I tried generating Salt.

—Generated: Salt (Very Small Amount).

—Additionally acquired: Water (Very Small Amount).

Those messages popped into my view.

“Ooh...!”

“You made it?”

“Yeah. I did.”

So that’s how it works.

This is insanely convenient. Drinkable water—one of the most critical resources in any survival scenario—just got easy.

Anyway.

I designated my palm and placed Salt (Very Small Amount).

A few tiny grains appeared in my hand.

“...Salt?”

It was probably hard to see. Chiyu tilted her head.

“Yeah, salt. Kinda underwhelming, though.”

“That’s not true. If you can use a crafting ability, it’ll be incredibly useful.”

“I picked it because I figured it’d be useful in the first place.”

In deserted-island survival games, crafting is basically mandatory.

Granted, in games it’s often framed as the protagonist’s “making things” skill rather than literally being called a crafting ability, but still.

“For now, in situations like this... the priority is securing water, right?”

“Yeah—and I think this ability covers that.”

“...Don’t tell me you can separate ‘salt’ and ‘water’ from seawater?”

Her voice didn’t change, but after all these years, I could tell she was genuinely shocked.

“Yup. You can also view item details. It says the water is safe to drink.”

“...It even removes impurities. Of course it does.”

“Right?!”

“And what happened to everything besides sodium chloride?”

“Hm?”

“...The so-called ‘bittern.’”

“Oh! Yeah, good point...”

But there was ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ no listing for it.

No display. Nothing.

There has to be a reason.

There are still way too many mysteries.