Chapter 2: Katō Is Really Amazing
"Katō-san... is his physical strength really that amazing?"
Yukino looked at the shoreline that was coming closer. She felt hopeful.
I can survive!
"We finally made it..."
After paddling for more than an hour without stopping, Jun finally reached the edge of the island.
He had a hard time breathing and was struggling to get up on the beach.
His stamina hadn't decreased, but his sanity value had dropped a lot.
This skill actually has a side effect.
But the game-like stats and abilities are real!
Could this be the finger of a transmigrator?
But then, why did it take so many years to appear?
Jun had moved to a similar world to Earth 17 years ago.
For all those seventeen years, he never felt like he had any special powers.
But today...
[Name: Katō Jun
Hunger Value: 80/150 (full)
Health: 150/150
Physical: 120/150
Sanity Value: 99/150]
After resting for a while, Jun felt his sanity slowly return.
"Are you okay, Katō-san?"
Yukino was also catching her breath. She had done her best, too.
"I'm fine..."
Jun sighed and started looking around the island.
This island is much bigger than I thought it would be.
I thought it was just a small one, but the shoreline seems endless.
It's the year 2020 now.
There must be someone living on an island this big.
Jun was looking for signs that people were on the beach.
"Hey, Katō-san, where are you going?"
Yukino hadn't yet regained her strength. She lay on the sand, holding her small leather shoes in her hands.
Her wet clothes and black stockings, now dry from the seawater, reflected bright light under the setting sun.
"So cold..."
A cold wind blew in from the sea, and Yukino shivered, hugging herself.
While Jun kept searching, not knowing what to do, Yukino quickly took off her soaked black stockings and then took off her heavy school uniform jacket, which was covered in seawater.
After she removed as much water as possible from her jacket and stockings, she breathed a sigh of relief and put her uniform jacket back on.
It was getting dark, and the air was getting colder.
"Katō-san? Where are you?"
Yukino realized she couldn't see Jun anymore, so she called out loudly.
The worst possible situation in a place like this, with no one around, was being separated from the only person I knew.
Seriously? Why did that guy run away as soon as we got to the beach?
Yukino was still holding her little shoes and dangling her stockings. She had pale, slender legs. She began walking along the beach, nervously following the footprints Jun had left behind.
___
"Katō-san?"
Her voice sounded a little less worried when Yukino finally saw her classmate.
He was crouched in front of a small cove filled with sea foam and dead fish. He looked lonely and disappointed.
"What's wrong?"
Yukino was tired, hungry, and cold. She was also a little annoyed that Jun had walked so far without saying a word.
"I've got some bad news."
Jun spoke in a serious tone.
"I'm afraid there are no signs of people on this island."
Jun couldn't find any man-made items among the debris that had washed up on the beach and near the cliffs.
There was nothing here except dead fish, sea foam, seashells, and a few twigs and pieces of driftwood.
If people truly lived on this island, there would definitely be traces of human waste products.
But there wasn't a single piece of plastic in sight.
"You mean... this island is empty?"
Yes, the island was far too quiet. Even the birds' chirps could only be heard faintly when the sea breeze blew.
An island with no people living on it?
Yukino held her school uniform tightly as the wind got stronger.
Her bare white feet casually dug into the warm sand on the beach.
"I'm afraid so."
Jun looked up at the stars.
There was no Big Dipper or North Star.
So this was the Southern Hemisphere?
But even then, the constellations didn't match what should be visible in the southern sky.
Along with the weird game-like status panel from before, Jun started to wonder if they were still in the real world.
As a human who had moved to this planet from Earth, he was already used to strange things.
"Then we can only wait for a rescue team to come find us. The wreckage is near the island. As long as they find the plane, they'll know there are probably survivors here..."
Yukino thought about the situation calmly.
"So first and foremost, we have to survive on this island."
"You're right. No matter what happens, we have to stay alive."
Jun forced a smile. Survival was the top priority.
Megumi... As long as you're alive, I'll find you.
Jun repeated his sister's name in his heart. This made him more determined. He stood up and looked toward the forest not far away.
There are coconut trees.
"It's coconut!"
Yukino also saw several tall coconut trees growing along the beach.
Some coconuts had already fallen to the ground. Their shells were dark brown.
Yukino put her wet leather shoes on the sand, then walked over and picked up one of the grayish-brown coconuts.
"I remember you can use a rock to crack these open..."
She started looking for a rock wall near the beach.
She really needed water.
"Wait, Yukinoshita-san, drinking from fallen coconuts like that might make you have diarrhea. We need green coconuts..."
Jun pointed at the green fruits still hanging on the trees.
"Really?"
Yukino looked doubtfully at the brown coconut in her hands.
"Well, drinking spoiled coconut water can cause diarrhea. I watched a lot of survival shows, so I know a bit about this kind of stuff."
Also, the water from green coconuts is richer and more nutritious than the old brown ones.
"I see..."
Yukino thought Jun's explanation made sense and put the coconut down.
"But the green coconuts are still up in the tree..."
The palm trees were too tall—there was no way she could climb them.
"I'll take care of it."
Jun took off his school jacket, then took off his shoes and socks. He checked the thickness of the tree trunk compared to his shirt's sleeves. Then, he decided to take off his white dress shirt too.
"Katō-san?"
When Jun suddenly took off his shirt, Yukino looked at him in confusion and stepped back.
Was this guy going to turn into some kind of wild beast?
But she was surprised to see that Jun looked thin, but his muscles were clearly defined.
He clearly exercised.
Yukino felt a little conflicted.
"Okay, I should be able to climb it now."
Jun tied the sleeves of his shirt into a knot, making a figure-eight shape.
He put his bare feet into the loops, then grabbed the coconut tree with one hand above and one below as he climbed slowly.
This climbing technique really worked!
Jun tried the special coconut-climbing method used by the people of Hainan, China for the first time.
It worked well—he climbed to the top of the tree easily.
"Yukinoshita-san, stay away—I'm going to drop some coconuts!"
Jun signaled for Yukino to step away from the tree so she wouldn't get hit.
People died from falling coconuts every year. This wasn't a joke.
"Oh, okay!"
Yukino was amazed when she saw Jun climbing the tree with such ease. When she realized what was happening, she quickly moved back.
The sound of a heartbeat can be described as "thud, thud, thud, thud..."
Jun twisted off five or six coconuts and climbed down carefully.
"Katō-san is amazing..."
Yukino looked at the coconuts scattered on the beach and praised the boy in front of her as he put his clothes back on.