Chapter 11: The girl's performance made me feel confused.
"Let go of me..."
Jun heard a beautiful female voice, but he wasn't sure if he had fully woken up or if he was still half asleep.
The voice was nice, but he was still a little annoyed that he had been woken up.
"Yukinoshita..."
Jun opened his eyes and realized that his hands were wrapped tightly around Yukinoshita Yukino's slender waist. The two of them were sleeping on their sides, embracing each other.
"Let go of me now! Pervert, Katō-san!"
Yukino felt something strange about the person lying next to her.
"Sorry..."
Jun quickly let go of the gun.
Yukino immediately took the chance to run away from him.
Last night, she had accidentally fallen onto Jun, and this morning she realized that she had moved from her straw pile to Jun's side.
She had planned to quietly leave the room when she woke up, but instead she found herself held tightly by the man, unable to move.
She had no other choice but to wake Jun up.
It was an awkward morning.
Dong dong dong…
Jun was hammering fresh coconut meat in a plastic bowl. He was using a round wooden stick. Yukino was angrily grinding metal pieces.
After they had relaxed a little, Yukino finally spoke.
"Katō-san, what were you doing earlier? Aren't coconuts for eating?"
"No, this is for making sunscreen oil."
After waiting a few minutes, the coconut meat in the bowl started to release coconut oil.
Jun took some oil and rubbed it on his face.
"This coconut oil is really effective for protecting our skin from the strong UV rays outside, so we don't get burned."
As he explained, Jun gave the processed oil to Yukino.
"Last night... Anyway, apply this coconut oil. We'll be more comfortable moving around."
After seeing Yukino's mermaid-like body yesterday afternoon, Jun worried that the sun might burn her smooth skin. So, he got up early to make coconut oil.
"Thank you..."
Yukino was a little annoyed by Jun's frequent mishaps, but she accepted the oil with a hint of gratitude.
Women are naturally drawn to beauty.
Yukino didn't want her body to turn red or black either.
After putting on their sunscreen, Jun and Yukino started working according to their plan. They cut down trees using metal shards and then built a shelter outside the cave.
They didn't know when a rescue team would arrive, so they needed something to shield them from the heat, wind, and rain.
Yukino and Jun were busy from morning until noon. They chopped trees, made ropes from tree fibers, and constructed the shelter. They were finally almost finished.
When the shelter was finished, Jun and Yukino lay down in its shade, breathing heavily.
Even though they had eaten plenty of shrimp, crab, and coconut in the morning, the hard work made them tired.
Yukino didn't want to move at all.
Even though Jun was tired, he did well physically.
His skill, which he had activated during the shelter building, caused only his SAN value to drop, while his stamina was still nearly half-full.
[Name: Katō Jun
Hunger: 130/170 (Full)
Health: 170/180
Stamina: 130/180
Sanity: 110/170
Skills: You can make an attribute value stay the same for three hours.
Note: You can use this skill once every 24 hours. When the average attribute value reaches 200, the next skill will be unlocked]
Because of the shelter building, all four of Jun's attributes had increased by ten points.
It looked like he was close to reaching the 200-point average for his stats.
Jun sat up from lying down.
He was almost completely better and ready to move again.
Yukino was still lying on the ground, resting.
[Name: Yukinoshita Yukino
Hunger: 50/110 (Full)
Health: 130/130
Stamina: 30/120
Sanity: 140/170
Affinity: 45]
[The average attribute score is over 130. This character can now unlock a skill]
[Would you like to activate it?]
"Huh?"
So Yukinoshita-san could get skills too?
She could improve her attributes.
Was it because of the food she ate yesterday and the shelter they built today?
Also, her Affinity dropped from 20 to 10 yesterday, and now it suddenly shot up to 45.
A woman's heart is like the deep sea...
With her moods, could Yukinoshita-san be a hidden tsundere?
Jun complained a little about the girl's situation, but then he decided to use her special ability.
[Ding!]
[Yukinoshita Yukino has acquired the skill: Skillful Hands]
[Skill description: This is a passive skill. It makes your hands and feet more nimble, which greatly improves weaving, construction, crafting, and similar activities]
This seemed like a pretty powerful skill.
Jun looked at Yukino, who was sitting next to him.
"This shelter doesn't seem right..."
Yukino realized that the shelter they had built had many flaws.
It would likely collapse quickly if it got heavy rain or strong winds.
The roof needed support, and that support came in the form of dirt!
Yukino didn't know why she suddenly understood so much. During the short break, she had already noticed several problems with their shelter.
"No, we need to rebuild this shelter!"
Yukino stood up, even though she was still tired.
"Wait, Yukinoshita-san. We're both exhausted now. Let's rebuild the shelter and camp tomorrow."
Jun was surprised at how quickly the skill took effect. It was a passive skill, too.
This world was starting to feel more and more like a game. What was going on?
The harder he tried to understand, the less it made sense. So Jun decided to stop thinking about it.
"Now we need to figure out how to catch some animals that have a lot of meat..."
He was still annoyed by his failure to catch any fish yesterday using a makeshift bow and stick.
"Katō-san, are you going fishing in the sea?"
Yukino quietly said something about the shelter's stability and asked Jun.
"Yes, I plan to fish near the shallow coral reefs. I need to make a better bow and arrow."
Jun took out the rest of the condoms from the box.
With this rubber material, he should be able to make a much better bow than the crude one he used before.
"Then let me make it. And show me the bow you made yesterday..."
Yukino wanted to try her hand at it. She felt she could make a perfect bow now.
"Okay..."
Jun rubbed his eyelid, feeling a burst of energy from Yukino and seeing her enthusiastic expression. Finally, he said, "Okay."
One hour later.
Whoosh!
A small sharp stick shot into the ground on a small hill in front of them.
It went about three inches deep.
"Amazing..."
Seeing the stick still shaking a little and the bowstring pulled tight, Jun praised it.
If that had been a metal-tipped arrow, it could have easily pierced a human—or even a stone wall.
He was surprised that Yukinoshita-san could make such a strong wooden bow out of plastic strings and condoms.
Even the improved bow looked impressive.
Skillful Hands... this skill was like cheating...
After finishing the bow and recurve arrows, Jun saw that Yukino's stats had improved slightly.
In comparison, his own skill, which only slowed down a stat, felt a bit ineffective.
He started to wonder if Yukinoshita was the main character.
This made it more likely that they would catch fish.
"What do you think? It still needs a few adjustments, but we don't have many materials, so this is the best we can do."
Yukino still seemed unhappy with the bow she made.
She was surprised at how much new information she had learned.
"No, this is already great. With this bow, I think we could even shoot down seagulls..."
Jun was happy with the bow he held, even if he had some strange feelings.
He was eager to go hunting.
Plunk…
A sharp stick landed in the water.
It wasn't clear why, but the arrow changed direction. It might have been because of light refraction or because the arrow hit something in the water. Or maybe it was just because Jun didn't aim well.
After many attempts, none of the shots at the two snapper fish near the coral reef were successful.
Even though he took a few random shots, he still didn't hit the target.
He bent down and grabbed the wooden arrows from the water.
"Let me try, Katō-san..."
Yukinoshita Yukino could not stand to see the guy who looked reliable earlier fail over and over.
She took the bow from Jun, aimed the arrow at the fish, and then quickly pulled the string.
Plunk…
The sharp tip pierced the snapper's belly.
"Got it!"
Yukino was happy to pull out the arrow from the shallow water. The fish was still moving on the tip of the arrow.
The sharp stick had completely pierced the snapper.
"Wow... amazing..."
Jun didn't expect Yukino to hit her the first time they tried.
He felt like a child compared to her.
"I feel like I can keep going."
Yukino felt more confident after landing a hit. She gave the snapper to Jun, then kept shooting at the fish.
Plunk, plunk, plunk…
Though she missed some shots, she still hit five out of ten...
Jun watched as the pile of fish tied with seaweed grew. She stood behind her, muttering, "666..."
Note: In Chinese internet slang, "666" (liù liù liù / 六 六 六) means "cool," "awesome," or "respect." It comes from the way the number six is pronounced in Mandarin (liù), which sounds similar to words meaning "smooth" or "slick." Saying "666" is like saying "GG" or "nice!" in Western gaming culture
He always felt like he was being taken care of... or maybe just humiliated?
This girl's performance was so impressive that it made him feel dizzy.
Jun shook his head and stopped Yukino from catching more fish.
"That's enough. At this rate, we won't finish eating them even in a week."
"Mm..."
Yukino realized that she might have gone too far.
She felt a little embarrassed, so she tucked her bangs behind her ear.
Maybe it was because she had beaten Katō Jun—the "top student in class"—at something for the first time...
Or maybe it was because every time she caught a fish, Jun looked shocked and unwilling, and that was just too cute. She had unconsciously gotten carried away.
She couldn't deny that Katō-san's reactions had been hilarious.
Yukino smiled at Jun's hunched back as he walked ahead.
The girl's eyes were shaped like a crescent, and it was clear she was feeling good.
Damn it! Why is her skill so overpowered?
She was already really good at making tools. Now she's even great at archery?
Jun was grumpy as he watched the girl happily hum to herself while grilling fish. He was also fiddling with a coconut to get more oil.
Even so, when Yukinoshita smiles like this, she looks even sweeter than usual.
Although Jun wasn't feeling very good, seeing that soft smile that could heal hearts made him feel a lot better.
[Yukinoshita Yukino Affinity: 55]
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