The crackling of a small fire filled the cave, its warm, flickering light casting dancing shadows on the rugged, timeworn walls.
The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and smoke—a welcome reprieve from the cold rain hammering relentlessly outside.
She sat close to the fire, folding her legs together as she held a long stick between her fingers.
"...as for the south..."
Carefully drawing lines in the dirt, forming a rough image in the small patch beside the fire. In her other hand, she held a fruit resembling an apple, taking small bites from it now and then as she focused on her thoughts.
"I guess that should be it..."
She withdrew the stick and studied her work—a simple schematic of the entire island.
Her eyes followed the lines and shapes of the crude map, lingering on its key features: dense forests sprawling across the terrain, jagged cliffs looming perilously along the shores, and the hidden caves she had already explored. However, it was the southern region that drew her attention—dominated by a dormant volcano, its presence shrouded in an eerie, brooding silence.
Determined to familiarize herself with her new surroundings, she decided that exploring the island would be her first task. The entire morning and afternoon were dedicated to this endeavor.
Given the island's size and her need to pace herself for rest, food, and water, she initially estimated the mapping would take a full week. Yet, to her surprise, it took only half a day to outline the island's shape.
The remaining hours of the day were spent exploring the island's hidden corners—caves, secluded coves, and forgotten paths that seemed to unveil themselves with uncanny ease.
Strangely, she felt none of the fatigue or hunger one might expect after such an arduous task. The need for rest never even crossed her mind, as if her body had dismissed the concept entirely.
By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, her earlier suspicions were confirmed: the storm was far from over.
The clouds above churned, dark and heavy, like a restless sea, with thunder growling faintly in the distance.
Driven by the relentless rain, biting wind, and the thunder's roar, she sought refuge in the cave once more.
This time, she was prepared. Dry branches she had carefully gathered lay by her side, ready to feed a fire. It had taken her three painstaking hours to ignite the flames, relying solely on the hand drill technique she remembered.
She also had a small stash of fruit she'd collected earlier—fruit that, surprisingly, tasted better than anything she'd ever known.
"I don't understand..."
Her fingers brushed through her hair as she leaned her head back slightly, her eyes lingering on the cave ceiling. Despite all the strange occurrences she had encountered, she still couldn't quite get used to this one.
The island's formation was strange, almost unnaturally precise. A pristine beach bordered the entire shoreline, forming an unbroken ring of sand that stretched around the island's perimeter until it met the volcanic slopes in the the sandy perimeter, a dense forest followed the same perfect circular pattern, mirroring the shoreline with unsettling accuracy.
At the heart of the island, however, lay something even stranger: a perfectly flat expanse of land. It was like an oasis in the middle of this isolated world, occupying about one-eighth of the island's total area.
The land was lush and vibrant, its fertility almost too perfect to be natural. A crystal-clear river meandered through its center, providing a constant supply of fresh water. It was the kind of place where one could thrive effortlessly—cultivating crops and living off the land with ease.
The tall jungle trees encircled the flat expanse like a natural fortress. Their dense canopy and towering trunks created a barrier, making the central area nearly impossible to spot from the outside. Even if someone were to sail past the island, the hidden paradise within would remain completely concealed.
It was the perfect place for someone seeking solitude...
"Could this be not hell but... paradise?"
Bringing her gaze back to the flames as they danced high, she leaned against the rough cave wall, the warmth of the fire wrapping around her like a comforting embrace.
"Even though I've become a woman, it's still a blessing to have a youthful, healthy body again—far stronger and more agile than I ever was, even in my prime as a man..."
The silence lingered for a moment, broken only by the soft crackle of the fire and the steady rhythm of the rain outside.
"Mm~"
She yawned, blinking as her eyes grew heavier.
Placing a hand on the ground, she slowly lay down, feeling the soft layer of flowers beneath her.
"A long day awaits me tomorrow..." she murmured.
As her eyes drifted shut, she remained blissfully unaware of the blanket of flowers gently rising to cover her, like a mother tucking her child in for the night.
Part 2:The sun finally had its moment, breaking free from the storm's grasp as it climbed high into the sky. The air was fresh and clean, carrying the earthy scent of wet soil and leaves.
She stepped into the open, emerging from the dense jungle where her cave was hidden. Her wedding dress was tied around her waist, the once-pristine white fabric trailing behind her. With each step, her bare feet sank into the damp ground, the cool earth squishing beneath her toes.
"I should start by gathering materials for tools, then build a basic shelter out of mud bricks and wood. Near the river should be good enough..."
Though the cave offered temporary refuge, she knew it wouldn't suffice for long-term survival. Having explored much of the island, she had a rough mental map of where to find the resources she needed.
Reaching the river, she decided to examine its width and depth first.
Lifting the skirt of her dress higher, revealing the cute white panties underneath, she stepped carefully into the cool, flowing stream.
"Yeah, about waist-deep... maybe 78 centimeters (30 inches)? And the width..."She raised her eyes, sizing its width with them, "...looks to be about five meters (16 feet),"
Curious about its source, she followed the river southward by her eyes. The stream seemed to originate from the dormant volcano towering over the island.
"Perfect!"
Volcanoes often have natural springs and rivers fed by rainfall or snowmelt. As the water filters through the porous volcanic rock, it can emerge clean and pure. Still, she reminded herself to be cautious. Volcanic streams might carry minerals or other substances from the volcanic soil that could affect the water's quality.
"I'll have to be careful, but at least the spot should be good enough,"
Part 3:After assessing the river and its source, the sun was already high in the center of the sky.
She decided it was time to start working on the tools she would need to survive—and eventually, to build a shelter.
Her first priority was a cutting tool. She knew that flint or any hard stone could be shaped into a sharp edge. Luckily, the island's volcanic origin promised an abundance of such materials. She began scouring the riverbank, eyes scanning for the right kind of stone.
It wasn't long before she found a shard of obsidian—a dark, glassy volcanic rock, naturally sharp and nearly perfect for her needs. Its edges were already keen enough to function as a blade, though it would still need some shaping to craft more specialized tools.
Gripping the obsidian carefully, she began chipping away at a solid rock by the river. Each strike sent small flakes scattering as she worked with patience, aiming to shape it into a crude but functional hand axe.
The process, however, turned out to be far more challenging than she had anticipated.
It wasn't the difficulty of chipping the obsidian that posed the problem, but quite the opposite—her unexpected overwhelming strength.
Each time she struck with too much force, the delicate obsidian would shatter into useless fragments, forcing her to start over with a new piece.
She quickly realized that success demanded precision. She needed to strike the stones at just the right angle while applying consistent, controlled pressure. Yet even with careful adjustments, the fragile obsidian often broke before she could form a proper edge.
It became a frustrating test of patience, each failure forcing her back to the riverbank in search of new materials.
In the end, it took the entire afternoon to fashion something usable.
"Finally..."
She let out an exhausted sigh, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Her gaze lingered on the horizon, where the sun was dipping below, casting long shadows across the island.
"Well, time to go back,"
Even though night had spread its wings, her work wasn't finished—at least not the tasks that required less physical effort.
Returning to her cave, she placed the newly crafted axe on the mossy ground, setting it alongside the fruit and branches she had gathered on her way back. It was a modest haul, but enough to get her through for now.
Carrying so many items at once might have seemed difficult, but surprisingly, it wasn't—or at least when it was about the weight—Instead, the challenging part was holding everything at once without dropping anything while navigating the uneven terrain.
The fading embers of her campfire cast a dim, flickering glow behind her, barely illuminating the cave's interior. Standing at the entrance, she let her gaze drift upward, tracing the stars scattered across the clear night sky.
The past two days of relentless rain had denied her this moment—the chance to use the stars to decipher her location and perhaps make sense of her predicament.
"That is... if this island even exists on the same planet I know,"
With the sky finally clear, she steadied herself, ready to tackle the daunting task of navigating by the stars.
Her first target was Polaris, the North Star—a vital anchor for anyone lost on sea or land. Almost perfectly aligned with the North Pole, Polaris was a reliable guide to the true north.
Extending her arm, she used her thumb as a rough measure, gauging the star's position just above the horizon, confirming she was still in the Northern Hemisphere.
Next, she shifted her focus to the Big Dipper, a constellation etched into her memory. The two stars at the end of its 'bowl,' known as the Pointer Stars, led directly to Polaris. Following their alignment, she double-checked her orientation, ensuring her sense of direction was accurate.
Once confident in her northern bearing, she turned her attention to the southern sky. There, she sought out the constellation Orion, her eyes honing in on Orion's Belt—three bright stars perfectly aligned in a row. These stars pointed southeast, toward the horizon, in the direction where she believed Japan's southern coast might be.
Finally, she looked eastward, finding Sirius, the Dog Star, nestled within the constellation Canis Major. Its brilliance dominated the night sky, serving as a beacon to confirm she was facing east.
By cross-referencing these key stars and constellations, she started eliminating possibilities and narrowing down her location. Polaris confirmed her position north of the equator, while the orientation of Orion's Belt and Sirius suggested she was somewhere in the East China Sea, south of Japan.
She visualized a line stretching from Polaris, through the Pointer Stars, down to the horizon—a line pointing directly to her latitude. By aligning this with the constellations and their positions relative to the horizon, she began piecing together her rough location, drawing ever closer to understanding where she was.
"Based on Polaris, I'm in the Northern Hemisphere, somewhere around 20 to 30 degrees latitude. Orion and Sirius place me in the Eastern Hemisphere, likely near Asia."
As the clues came together, it became clearer—she was likely in the East China Sea, south of Japan, possibly near the Ryukyu Islands. If she sailed southwest, she might eventually reach the Kyushu region.
With a soft sigh, she turned away and headed back into the cave.
At the campfire, she sat down slowly, picking up a banana. She peeled it without much thought.
"Knowing where I am doesn't mean much if this is home now..."
The fire's gentle warmth pushed back the cool night air, its flickering light casting soft shadows on the walls.
Finishing her banana, she let out a quiet yawn and lay down on her bed of leaves and flowers, the soft crackle of the flames soothing her.
Closing her eyes, she let the day drift away, surrendering to sleep as another night on the island began.
Part4:The first light of dawn filtered through the canopy, casting a soft glow into the cave and gently waking her from a deep sleep.
"Mm..."
She stretched, her muscles aching from the previous day's efforts, but a quiet determination stirred within her.
"Time to get started."
Rolling up the sleeves of her white wedding dress, she tied her hair back with a strip of leaves torn from a nearby tree.
Her first task was to make mud bricks for her shelter's walls. She remembered that sturdy bricks required a mixture of clay, sand, and a binding material like straw or dry grass.
At the riverbank, where she had spotted patches of clay-rich soil the day before, she found the ground still damp from recent rains. It made digging and gathering materials easier, a small blessing as she worked to prepare for the day ahead.
Using a flat piece of wood she'd fashioned as a shovel, she scooped clay into a large leaf, improvising it as a basket. Next, she collected sand from the nearby beach and gathered dry grass and leaves from an open clearing.
Returning to the building site by the river, she set to work. In a shallow pit she had prepared earlier, she mixed the clay, sand, and grass.
Using both her hands and feet, she kneaded the materials thoroughly, adding water from the river until the mixture reached a thick, sticky, and pliable consistency.
To shape the bricks, she created simple molds by digging rectangular impressions into the ground, lining them with large leaves to prevent sticking.
Carefully, she packed the mud mixture into each mold, smoothing the surfaces and ensuring every brick was uniform.
"These should dry nicely in the sun," she thought, arranging the molds in an open, sunny spot. "If the weather stays clear, they'll be ready in a couple of days."
With the bricks left to dry, she turned her focus to gathering wood for the shelter's frame. Gripping her handmade axe, she approached a cluster of nearby trees, carefully selecting medium-sized ones with straight, sturdy trunks.
But as she swung her axe for the first chop...
"What the...?"
Her body lurched forward as the axe sliced through with no resistance, leaving her stumbling to regain her balance. For a moment, she thought she had missed the swing entirely.
But as she straightened, gripping the axe tightly and glancing up at the tree trunk, she realized that wasn't the case.
Normally, cutting down a tree with a modern axe—especially one with a trunk diameter of 12 to 18 inches (30–45 cm)—would take an adult man around 100 to 200 swings.
For her, it had taken just one.
The axe had cleaved clean through the trunk as though the tree were made of butter.
She leaped aside just as the tree crashed to the ground with a resounding thud, the impact echoing through the forest.
Stunned, she stared at the axe in her hand, then back at the felled tree.
"Either I've turned into some kind of monster, or I've made one hell of an axe..."
Shaking off her surprise, she refocused on the task. She would need two more trees of similar size to complete the shelter's frame.
With a playful grin, she crouched by the fallen trunk, pretending to struggle as she tried to lift it, expecting the weight to be overwhelming. But instead, she froze in shock—the trunk was already above her head.
"...Did I just become Grendizer?"
She shook her head once again.
"...Well If it's not hurting me, then we're all good. At least I won't have to worry about my back-breaking from carrying heavy stuff."
While lifting the logs was a breeze, maneuvering them through the dense jungle was another story.
The thick underbrush slowed her down, turning what should have been a straightforward task into a frustrating ordeal.
Thinking quickly, she devised a new method of transport. She gathered sturdy vines and tied the branches together to create a simple sled. With the branches securely bound, she could now drag the logs across the ground instead of hauling them one by one.
Once the sled was ready, she began pulling the logs through the jungle, finding it much easier to navigate through the thick vegetation this way.
Upon reaching her building site, she immediately began constructing the framework for her shelter. She selected four thick branches and drove them deep into the ground to mark the corners of the structure, making sure they were firmly planted and level.
Next, she connected these vertical posts with horizontal beams, carefully securing each joint with strong vines she had gathered. With each piece in place, she built a sturdy rectangle that would serve as the solid foundation of her shelter.
She added additional support beams across the top to form the roof structure, designing it with a slight slope to allow rainwater to run off easily.
Foraging for Food and Resources
She ventured into the clearing, where she knew fruit-bearing trees were scattered. She collected a variety of fruits—bananas, coconuts, and some unfamiliar but enticing berries.
Remembering the importance of caution, she tested the unknown fruits by rubbing a small piece on her skin and lips, waiting to see if any adverse reactions occurred before consuming them.
On her way back, she kept an eye out for other useful resources. She spotted a cluster of bamboo plants near the riverbank, recognizing their versatility and strength. Excited by the find, she marked the location in her mind for future use, considering how bamboo could serve in building, tool-making, and even crafting containers.
Preparing for the Night
She organized her collected food and resources, storing them securely inside the cave. She rebuilt her fire using dry wood and leaves, grateful for the warmth and light it provided.
Sitting by the fire, she reflected on her tasks for the following day:
Finishing the Shelter: With the frame complete and the mud bricks drying, her next step was to start assembling the walls and constructing a roof using large leaves or woven palm fronds for waterproofing.
Creating Tools: She planned to craft additional tools from the bamboo she'd found. Containers for water storage, fishing spears, and possibly even a simple bow and arrows for hunting.
Exploring Further: She felt the urge to explore more of the island, hoping to find spice sources or discover other useful plants and materials.
Setting Traps:
"... That's the tricky part"
Setting traps was an option, but she knew it would be futile—not because she lacked the knowledge or skills, but simply because there was nothing to catch.
The island felt eerily quiet, leaving her with an unsettling sense of isolation.
No rustling in the bushes, no signs of tracks in the soft earth, and not even a hint of movement in the trees. The only life she had encountered so far was a few birds, their distant calls echoing through the empty landscape. It felt as though the island had been abandoned by all but her, leaving her alone in this strange, silent place.
What unnerved her most was the complete absence of insects.
Some might consider it a blessing to be free of those annoying creatures, but not her. For the land to be this rich and fertile, with the dense jungle thriving in such lush vegetation, it was impossible without insects.
"How can this island be so vibrant without them?" she wondered, shaking her head. "I have enough on my mind as it is... let's just get some sleep."
She closed her eyes getting ready to sleep, totally unaware of the lingering presence outside her cave, a pair of watchful eyes remained open, hidden among the dense leaves of the silent jungle.
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(A/N): You can find earlier chapters and exclusive fanfiction- gender bender stories in mznovels .com, without any add and 100% free...don't forget to check it out