Muck, the book. Day 9
Day Nine
Fred woke up on Day Nine feeling like an absolute champion. Yesterday, he had fought a giant death robot, barely survived, and finally gotten the real power crystal for the boat. He should have been leaving. He should have been sailing into the sunset, laughing at all the poor souls still stuck on this island. But instead, he was still here. Because Fred had one small problem. He had no idea how boats worked. Fred stood in front of the massive ship, scratching his head.
“Alright,” he muttered. “Step one: put the crystal in the engine.”
He held up the power crystal like it was the final piece of some grand prophecy… Then jammed it into the engine slot. The boat hummed to life, the sails fluttered, and the rudder moved slightly.
Fred grinned. “HAHAHA! IT WORKS! I’M A GENIUS!”
Then the boat immediately shut off. Fred blinked twice. He found a note lying on the deck saying: “MISSING PARTS: Engine. Rope. Waffles.”
Fred facepalmed so hard, he almost gave himself a concussion.
“YOU MEAN TO TELL ME I STILL NEED MORE STUFF?!”
The boat did not respond. Fred screamed into the void.
"ASDKJASHDJASHDJKASHD—"
With no choice but to continue suffering, Fred set off to find the missing items. He started by searching for an engine, which made zero sense because who just leaves a boat engine lying around? But this was Muck, and logic didn’t exist.
After raiding some abandoned chests, beating up some random Gobblins, he somehow found one in a ruined hut.
Fred stared at it. “Who… who even built this thing? Why is there a boat engine in a forest?”
The engine, being an inanimate object, did not answer. Shrugging, Fred stuffed it into his inventory and moved on. Next, Fred needed rope.
“Where do I even get rope?” he wondered.
His answer came ten seconds later, when he walked into a villager camp and saw a pile of rope sitting next to a house. Fred grinned. “Perfect.”
He walked over, reached down— “THIEF!”
Fred froze. He looked up. A rage filled, war scarred villager was staring at him, holding a battle axe.
Fred grinned. “Maybe this time they’ll learn.”
“WAIT!”
Suddenly, every villager in the camp paused and stared in utter horror.
“That’s Fred!” A villager proclaimed.
They all pretended to continue their daily life praying that Fred would spare them.
“That’s what I thought.” Fred chuckled to himself.
Fred’s final task was to find waffles.
“Why would I even need waffles for a boat?” he muttered. “Is it some kind of secret fuel? Is it even necessary?”
He wandered aimlessly for hours, searching mountains, caves, and even asking a random cow for directions. The cow said nothing. Then, just as he was about to give up hope, he saw it. A weird-looking table, standing alone in the distance. Fred sprinted toward it and started and was relieved to find perfect waffles laying in front of him. Fred stared at it. Then he read further on the boat requirements.
MISSING PARTS: 5x toasted waffles.
Fred groaned. “I have to toast it too?! I didn’t sign up for a kitchen job.”
With a heavy sigh, he dragged himself back to camp and threw the waffles into the toaster. Then, after staring at the incredibly slow toaster for 30 minutes, he finally had what he needed.
Exhausted but victorious, Fred returned to the boat and installed all the missing parts. The engine? In place. The rope? Tied to the mast. The waffles? Turns out it was a snack for the journey.
Fred stepped back and admired his work. He had done it. The boat was finally ready. Tomorrow, he would set sail for real.
Unless…