Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 558: Eco-Friendly Propulsion
Steven admitted that his boat was… a little crude. But at the moment, it was the only available means of transportation. Sure, he could rely on the Evol Armor to fly, but then he wouldn't be able to bring anyone else along.
Using the boat himself was fine—at worst, it could tank one hit. Before it broke and reverted back into an item, it could at least absorb a single instance of damage.
But if the Emperor and the others used it… then its purpose would drift far away from being a "boat." To be more accurate, it would resemble a prison.
After all, in practice, Minecraft wooden boats and minecarts weren't mainly for sailing. Most of the time, they were perfect tools for traps and crowd control. Even those world-ending parasites from certain mods would obediently sit down once they stepped into a boat. Unless the trapped target had ranged attacks to destroy the boat, brute force alone would never free them.
It was a powerful effect—but clearly not what they needed right now. What they required was an actual, functional ship.
"Tsk. You people don't appreciate good stuff. Fine, if you really need a proper ship, I'll just build one on-site. Do you want iron plating or wood?"
Sighing, Steven pulled out materials from his inventory. The others clearly refused to sit in his refined little wooden coffin.
Honestly, if he hadn't promised Kal'tsit to bring them along, he would've just flown there himself.
"Wait—you're going to build one here?" Kal'tsit finally voiced her doubts. "Do you see any tools or resources around that could possibly make a ship?"
There was nothing but sand and the endless sea. Steven did outrageous things, sure—but creating something from nothing?
Before she finished questioning, Steven had already begun assembling a simple wooden platform. Within moments, it began taking on the shape of a boat.
"How did you do that?" Nian, the professional craftsman among them, immediately spotted the oddity.
She couldn't detect any technique. Steven merely waved his right hand, and wooden planks appeared out of thin air, seamlessly joining together. There were no fasteners, no adhesives—the connections looked as if they had always existed.
Steven, however, didn't bother explaining. His hands moved rapidly, and in less than three minutes, a wooden boat over ten meters long stood on the beach.
As a combat-focused player, he wasn't particularly skilled in architecture. But he had lived long enough to pick up hobbies. Over the years, anything he could craft manually had become second nature.
In the Minecraft world, this boat would've been just a decorative build. But under Terra's rules, it worked well enough as a cohesive structure.
With a small push, Steven slid the boat into the sea. He then turned to the two people and one penguin still staring in shock.
"There. Satisfied now? It may be made of wood, but don't worry about durability. As long as it's not completely destroyed in one go, I can patch it up easily."
After all, the materials came from Minecraft. In that world's rules, most blocks had a durability threshold. As long as damage didn't exceed that limit and attacks stopped, the block would quickly restore itself to its original state.
That's why players mining prismarine in an Ocean Monument with a nearly-broken diamond pickaxe often cried in despair. Imagine struggling through Mining Fatigue, chipping away at a block for ages, finally about to break it—only for your pickaxe to shatter first. The moment you stopped, all your effort reset. That sense of loss wasn't something ordinary people could understand.
"It's certainly impressive," Nian said as she stepped onto the deck with Steven. Her hand brushed lightly over the wooden railing. "But setting safety aside, there's another important issue. I don't see how this ship is supposed to move. What's powering it?"
She had confirmed the material was extraordinary. But in the end, it was just a sturdier, larger wooden box. Size wasn't the problem—propulsion was. There was no sail. What would drive it across the sea?
Her curious gaze locked onto Steven. She was sure he had an answer.
His reply nearly made everyone slip.
"What do you mean, what powers it? Human power, of course. It's a wooden boat. You expect me to invent a steam engine? Or an engine? Or maybe nuclear power? Why go through all that trouble? It's just temporary transportation."
Steven looked at her like she'd asked something absurd.
But his answer was even more absurd.
"Let me get this straight," the Emperor stepped forward from behind Nian. "You mean we have to row it ourselves? We'd still be rowing next year! You're joking, right?"
He pointed at the crude wooden vessel beneath them. He had been willing to try it because Steven's construction method was impressive. But asking him to row into the ocean? He'd rather be tossed into the water and swim—at least that suited a penguin better.
"You don't need to row. You guys are too slow. I've got my own trick. Just watch."
Steven waved him off. He tossed one of the small boats ahead of the larger vessel, then connected them with an iron chain.
"What are you doing?" someone asked.
"Linking them with chains. Next comes fire attack," Steven replied with a line nobody understood.
Then he jumped into the small boat in front, sitting in it like a kid driving a bumper car.
"…He's not planning to use a small horse to pull a big cart, is he?" the Emperor muttered. "Is his brain okay?"
He already understood Steven's idea. But to him, it was ridiculous. That tiny boat, powered by Steven alone, pulling this large wooden ship? Even if it moved, covering a few hundred meters a day would be impressive.
The Emperor's answer came not in words, but in a sound like a massive machine roaring to life—every component grinding into motion at once. His beak dropped open as he stared forward in shock.
The iron chain snapping taut was no illusion. Nor was the violent wind now punching against his face.
Steven's tiny boat had already shot forward like a missile. The spray kicked up by his paddling completely obscured his figure. All the Emperor and the others could see was a bullet-like silhouette tearing toward the depths of the ocean. The ship beneath their feet, dragged along by the chain, surged forward as well—so fast it almost felt like they were about to break the sound barrier.
If the Emperor hadn't clung tightly to the wooden railing, he would've been flung straight off by the terrifying acceleration. Only now did he truly understand what Steven meant by "you guys are too slow."
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/arknightcraft-160680628
[2] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/arknightcraft-160680628