Zeki spends most of his time selling things he probably shouldn’t, and his third friendship quest in Palia drags you straight into the workshop side of that business. Magical Mystery Machine has you supplying the metal and the magic for a device he refuses to describe until it’s finished. The steps are simple, but two of them stall players for an entire in-game day if you don’t know what’s coming.
Quick answer: Show Zeki an Iron Bar so he identifies the metal, hand over five Iron Bars, wait one in-game day for his letter, bring him a glowing bug or fish such as a Paper Lantern Bug, then use his room key to test the Douplifier in his bedroom.
How to unlock Magical Mystery Machine in Palia
The quest appears at Friendship level 3 with Zeki, and it sits behind his two earlier friendship quests, Wares in Low Places and Spread the Word. Once all three conditions are met, Zeki will have an exclamation point over his head at the General Store in Kilima Village.
To get there faster, gift him something every day. He likes any fish, dishes made with fish, ore, Copper Bars, Iron Bars, and generally high-value items, so mining and fishing trips double as friendship progress.
Required items and rewards
| Detail | What it is |
|---|---|
| Given by | Zeki, Friendship level 3 |
| Consumed items | 5 Iron Bar, any one “glowing” bug or fish |
| Reward during quest | Zeki’s Key (permanent access to his room) |
| Reward on completion | 2 Apple Tree Seed, star-quality Golden Salmon, 600 Gold, 25 Renown, friendship with Zeki |
| Leads into | Bugs Everywhere!, and Tish’s Make ‘Em Sing quest, which needs Zeki’s Key |
Which metal bar Zeki wants (it’s Iron)
The opening objective is deliberately vague. Zeki asks you to figure out the right metal, and he will examine any bar you carry except Palium. Copper, Silver, and Gold Bars only produce extra dialogue and do not advance anything, and the bars he inspects are not taken from your inventory.
Zeki’s letter and the one in-game day wait
The quest goes quiet here on purpose. After roughly one in-game day, Zeki mails you at your housing plot to report that the frame works and that he now needs a power source. Nothing else moves the quest forward until you open that letter at your mailbox, so go fish, garden, or mine and come back for the next delivery.
Every glowing bug and fish Zeki accepts
The objective just says to find a glowing bug or fish, which is why players hand over the wrong thing. Glow Worms, the fishing bait, are not accepted. These critters are:
| Critter | Where and when |
|---|---|
| Paper Lantern Bug | Northern and southern Bahari Bay, 6PM to 3AM. Common around forests and coastlines, including Proudhorn Pass, Flooded Steps, and Statue Garden |
| Bahari Glowbug | Southern Bahari Bay near Pulsewater Plains, Hideaway Bluffs, and Beachcomber Cove, 6PM to 3AM |
| Enchanted Pupfish | Fished at Fisherman’s Lagoon and the Kilima Valley coast using a Glow Worm, any time |
| Crimson Fangtooth | Accepted fish |
| Mutated Angler | Accepted fish |
| Energized Piranha | Accepted fish |
The Paper Lantern Bug is the path of least resistance. It’s a common bug, it doesn’t require an upgraded Bug Catching belt, and it glows brightly enough at night that you can spot it from a distance. Throw a Smoke Bomb at it, then walk over and pick it up.
Bring your catch back to Zeki. He takes it, tells you to come by his house, and gives you Zeki’s Key.
Testing the Douplifier in Zeki’s room
Why the quest isn’t progressing
Three things account for almost every stall. You’re showing Zeki the wrong metal, since only iron moves the objective and Palium is refused outright. You’re carrying a Glow Worm instead of an actual glowing bug or fish. Or you haven’t collected the letter from your mailbox yet, which gates the entire second half.
There’s one more trap at the very end. If you plant the Apple Tree Seed Zeki gives you instead of feeding it to the machine, you’ll need another one before the test can happen. You can recycle Apples in a Seed Collector, pick one up from Nai’o’s level 3 friendship quest, or gamble on Zeki’s Wondrous Machine with Lucky Coins.
Note: Each objective ticks over in your quest log the moment it registers, so if the tracker still reads the same after a handoff, the item or the trigger wasn’t the right one.
Finishing the quest is worth more than the gold. Zeki’s Key stays in your inventory permanently, which unlocks a shortcut through Tish’s later questline, and the two Apple Tree Seeds are a genuinely useful head start on an orchard if you haven’t planted one yet.
