Pink Gas Horse. Joshua doesn't even know where to begin with that.
So instead, he's exploring again.
Being a member of Gen Z, Joshua follows his generational instincts and completely relies on technology (Pokenav) to see what's around him.
Besides the things he's already seen, the map is mostly full of pins, loose forests, and small bodies of water.
While walking across the eerie ndscapes of grass, with two horse-things beside him, he ruminates on his experiences.
To walk with certainty in what you're doing.
To follow the Lord's path.
Is he doing this correctly?
It… certainly feels different. Good, but different.
His steps haven't changed, but he feels lighter.
His situation hasn't changed, he's still in danger, but his head feels clearer.
“Mr. Joshua! There's a tall man watching us!” Porse speaks out.
“Just ignore him”
“Okay!”
Ever since they left, there's been… something just on the horizon. A mirage, translucent figure of a tall… thing.
Humanoid, but it's pale. Arms are too long, split into strangely stalk-like digits. It's skinny, and…
Oh God its face…
So Joshua is ignoring the fuck out of it. His cross is silent, so he's taking that as “not an immediate threat”.
But it always appears again every time they move away from it. In the treeline, on the side of a hill, always in the distance. It's only really possible to see it when the light hits it a certain way, an absence in the terrain around it.
It's just… watching.
As long as it does that way over there, Joshua is fine with it.
But before he can think too much of it, a hint of blue appears on his map.
Then more.
Then a lot more.
"Holy shit”
“Pony?” Jophiel raises an eyebrow.
Gabriel gasps at his curse.
Joshua looks at the rge expanse of blue on his map, just ahead.
He was looking for the best pce to set up a main base, he smiles as he finally finds a pce that meets his conditions.
“We just found the ocean”
Jophiel’s eyes widen, while Gabriel tilts her head.
She's been skimming Joshua’s mind sometimes, just a quick accidental peek as her psychic powers picked up his thoughts and broadcasted them to her, so she knows why this is important.
If mobs even work as half as they do in Minecraft, he knows that water would help immensely.
Slowing them down, pushing them back, Hell, just an area where mobs can't spawn. It's a fantastic space for them.
Not perfect, Joshua couldn't find a va pool, but he can make do.
He's already had to deal with a few mobs on the way over, further proving that whatever grace period he had is now gone.
Still no Creepers, Spiders, or Endermen, though.
Probably a good thing, but some recipes are locked behind resources those mobs drop.
Bullets are the biggest example, but to be honest he isn't sure how useful they'll be against parasites.
Fmethrower maybe?
He knows that parasites, despite his extremely small sample size, are fatally weak to fire and faith.
Jophiel can conjure up some psychic fire, one of her ‘moves’ neither of them have figured out yet.
He has a flint n’ steel, but unmistakably the most useful in this situation is his faith powers.
In his inventory are two stacks of wooden crosses, each about a foot tall, and each ‘imbued’ with the scripture that seems to repel evil forces. Psalm 91:10-14.
He isn't sure if each verse has a different effect on parasites, he knows that the others he's tried applied effects on himself, like protecting his mind or whatever Corinthians did.
It feels… wrong, to treat scripture like special effects from an RPG, like a buff he can haphazardly cast on himself. The verses themselves are full of wisdom, but it's the faith and meaning, the understanding behind those words that make them powerful.
“Psalm 29:11. The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace…"
Peace…
Yeah… He'd like that.
It doesn't feel like anything happened, aside from a familiar warm feeling in his chest. Any lesser man would be disappointed that verse didn't fix all of his problems.
But he's not blind, God is not a buff in some RPG.
Strength and Peace?
He'll give you that, but not in the way you think.
You have to do it, you have to walk the path, he just gives you directions. Through his son, specifically.
“Wow! He sounds really nice!” Gabriel speaks up as she bounces up to his height, she's been bouncing as she walks, like a cartoon (Joshua decides to ignore the physics behind that).
Joshua snorts.
“Yeah, something like that”
“Po” Jophiel rolls her eyes.
Yeah.
He does sound nice.
…
Joshua and gang find themselves on a beach, overlooking a vast ocean.
“It's this way, right?” He turns to Gabriel.
“Yup! Mr Suit is saying it's… um… yeah! That way!” She points a hoof at the open water.
“Ponyta?”
“Of course! Mr. Suit is nice! He won't lie to me”
Joshua looks around.
It's not really a beach, very little sand. But the area seems good. He has saplings for wood, he's really hoping it works the same as the game.
He can probably find more sheep, or some kind of livestock around, they aren't that hard to find.
It just means he has to make a mineshaft.
Ugh.
[Woah sea monster time!!!]
“Oh I fucking hate you”
