142 Nothing to Worry About

The strange energy contained within the steel-essence crystal twisted into a vortex, sucking in stray energy from its surroundings. Within the magic resonance detector, it drank in the torrent of energy flowing directly from the core of the black-steel furnace. In the blink of an eye, its form fully matured into a strange, dark gray void, ripples running outwards from it as it warped space and time around it.

The extraordinary nature of this energy inhibited Joshua's reactions – otherwise, with his speed, he could have pulled himself free from the grasp of the gray fog. The Gold-tier warrior could hold his own in supersonic-speed combat, his reaction time far beyond the imaginations of most of the living things in this world—the same could be said of the old dwarf, as well.

Nevertheless, he suffered from its effects—and before the rapidly whirling gray fog, even a moment's pause made all the difference.