Chương 36: Apparently, Monsters Per Hour Is a Financial Metric

The morning after his cultural excursion to the exhibition hall, Matt woke up in Trailer C-87 completely rested. He didn't linger on the theological implications of The Last Frontier. He made his coffee, applied a mental pulse of Perfect Temperature, processed his daily crafting batch, and listed the output on the National Market. He closed the market tab. Today was explicitly a farm day. He glanced at the secure storage box sitting on his desk. Inside was a single, golden-tinted crystalline plate.

FIVE FORTUNES 1 / 5 He remembered the screaming streamer and the $1. 65 billion S-rank jackpot.

"No," Matt told the closed box firmly. He opened his digital planner and reviewed the data from his first run into Iron Junction. IRON JUNCTION — FIRST RUN Pack Density — Excellent Clear Speed — Excellent Forced Hazard Waits — None Mana Pressure — Low Anchored Step — Unused Cards Found — 5 Complete Sets — 1 Matt's eyes stopped on the fifth line.

"Anchored Step — Unused." He opened his COPY UI and pulled up his Archive. SWEEPING TEMPO — C On Kill: Attack Speed increased by 4% Duration: 6 seconds Maximum Stacks: 5 Maximum Bonus: +20% Attack Speed He looked at his current active loadout. Anchored Step — C Quick Frame — C Overmuscle — C Anchored Step was phenomenal. It had saved him from water jets, strong currents, and hydraulic knockbacks. It was an essential piece of his defensive foundation. But Iron Junction didn't have water jets.

It didn't have strong currents. He hadn't been forced backward once during a two-hour run. There was no reason for a defensive tool to occupy one of three active slots simply because it had been useful somewhere else. He swapped them. IRON JUNCTION FARM LOADOUT Sweeping Tempo — C Quick Frame — C Overmuscle — C He briefly hesitated, wondering if a Cargo Brute or a Boss might have an unknown knockback mechanic he hadn't seen yet. But he wasn't fighting the Boss today.

"That's enough data," Matt concluded, locking the new loadout into place. He typed his objectives for the morning. IRON JUNCTION — SECOND FARM RUN Sweeping Tempo — TEST Freight Storage Route — PRIORITY Pack Throughput — MEASURE Card Drops — TRACK Boss — NO Fortune's Harness — NO He paused, thinking about the six-second duration on the new buff. He added one final, critical rule. Do not chase buff uptime into stupid decisions.

"Important," Matt said aloud. He checked his Status. He was Level 16. He had one unspent Passive Point. He didn't spend it. He didn't know how Sweeping Tempo was going to change his operational rhythm. It might expose a completely new flaw in his build.

"Test first." The Gate Plaza at Iron Junction was as crowded as always, bustling with organized Guild parties, solo farmers, and crafters. Matt didn't feel like a tourist today. He walked up to an open terminal and scanned the Instance board. He didn't want an empty Instance, and he didn't want heavy competition. Instance 842 — 19/64 — Boss Alive"Nineteen," Matt noted. He had run with 27 yesterday. He selected the Instance and stepped through the portal. He materialized in the massive underground freight terminal.

The high ceiling, the rusted rail cars, and the pale Mana lighting were exactly as he remembered them. He looked down. Dry concrete. Good. He gripped the Foundry Longsword and advanced. A pack of seven Rail Goblins scrambled out from between two shipping containers, screeching aggressively. Matt didn't trigger Quick Frame. The attack was entirely predictable. He stepped directly into the path of the mob and swung. Cleave. Multistrike. SLASH. SLASH. SLASH. The 2. 1-meter arc carved through the pack.

Four Goblins died instantly. A tiny System icon flashed in the corner of Matt's vision. SWEEPING TEMPO Stacks: 4 / 5 Attack Speed: +16% Duration: 6. 0 sec The remaining three Goblins lunged. Matt swung again. The sword moved noticeably faster, completing the sequence in a fluid, accelerated blur. The pack was dead. SWEEPING TEMPO Stacks: 5 / 5 Attack Speed: +20% Duration: 6. 0 sec Matt stood still for a fraction of a second. The first pack had felt slightly faster.

But as the final Goblin dissolved, he heard the metallic clanking of a Yard Skeleton pack approaching from the next platform. He looked at the buff countdown. 5. 4. 5. 0. 4. 7. Matt broke into a sprint. He didn't recklessly Leap Slam blindly over a container, but he moved with sudden, urgent purpose. He rounded the corner and found five Yard Skeletons and a Switch Hound. He had maximum stacks. He stepped in. Cleave. Multistrike. The difference was immediately, physically obvious.

The +20% Attack Speed stacked cleanly with the +7% Attack Speed on his Foundry Longsword, accelerating the already rapid Multistrike sequence even further. The three-hit sequence didn't feel like three distinct swings. It felt like a continuous, devastating red blur.

"… Oh," Matt breathed as the Skeletons collapsed. The buff timer instantly refreshed to 6. 0 seconds. He heard another pack. He ran. He maintained the maximum stacks through three more packs, effectively turning himself into a high-speed industrial shredder. But as he finished the fourth group, he heard the next pack further down the corridor. He couldn't see them. The route twisted around a blind corner bordered by heavy steel crates. 3. 0. 2. 5.

If he used Leap Slam right now, he could clear the crates, maintain the buff, and instantly engage the pack. He planted his Boots and stopped moving entirely. 1. 0. 0. 0. The Sweeping Tempo icon vanished. His attack speed returned to normal.

"Good," Matt nodded, genuinely satisfied with his own self-control. He had recognized the danger instantly. The buff didn't just increase his combat speed; it actively pressured him to decrease his traversal time. It was begging him to rush blind corners to save a six-second timer. Buff uptime was a bonus. It was not an objective. He repeated the rule mentally. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

He walked calmly around the blind corner, engaged the pack at normal speed, and built the stacks back up safely. He reached the Freight Storage intersection and immediately turned right. He wasn't here for the Boss. He was here for density. He settled into the new rhythm. Pack. 5 stacks. Move. Next. 5 stacks. Cleave. Move. It was a fundamentally different experience than Gravetide. There was no waiting for electrified water to clear. There were no Flow Surges forcing him to pause.

Roughly thirty minutes in, he cleared a group of Skeletons and saw a familiar translucent plate resting in the ash. THE EMPTY CAR Current Set: 1 / 3"Twenty-four dollars," Matt noted, picking it up without a second thought and tossing it into his pouch. Ten minutes later, a Cargo Brute dropped another Card. RIGHT OF WAY Set Size: 4 Reward: Random Movement Skill Gem Current Set: 1 / 4 He had seen this one on Gus's buy board for $115.

"… Better," Matt said, slipping it into the pouch. A few packs later, another translucent plate appeared beneath a dead Rail Goblin. FREIGHT PAID IN FULL Set Size: 6 Reward: Crafting Currency Bundle Current Set: 1 / 6"Still a good name." He pocketed it and kept moving. He pushed deeper into the storage sector, maintaining his high-speed, high-density clearing loop. He engaged a massive, sprawling pack. Ten Rail Goblins, three Skeletons, and a Switch Hound. He hit five stacks instantly.

He used Quick Frame to dodge the Hound's charge, crushed it with Heavy Strike, and spun back into the mob with a max-speed Multistrike. The pack dissolved in a matter of seconds. A small pile of loot materialized. A Mana Stone, a pair of Rare gloves, and a Card. The Card wasn't translucent gray. It shimmered with a faint, iridescent gold light. Matt stopped completely.

"…No," Matt whispered. He hadn't even picked it up yet. He crouched down and lifted the Card. FIVE FORTUNES Set Size: 5 Reward: 5 Mana Stones of a Random Rank Current Set: 2 / 5 Matt stared at the UI tag. Because he had the first Card stored in his secure box in Trailer C-87, his physical collection now registered as two out of five. 2 / 5 The memory of the Mythology Archive, Gus's $101 buy price, and the streaming video of the $1. 65 billion S-rank jackpot all collided in his head simultaneously.

"Two Cards is not gambling," Matt announced to the empty corridor. He paused, listening to his own voice echo slightly.

"… That sounded worse out loud," Matt admitted. He could sell it. Its market value was roughly a hundred dollars. It was a guaranteed payout. But he wasn't standing in Gus's shop. He was deep in the Dungeon. He slid it into his pouch, deciding he didn't need to rationalize it until he returned to the Camp. He continued the run. Sweeping Tempo was undeniably powerful. The packs were melting faster than ever, and his time between engagements had shrunk significantly.

Because he was killing faster and moving faster, he was using Cleave and Leap Slam significantly more times per minute than he usually did. His 2. 4/sec Mana regeneration wasn't keeping up. He finished a pack of Goblins and checked his UI. Mana bar: 136 118 96 72 Matt stopped.

"…There it is." He unclipped his Blue Flask and took a short drink, restoring his pool to maximum. In Gravetide, his Mana problem was caused by relying too heavily on Blade Projection to safely handle ranged threats. Here, his Mana problem was caused by pure success. He had optimized his clear speed so efficiently that he wasn't giving his natural regeneration enough downtime between packs to refill the bar.

"Good problem," Matt noted wryly. He wasn't going to rebuild his character right now. The Blue Flask was handling it. But he made a mental note in his planner. Sweeping Tempo Damage/Clear — Excellent Mana Impact — Noticeable He moved further down the storage corridor. He spotted a familiar figure ahead. It was a veteran Delver holding a massive halberd. The same guy he had seen yesterday heading into the high-density zone. Matt watched the veteran work. The man wasn't just fast; he was completely ruthless.

He swept through a pack of Yard Skeletons, practically ignoring the minor damage they inflicted, and kept moving without breaking stride. An F-rank Mana Stone and a piece of Normal Gear dropped from the pack. The veteran didn't stop. He walked right past it.

"You missed one," Matt called out automatically, his logistics instinct offended. The veteran didn't stop.

"No."

"Mana Stone," Matt specified.

"F-rank."

"That's seventy dollars," Matt pointed out. The veteran slowed slightly, glancing over his shoulder.

"How far back?" Matt pointed.

"Twenty, maybe thirty yards."

"Then it's behind me," the veteran said, turning forward and continuing to walk. Matt couldn't let it go. He jogged up to catch the man.

"It's still seventy dollars." The veteran stopped and looked at Matt.

"And the next pack is ahead." The veteran pointed his halberd down the corridor.

"Money per monster doesn't matter." He started walking again.

"Money per hour does." Matt froze.

"… That's annoyingly reasonable." The veteran grunted in agreement and walked away. Matt engaged his next pack. Sweeping Tempo. High-speed execution. The loot dropped. A Mana Stone. A Normal axe. A Magic helmet. A low-value base. Matt stopped, bent down, and opened his inventory. He dragged the items in, checked their stats, sorted them in his mental ledger, and closed his bag. He looked at his UI. The Sweeping Tempo buff had vanished completely. Matt stood perfectly still in the empty corridor.

It took him ten seconds to kill the monsters. It took him thirty seconds to evaluate and sort the garbage they dropped. The monsters weren't the bottleneck anymore. The loot was.

"…Okay." Matt smiled. It was a pure logistical flow problem. He loved logistical flow problems. He opened his AR note system and drafted a new operational policy. IRON JUNCTION PICKUP POLICY Divination Cards — YES Crafting Currency — YES E-rank+ Mana Stones — YES Rare Gear — YES Known Valuable Clean Bases — YES Low-value Normal Gear — NO Low-value Magic Gear — NO He paused at the F-rank Mana Stones. The veteran had left seventy dollars on the floor.

"Still money," Matt rationalized. But he added a caveat. F-rank Mana Stones On Route — YES Backtrack — NO He wasn't going to turn around and walk thirty yards for seventy dollars. But if he tripped over it, he was keeping it. He added a final note regarding the Divination Cards. A Card was physically thin, weighed nothing, and was instantly liquid on the local market.

"Cards have excellent freight characteristics," Matt noted approvingly. He resumed the run, executing the new policy. The tempo increase was immediate. He killed a pack. A Normal sword dropped. He didn't even look at it. He kept moving. He killed another pack. An F-rank Stone dropped near his Boot. He scooped it seamlessly without breaking stride and engaged the next group. Because he wasn't stopping to play inventory management, his Sweeping Tempo stacks remained active almost continuously.

Loot filtering didn't just increase his economic efficiency. It directly increased his combat efficiency. Less looting meant more killing. More killing meant more Card rolls. Over the next hour, the strategy paid massive dividends. He picked up another Empty Car Card, a second Freight Paid in Full, and a Right of Way. But he didn't see another golden glimmer. The second Five Fortunes didn't drop.

"Good," Matt told himself, maintaining his rational detachment. Fifteen minutes later, a generic common Card dropped.

"… Also good," Matt muttered, trying to sound convincing. He hit the deepest, highest-density section of the Freight Storage. He pulled a massive, chaotic pack. Two Cargo Brutes, eight Rail Goblins, and six Skeletons. He didn't hesitate. He focused on the Goblins first, instantly maxing his Sweeping Tempo stacks to +20%. He triggered Overmuscle and pivoted to the Brutes, his sword moving with terrifying velocity. Heavy Strike. Cleave. The first Brute fell. The Skeletons shattered. The second Brute collapsed.

The System chime rang out clearly above the dust. LEVEL UP Matthew Hayes Level 16 → 17 Passive Points: 1 → 2"Good," Matt breathed, lowering his sword. He had two Passive Points available. He didn't spend them. He looked at his Mana bar.

"… Very good timing." He could invest in Mana nodes to solve his new throughput bottleneck, but he needed to check the Jewelry market first before committing permanent points. He checked the time. He had been running for approximately two hours and fifteen minutes. He had cleared easily over thirty-five packs, significantly more than his first run yesterday. In the past, he would have calculated his run based on the quality of a specific drop. Now, he realized the veteran was absolutely right.

The Card drop was a pure statistical probability. The only way to win the math was to increase the sample size. He opened his planner and created a new category. PRIMARY FARM METRIC Monsters / Hour Matt stared at the line.

"…That's a financial metric now." The test was complete. He had leveled up, his bags were full of high-value liquid assets, and his Mana was running low.

"Done." He didn't get greedy. He turned back toward the exit. As he walked down a long freight platform leading toward the extraction zone, he encountered one final, unremarkable pack of Rail Goblins.

"On route." Matt raised his sword. He triggered Cleave, easily wiping the pack. A small pile of Currency, an F-rank Stone, and a pair of Magic Boots dropped. And a thin, iridescent golden Card. Matt stopped walking.

"…No." He walked over and picked it up. FIVE FORTUNES Set Size: 5 Reward: 5 Mana Stones of a Random Rank Current Set: 3 / 5"…" Matt stared at the UI. The System had updated his total. He had one in the trailer, he had found one earlier, and he had just found a third.

"…Three." Gus's voice echoed mockingly in his head. Until you have five. This wasn't a Mythology Archive. This wasn't a priceless piece of divine art that belonged in a museum. This was a mass-produced gambling ticket designed to prey on human psychology.

"Three Cards is also not gambling," Matt announced. He paused, listening to his own voice.

"…That is becoming less convincing." He only needed two more. He was in one of the highest-density Card farming zones in the country. He could easily farm for another hour. If the drop rate held— Matt forcefully shut the thought down. Two drops did not establish a rate. It was pure sample variance. He remembered the screaming streamer and the absurdly rare S-rank roll.

"No." Matt pulled a Portal Scroll and snapped it immediately. He materialized in the Iron Junction Gate Plaza. He didn't bother checking his Boots. He already knew they were dry. He walked straight back to Trailer C-87, unbuckled his gear, poured a coffee, and sat down at his laptop. He finalized his operational summary.

IRON JUNCTION — SECOND FARM RUN Duration — ~2 hr 15 min Boss — Not Attempted Level — 17 Passive Points — 2 Sweeping Tempo — KEEP Clear Speed — Improved Mana Pressure — Moderate Blue Flask Uses — 1 Loot Pickup — New Bottleneck Pickup Policy — Established He tallied his total Card haul. Two Empty Cars. Two Freight Paid in Fulls. Two Right of Ways. One generic common. Two Five Fortunes. Nine Cards total in just over two hours.

His new pickup policy had drastically reduced the amount of low-value Gear cluttering his inventory, replacing it with highly liquid, zero-weight assets.

"I'm not farming items," Matt realized.

"I'm farming rolls." He opened his secure storage box. Resting inside was the single Five Fortunes Card he had saved from yesterday. He took the two new golden Cards from his Dungeon pouch and placed them neatly beside it. The System recognized the physical proximity. FIVE FORTUNES 3 / 5 Matt stared at the stack. At roughly a hundred dollars apiece on the current market, that stack was a guaranteed three hundred dollars. He could walk down to Gus's shop right now and sell them.

"Three hundred dollars," Matt said aloud.

"That's what this is." He reached out to close the lid of the box. His hand stopped. The image of five glowing S-rank Mana Stones flashed vividly in his mind. Matt forcibly closed the box and locked the latch.

"No." He took a slow breath.

"…Maybe Gus was right." He paused.

"About the psychology. Not the Exchange." He opened his planner to update his overarching directives. CARD POLICY Sell valuable singles. Complete cheap practical sets. Do not gamble. Next to the policy, he added a note tracking his current inventory. FIVE FORTUNES Owned — 3 / 5 Policy — SELL Actual Behavior — NOT SELLING Matt looked at the glaring contradiction on his screen.

"Policy remains unchanged," Matt stated to the empty trailer. He glanced back at the locked storage box.

"Execution is experiencing delays."