"You miscalculated by four days."
"In our favor."
"I know in our favor. I just. Bruce, that's enormous."
"It's the alpha cores. The first day we didn't know they existed. The second day we got one. Today we got a two-core alpha." Bruce shifted the strap of his frame, which was empty now and much lighter. "Once you know what to hunt, the rate compounds. The cores from the alphas are not linearly more valuable than the cores from the normal beasts. They're exponentially more valuable. So every day we find an alpha, we make a multi-day's worth of progress in one day."
"And the climb past F-rank?"
"Will get harder. E-rank will pay more, but the beasts will hit harder. The compound rate slows as the climb gets steeper. Right now we're at the easiest stage of the curve. Enjoy it." He glanced at Kael. "Spatial ring stall."
"Spatial ring stall," Kael agreed.
...
The walk back to the market square felt different in the gold afternoon light.
