"Money"—the word was a spark in a field of dry grass. The warriors followed Lawson like hungry wolves scenting blood.
"Listen up, I'm only saying this once," Lawson stood under the bright lights of the Forge, his veteran aura overwhelming. "Rules are static, but systems have loopholes. If you want your first pot of gold, you need to learn the 'Mob Farming Method.'"
The term sent a shiver of excitement through the group.
"The boss of this stronghold is the Brute Summoner, an D-Rank Orc-type Shifter. Its AI logic has a fixed program: every set interval, it summons a wave of trash mobs to guard the site. Each mob drops roughly 50 LP."
"Only 50?" Victor groaned. "How long will that take?"
The guy with green hair pushed up his glasses.
"Statistically, the drop is random. You'd need to kill at least 20 for a mere 1,000 LP. In a high-intensity fight, the drop rate for low-level mobs is abysmal. The efficiency is too low."
Lawson let out a mocking chuckle. "That's because your starter armor is garbage designed for solo play. But..." He looked at Katie.
"My ex-boss here is an elite with seven years of experience and an SS-Rank suit. Her signature skill is a harvester built for mass-clearance."
Lawson's eyes glinted with the greed of a veteran optimizer.
"All you have to do is stay back, watch the drop notifications, and scavenge the 'last hits' like vultures. As long as we don't kill the Brute Summoner, it's an infinite ATM. Understood?"
In the command center, the warriors prepared for the mission.
"Armor Link!!!"
This was {Moon Swift}. Unlike Dodge's rugged {Tiger Soul}, this was a masterpiece of cold aesthetics.
Crafted from matte deep-blue titanium, the armor traced every curve of the female form with lethal tension.
A crystalline crescent moon on her brow pulsed with white light.
"Is this... SS-Rank?" Emma whispered in awe.
"This is my design," Katie said proudly, "though someone gave some 'unnecessary' advice on the circuit layout.
Emma's eyes lit up; she was clearly interested in that armor.
"Can Sister Katie ask Mr. Lawson to help forge that for me?"
"You aren't ready for this yet, Emma. You'll need materials from SS-Rank General-Class Shifters first. I will ask him to craft a set for you once you are ready!"
"Deployment via teleportation array," Ester announced in the Command Center. "Red-hair, Blue-hair! Stop gawking and move!"
Katie leaped into the swirling spatial vortex as a streak of azure moonlight, her armor's core humming in resonance with the rift's unstable energy.
While the battlefield was hot with blood, the Forge was a stagnant pool of laziness. Lawson was slumped in a creaky swivel chair, his legs crossed on the counter, playing a pixelated mobile game.
"Tch, no signal in this hellhole..." He yawned. "A new world with no internet. Boring as hell."
Sector 5, Nova Star Town.
The Brute Summoner roared atop the stone fortress, waving a bone staff.
A purple magic circle bled across the ground, and a horde of Brutes surged out.
Then, they hit the wall.
With Katie at the center, the ruins for a hundred meters were instantly coated in freezing blue frost. This was the {Moon Swift} exclusive skill: [Absolute Zero Domain].
The air was cold enough to shatter steel.
The monsters' movements slowed as if they had stepped into thick syrup.
Their roars froze in their throats.
Their speed plummeted to a near-deadly '1'. Even worse, their vitality began to drain by percentage points until they were left with a single sliver of health.
SHING—!
Katie moved. She dual wield the {Crescent Frost Blades}—liquid elemental blades that hummed with a dreamlike chill.
She didn't just fight; she performed. With perfect arcs, she danced through the enemy lines, not killing them, but systematically severing their tendons and leaving them incapacitated.
"Second wave incoming! Keep the rhythm!" Katie called out. "I'll 'trim' the new ones. You lot—clean up the scraps. Every last hit is 50 LP. Go!"
"YES! GODDESS KATIE FOREVER!!!" The warriors cheered.
To the rookies, these monsters were now helpless sheep. Green-haired guy 'clocked in' his kills like an office worker.
Emma and Valerie were flushed with excitement as the "cha-ching" sound of incoming points echoed in their ears.
Miles away, Ester stared at her terminal, confused.
"Strange... they're killing monsters by the hundreds, so why hasn't the stronghold progress bar moved even 1%?"
She had no idea that under Lawson's guidance, these "vultures" were intentionally keeping the Boss alive, turning a D-Rank mission into a session of aggressive capital accumulation.
Back at the base, Lawson was busy.
"Access Denied!" The Weapon Forge remained locked.
"So, even the Weapon Master's Certificate was revoked... annoying."
He headed deeper into the base.
He entered the Medical Bay, the Canteen, and the Vault. In each room, he searched the dust until he found "tokens"—items imbued with the soul-memories of the old NPCs.
A Medical Scanner, a Scorched Chef's Tool, a Vault License.
Finally, he stood in his private Vault. "Reconstructing exclusive dimensional space—"
A forest of trophies unfolded. Epic materials, legendary armors, and artifacts he had gathered over a decade.
Lawson touched the cold metal. "Combat isn't for me anymore, is it?"
He shook off the sentiment. He took a beautiful box from the shelf and returned to the Armor Factory.
His eyes burned with fanatical focus as he drafted blueprints without a computer.
"{NPC Bionic Armor}—Design Complete!"
He fed the materials into the furnace.
The gears roared. Four silver-grey auxiliary suits rose from the pods. He implanted the "tokens" into their cores.
{Medical Manager}—ONLINE.
{Canteen Manager}—ONLINE.
{Vault Manager}—ONLINE.
The three suits glided out of the lab to fill their posts.
Lawson looked at the last "pure" suit. "You... I'll call you 'Forge God No. 1.' You're my assistant now."
Just then, the "nouveau riche" warriors returned, led by a glowing Katie.
Lawson smirked like a corrupt merchant. "Forget the Weapon Forge for a second. It's time to harvest these 'Big Spenders'."
The lobby was a madhouse.
"Miss Katie!" Victor shouted at the counter. "How much to max out this gear in one go?"
Katie pulled up the chart:
D-Rank Armor Enhancement Price Checklist:
— Level 1-3: 50 LP per upgrade.
— Level 4-6: 100 LP per upgrade.
— Level 7-9: 200 LP per upgrade.
— Level MAX: 500 LP.
— Total Cost: 1,550 LP.
Victor's face went white. "I... I don't have enough."
"What? Victor?" Katie frowned. "In the [Absolute Zero Domain], everyone should have farmed at least 3,000 points. Plus, the mission reward, you should have 3,500. Even if you slacked off, how can you not afford 1,500?"
"I don't know!" Victor slumped. "I killed so many, but the drop notification barely sounded. Is the Goddess of Luck blacklisting me? I only have 1,000 left after repairs..."
"Chasing a MAX level at this stage is useless vanity."
Lawson walked out, his voice cutting through the noise.
"Listen. For D-Rank transition armor, the scientific limit is LV 5. Level 5 is the 'Quality Change' point that unlocks the next tech tree. If you dump all your LP now, you won't have enough to buy paint when you need to switch to C-Rank models."
The rookies froze.
"I see! As expected of the Great One! We almost got trapped!" They quickly re-entered their commands for 'Enhance to LV 5.'
"Forge God No. 1" emerged from the back, its mechanical arms moving in a blur as it disassembled the armor modules for processing.
"You made that?" Katie whispered to Lawson.
"Forge God No. 1. While you were playing the hide-and-seek with the Brute Summoner, I put this together. No heavier lifting for me."
"Wait! Everyone!" Lawson called out as the warriors started to leave.
He tapped the counter.
"I have the commands, but you forgot something. Enhancement Core D. Cough them up."
A bunch of glowing blue cores were stacked on the counter.
"One more thing," Lawson added to their retreating backs. "The Canteen, Vault, and Medical Bay are now staffed. Go enjoy some actual logistics service."
"FOOD?! YES!" Victor charged toward the Canteen like a bolt of lightning.
As the hall cleared, Lawson looked at the mountain of materials on the counter.
He scooped the entire 'mountain' into his arms—a weight that would crush a normal man.
"You're carrying all that?" Katie gasped. "Where's No. 1? Let it help you!"
"No need. This weight... isn't even as heavy as my old Newbie Gift Pack."
Lawson walked away, balanced perfectly. Under the passive skill [Master of Hauling], materials in his hands lost their gravity.
His back looked like that of a grandmaster.
In a dark alley in a corner of Nova Star, two figures blurred past the ruins.
"Damn, it got away!" A handsome man with silver hair and a high-collared sweater skidded to a halt.
He looked at the shattered buildings.
"What the hell is this place?"