  Digital tracking enables telescopes to detect asteroids several times fainter
than conventional techniques. We describe our optimized methodology to acquire,
process, and interpret digital tracking observations, and we apply it to probe
the apparent magnitude distribution of main belt asteroids fainter than any
previously detected from the ground. All-night integrations with the Dark
Energy Camera (DECam) yield 95\% completeness at $R$ magnitude 25.0, and useful
sensitivity to $R=25.6$ mag when we use an analytical detection model to
correct flux overestimation bias. In a single DECam field observed over two
nights, we detect a total of 3234 distinct asteroids, of which 3123 are
confirmed on both nights. At opposition from the Sun, we find a sky density of
$697 \pm 15$ asteroids per square degree brighter than $R = 25.0$ mag, and
$1031 \pm 23$ brighter than $R = 25.6$ mag. We agree with published results for
the sky density and apparent magnitude distribution of asteroids brighter than
$R=23$ mag. For a power law defined by $dN/dR \propto 10^{\alpha R}$, we find
marginally acceptable fits with a constant slope $\alpha = 0.28 \pm 0.02$ from
$R=20$ to 25.6 mag. Better fits are obtained for a broken power law with
$\alpha=0.218 \pm 0.026$ for $R=20$ to 23.5 mag, steepening to $\alpha=0.340
\pm 0.025$ for $R = 23.5$ to 25.6 mag. The constant or steepening power law
indicates asteroids fainter than $R = 23.5$ mag are abundant, contrary to some
previous claims but consistent with theory.
