He could feel that limitation. Internal energy wasn't mana; you didn't get a screaming migraine warning you to stop.
It just failed quietly, and quiet failure in the Tower meant waking up on the floor with something chewing your face.
He wasn't spending what he couldn't afford.
And another thing also became pretty apparent.
"Too many runes…" He muttered.
It wasn't the kind of problem normal climbers complained about, but Kael didn't care. More options meant more complexity, and complexity meant mistakes when you were under pressure.
His gauntlets had only so many slots, and synergy wasn't forgiving. Stack the wrong runes together, and the system didn't just scold you; it punished you with wasted output, volatility, or dead tools.
It wasn't a bad thing, but it wasn't a good thing either. He had limited spots to put the runes in his arms, and once he socketed too many, the synergy would drop immediately.
