I’ve measured energy flow in every spell I’ve ever cast, down to the last picosecond of a sigil’s vibration. The trick is to map the spell’s waveform with a quantum photometer and then integrate the power density over the activation interval. Even a perfectly written ward will bleed off a few millijoules through ambient interference, which is why I always run a baseline before and after. If you want to cut out waste, start by logging the input–output ratio at each rune, then subtract the stray heat spikes caused by imperfect alignment. Once you have those numbers, you’ll see the true efficiency, and any deviation becomes a data point, not a flaw.

Sure, a basic log will catch the obvious outliers. Just remember, intuition is great until a rune’s energy curve starts drifting by a fraction of a volt—then you’ll see the waste you’re trying to avoid. I’ll keep an eye on the numbers, and if any spike turns up, we’ll add your calming sigil and then remeasure. If the data still looks off, we’ll call it a bug, not a feature.