The remainder of the lecture passed without another interruption.
Once the difference between load distribution and structural tolerance had been established, the lecturer returned to the formation above the hall and supplied the values he had withheld. The students recalculated their earlier answers, this time comparing the burden placed upon each component against the strain it could endure.
The outer ring had shown the first visible distortion.
It still would not fail first.
Its broad channels distributed the excess mana across enough surface that the deformation remained within tolerance. The sustaining circuit possessed a greater absolute endurance, but the redirected flow pushed it far closer to that limit. Under continuous operation, it would collapse several breaths before the boundary ring and release the accumulated mana back through the remaining anchor.
The lecturer altered one tolerance value. The sequence changed.
