Everything feared comparison.
A protective barrier that could both attack and defend did sound pretty unreasonable.
But after being baptized by outrageous spells like Rheumatism Weather Forecast Spell and Alternating-Current Shock Arrow, a defensive spell with offensive capabilities no longer seemed quite so wicked.
Still, Jia Xiu was very curious: how could a protective barrier be offensive?
"Here's the thing," the drow administrator explained. "The person who designed this spell accidentally created a barrier whose closing trajectory was so neat that it became lethal."
A so-called closing trajectory was the way a barrier formed.
Barriers, screens, shields, and similar spells, no matter how fast they formed or how "instantaneous" they looked, all actually went through a process of closing.
There were many specific methods. Some first closed into a small shape, then gradually expanded like a balloon. Some spread outward like dye dripping into a soap bubble. Others, more efficient but harder to control, expanded from several points until they completely joined together.
Normally, no one controlled the closing process so neatly.
For one thing, control increased the difficulty of casting without making the barrier close any faster.
Under normal circumstances, defensive spells needed to take effect as quickly as possible.
You couldn't have the enemy's attack already coming in while you hurriedly started casting a defensive spell, only to keep casting forever while the barrier still had not closed.
That would be awkward.
"But why does a neat closing trajectory make it lethal?" Jia Xiu asked in confusion.
He had not understood the logical connection behind the administrator's "so."
"Here's the thing. This mage had a strange quirk: everything had to be perfectly neat."
"Uh, so he was an obsessive-compulsive mage?"
"Obsessive-compulsive? Is that some kind of illness? Huh, that name actually fits quite well. In any case, this