Minori recalled that when he had noticed two different scrolls for "Papermaking," he had deliberately questioned the member of the Magician's Guild about it.
Yet strangely—the guild staff had never once mentioned the existence of a second-level "Papermaking" technique.
Logically, there should have been no reason to conceal such a minor spell—after all, Papermaking had no combat applications whatsoever.
Minori narrowed his eyes slightly.
His gaze dropped to the scroll's identification information, lingering on the final line:
"Basic alchemical material."
He fell into thought.
—
The purpose of daily life magic was either to simplify living or to serve as a foundation for studying higher-tier magic.
If the "zero-level Papermaking" was purely a civilian craft,then the "first-level Papermaking" was likely intended for nobles and scholars,providing finer quality paper for important documents and books.
In fact—
the first-level Papermaking already produced paper comparable to the highest-quality parchment back in Minori's original world.
That should have been sufficient for almost every need.
Yet—
the people of this New World had painstakingly developed a second-tier Papermaking technique.
Why?
Minori's brows furrowed.
Such an advancement could not have been casual.
From a magical perspective, the effort required to develop a second-tier daily spell was immense.Anyone capable of achieving it would have been better served learning actual second-tier combat magic—or even progressing toward third-tier magic.
From a pragmatic standpoint, there was no reason to invest so much energy into mere papermaking.
Thus—
the only explanation was demand.
A specific, urgent, non-civilian demand.
Alchemical materials...
Minori thought carefully, but without more data, he couldn't draw a concrete conclusion.
He shook his head, shelving the mystery for later.
—
Suddenly—his eyes caught something unusual.
An "↑" symbol had appeared beside the magic names for both "Heating" and "Papermaking."
Minori stiffened.
"...What?"
Astonishment flared across his face.
According to YGGDRASIL mechanics:
Level 1–7 characters could only use first-tier magic.
Level 8–14 could access second-tier magic.
Currently, under the "Genius" class framework, Minori's effective caster level was equivalent to that of a user able to handle second-tier magic.
Yet here—
his zero-level spells showed signs of promotion.
After a moment's hesitation, Minori selected "Heating" and willed a skill point into it.
—A flash of system feedback.
Skill: Heating (Level 3)↑
MP Cost: 15
Description: Raises the contacted object's temperature up to 600°C within one minute. Instantaneous heating to 200°C is possible.
Minori remained frozen for several seconds.
He wasn't surprised by the increased power.
Rather—
he was stunned that the spell itself had ranked up.
He quickly spent another skill point.
Another promotion.
—
Skill: Heating (Level 4)
MP Cost: 20
Description: Raises the contacted object's temperature up to 1200°C within one minute. Instantaneous heating to 400°C is possible.
—
A sharp intake of breath escaped Minori.
1200°C.
That was already near the melting point of most metals—well beyond steel,approaching the temperatures of magma.
Even more frightening:
the spell could instantly raise an object's temperature to 400°C.
That level of heat could char flesh to ash in moments.
Minori's gaze dropped to the spell list.
This time—
there was no "↑" symbol anymore.
He exhaled slowly, fingers rubbing at his temples.
A realization unfolded in his mind.
—
The secret lay not in the individual spells—but in the calculation of his effective caster level.
Originally, he had assumed that the "Genius" class could only transform into various basic professions without inheriting their abilities.
Essentially a disguise mechanic.
But that assumption had been wrong.
The truth was far more terrifying.
The "Genius" class aggregated the levels of all its magic-related transformations.
—
Currently:
Magician 9th Level
Alchemist 9th Level
Pharmacist 9th Level
Total: 27 levels—all considered magic-related.
In YGGDRASIL, caster professions were grouped into four magic systems:
Arcane (magic system)
Divine (faith system)
Spiritual
Other systems
Each system calculated caster levels independently.
Thus, a character who had:
Magician 7LV + Priest 1LV
would technically have a total level 8,but their usable magic would be first-tier arcane and first-tier divine—not second-tier spells from either system.
Because of this, players typically specialized in a single system.
To cast tenth-tier magic, one needed to reach at least 64 levels within a system.
The remaining 36 levels of the 100-level cap wouldn't suffice to develop a second spell system.
However—
Minori's "Genius" class broke this limitation.
By stacking basic professions across the magic, faith, spirit, and other systems,he could reach high caster levels in multiple systems simultaneously.
In theory—
he could eventually max out four different magic systems.
A feat utterly impossible for any normal player or NPC.
Minori's lips curved into a rare, slight smile.
A weapon of enormous potential lay hidden within his grasp.
Even compared to the Supreme Beings of Nazarick,this was an advantage they had never conceived of.
Breathing out, Minori leaned back slightly.
His mind was already outlining future plans—
ways to exploit this hidden system,