Three days ago, Minori had already advanced his "Genius" passive ability to level eight.With this increase, his caster level had reached the threshold necessary for using second-tier magic.
In particular—he had finally acquired the second-tier spell he had long sought:[Item Appraisal].
However—
As expected, second-tier magic consumed significantly more magic power—10 MP per cast.
Given Minori's limited mana reserves, he could only cast a second-tier spell once per full recharge.Factoring in the natural speed of mana recovery, he could barely manage two casts per day.
Thus, it took him two days of painstaking effort to fully appraise the magic items he had previously obtained.
—
[Appraisal Results:]
Item: Magic Item – Armor – Guardian Necklace
Rank: Low (Level 1–10)
Effect: Minor magical properties
Passive:
"Minor Physical Resistance" (1 use/day): Negates one low-level physical attack.
Description: A protective necklace designed to resist melee attacks.
Item: Magic Item – Weapon – Mystical Staff
Rank: Low (Level 11–20)
Effect: Minor magical properties
Active:
"Defense Against Evil" (2 uses/day): Reduces necromantic magic damage by 10 points.
Passive:
MP Recovery +5%
Description: A basic staff likely crafted by a magician with animosity toward necromancers.
Item: Magic Item – Special Craft – Short Staff (Consumable)
Restrictions: Requires magic affinity and chant capability.
Effect:
"Silencer" (2/5 charges left): Suppresses all sounds within a 50-meter radius.
Item: Magic Item – Weapon – Mithril Dagger
Rank: Low (Level 11–20)
Effect: Piercing attribute enhanced.
Active:
The blade's tip can carry a "micro-paralysis" poison (user must manually apply toxin).
Passive:
Increases piercing damage by 10 points.
Description: A fine dagger crafted from mithril, ideal for swift, lethal thrusts.
After fully identifying these four items, Minori carefully considered their applications.
Except for the mithril dagger—which didn't suit his current combat style—the other three items were immediately usable.
Among them, the Mystical Staff stood out as the most valuable.
Even Minori was mildly surprised.
An MP regeneration boost, however minor, was exceedingly rare.
In YGGDRASIL, magic points were a caster's literal lifeblood.There were healing potions aplenty, but no such thing as an "MP potion".
Thus, any item that could hasten mana recovery was priceless.
By YGGDRASIL standards, an item of this kind would sell for at least 1,000 gold coins.
Another important discovery:
In YGGDRASIL, each class could only equip weapons and items specific to its role.
Even after Nazarick descended into this new world, those class restrictions still bound Ainz and the other denizens.
However—
The New World's native population had no such limitations.
Even a magic caster here could wield short swords, or even fire a bow.
The same applied to Minori.Thus, any "Class Restriction" identified by [Item Appraisal] merely reflected his own YGGDRASIL-born understanding—not an inviolable law of this world.
In other words—the appraisal's data depended on the user's cognition.
An extremely valuable insight.
Currently—
In addition to [Item Appraisal], Minori had successfully unlocked two other second-tier spells.
Specifically—
His previously mundane zero-level life magics had evolved.
When his caster level rose, the "↑" mark appeared again beside his "Heating" and "Papermaking" spells.
By consuming one skill point each, he promoted them.
The results:
—
Skill: Papermaking (Level 2)
MP Cost: 10
Description: Produces 700 sheets of high-quality, magically infused paper.
—
Skill: Heating (Level 2)
MP Cost: 10
Description: Heats a contacted object to 300°C within one minute.Immediate heating to 100°C upon contact.
—
The upgrades were substantial.
Especially "Heating."
Originally the most basic of life magics, it now possessed clear combat applications.
A temperature of 100°C was enough to inflict fatal burns on any unprotected human.
Although conventional second-tier offensive spells could inflict similar damage more efficiently,the key was scalability.
"Heating" was an everyday magic—thus, its use might slip past enemies who would otherwise guard against overt attack spells.
It offered strategic potential.
Minori's gaze sharpened.
Life magic was not part of YGGDRASIL's official magic system.
Thus, Nazarick held no countermeasures or data against it.
In other words—
He could wield powers unknown even to the Supreme Beings.
A hidden blade.
As for Papermaking,although the number of produced sheets had decreased from 800 to 700,the quality clearly improved.
Curious, Minori retrieved two sheets from his inventory:
One produced by first-tier Papermaking,
One by second-tier Papermaking.
Visually, they were similar—pure white, smooth.
However, under the sunlight, the second-tier paper gleamed faintly with a lustrous sheen.
"This gloss... It feels familiar," Minori muttered, frowning.
He couldn't quite place the memory.
Acting on instinct, he cast [Item Appraisal] on the new paper.
—
Item: Material – White Paper (Second Tier)
Rank: Lowest
Effect:
Infused with weak magic power.
Resistant to physical damage.
Inked words remain unchanged for one hundred years.
Classification: Alchemical material.
—
Minori's eyebrows lifted slightly.
"Words remain unchanged for a century..."
This wasn't ordinary stationery.It was a genuine magical material—highly sought after by scholars, nobles, and magicians.
Books written on such paper could last generations.
In fact—
He recalled hearing stories from mercenary teams like Rock about noble families that maintained ancient, pristine tomes.
That must have been thanks to similar materials.
Clearly, second-tier Papermaking magic already existed in this world.
However—
The E-Rantel Magician's Guild he visited only publicly sold scrolls for zero-tier and first-tier Papermaking.
Second-tier variants were either kept hidden or only available through private channels.
It had taken Minori revealing himself as a faith-type magic caster just to purchase the non-combat spell [Item Appraisal].