To become eligible to learn new higher level spells for your class, you have to 
meet 2 requirements: 1) minimum level in *THAT* class (not overall), and 2) 
minimum skill, for *THAT* spell's spellbook & realm. 

1) Minimum Level requirement: 

Pure Caster Classes: Mage, Priest, Psionic, Alchemist, Bishop 
Hybrid Caster Classes: Monk, Ninja, Ranger, Samurai, Lord, Valkyrie 

Spell Level .... Min. Class Level 
................. PURE .. HYBRID 
1 ................ 1 ....... 5 
2 ................ 3 ....... 7 
3 ................ 5 ....... 9 
4 ................ 8 ...... 12 
5 ............... 11 ...... 15 
6 ............... 14 ...... 18 
7 ............... 18 ...... 22 


2) Minimum Skill Requirement 

To calculate your effective skill level for a given spell: 
* Take your highest spellbook skill (Wizardry, Divinity, Psionics, Alchemy) that 
the spell in question appears in. Important for bishops or class-changed 
characters, since many spells appear in multiple books. 
* Add 10% of your *natural* skill in that spell's realm. This doesn't include 
temporary skill bonuses such as those from iems. 

Spell Level ..... Min. Effective Skill Level 
1 .................. 0 
2 .................. 15 
3 .................. 30 
4 .................. 45 
5 .................. 60 
6 .................. 75 
7 .................. 90 

It's not as complicated as it sounds. Example: A mage, a pure caster, must be 
level 5 AND have an effective skill of 30 to learn Fireball, a third level Fire 
realm Mage spell. If he has 30+ skill in Wizardry, he's all set. He could also 
qualify if he has, say 28 in Wizardry and 20+ in Fire skill (10% rule).