"No, no, of course not." Leven smiled. "If it had been a kobold with an official Challenge Level—even Level 1—we wouldn't have been able to dodge that fireball just now."
Gauss felt a little disappointed.
He'd thought he had just killed a monster with a Challenge Level.
But then he thought it over. The Monster Codex had also listed the one before them as an ordinary kobold, which meant it still lacked the strength to break out of its tier.
"We've encountered a few monsters with weak spellcasting abilities on past jobs, too. Some use items, while others rely on mutated organs in their bodies to wield powers that aren't their own," Leven continued. "Generally speaking, they can be a little troublesome, but they're not impossible to deal with."
His strength might have been far below Gauss's now, but when it came to adventuring experience, he had far more.
He was happy to share what he knew with Gauss.
It was hardly rare information, but it could earn him the goodwill of a future Spellcaster. Anyone would make the sensible choice.
"That explains it," Gauss said thoughtfully.
No wonder he hadn't sensed any obvious magical fluctuations. It seemed the elderly kobold had used a mutated organ to release its fireball.
He recalled how the elderly kobold had instantly grown frail after successfully unleashing its fire-breath attack for the first time. That must have been the price it paid for using its power.
Magic really was a fearsome force.
Even a kobold, after barely managing to master a shoddy spell, could threaten the safety of an entire squad with a sneak attack.
Of course, he also had to remember that spellcasting professions were quite fragile.
Once an enemy got close, a single sword thrust would easily kill this elderly kobold. Given