Flaming Cheese. That was his only way to actually utilize the fire—in theory, anyway.

  Flaming Cheese, otherwise known as Flaming Saganaki, was actually a dish. He was interested in making cheese, not cheese dishes. Still, this should technically fall into his specialty of cheese. It was literally just fried cheese on fire.

  His mother had made it before, so he roughly knew the steps required. They were: make cheese, set it on fire, and put out the fire with a spritz of lemon. For obvious reasons, he would be skipping step three.

  Time to see whether this would work. If it didn’t work, it meant that he literally couldn’t see.

  Closing his eyes, Colby honed in on his Core.

  It had been a while since he had a proper cheesemaking session, but right now, he didn’t have all the necessary ingredients to make cheese. He was fairly certain his parents wouldn’t mind if he continued to skimp on their resources for just a tad bit more. He’d make it up to them by not using their ingredients to make his cheese for say… the next month?

  Inside his Core, his Core Constructs did what they always did during their downtime, Rock-Paper-Scissors—well, most of them anyway. The Cheesetastic Fridge was chilling in the corner, and Cheese Press still trembled in fear. Stove was banned from playing because he would literally get too heated up otherwise. Meanwhile, Smart Waiter found such activities beneath him—also because he kept winning.

  Colby stopped the duel between Cheese Bowl and Temp-tation, grabbing everyone’s attention.

  “Okay, guys. I know you’re all sick of just making mozzarella. I am too.”

  All of his Core Constructs—ones with those noodle-like limbs anyway—stuck them out to the side and ripples of arm waves. It was their way of shouting, “Yes, we are!”

  “Good! Because today we’re making halloumi!”

  They waved their arms in unison, practically vibrating with excitement. It was their way of cheering, “Yay!”

  Like mozzarella, halloumi was a fresh cheese—meaning one that’s not aged. Unlike mozzarella, it possessed a high melting point, which made it perfect for grilling, frying, or being lit on fire.

  Traditionally, halloumi was made using a mix of goat’s milk and sheep’s milk—Skate Goat milk and Su-Sheep milk in his case—but it was also possible to be made using cow’s milk.

  That was what he was going to be attempting.

  From The Cheesetastic Fridge, he grabbed a bottle of Daisy Cow milk that he had self-harvested. The milk itself was serviceable, not the truly high-quality Daisy Cow milk that he was used to, but it was good enough—especially since the cheese wasn’t going near anyone’s mouth.

  Then again, if this did blow up spectacularly in his face. He didn’t want to waste any precious cheese, especially if it was edible.

  But right now, nothing he made with his self-harvested Daisy Cow milk was safe for human consumption. Raw milk from wild monsters wasn't exactly the cleanest. They were filled with all sorts of gross bacteria that may or may not get a person sick—and he did not want that on his conscience. Neither did he want to be sick.

  Good thing there was an easy way to deal with this issue.

  He just had to pasteurize it.

  He poured the bottles of Daisy Cow milk into Pottingham. Then, with the help of Temp-tation to measure the temperature and control Stove, he allowed the milk to slowly heat up.

  While it warmed up, Colby grabbed Cheese Bowl and walked back over to The Cheesetastic Fridge. Opening the top compartment—the small freezer section—a cool chill washed over him as he reached for the ice tray.

  “Sorry about this,” he said, looking down at Cheese Bowl.

  “You owe me,” signed Cheese Bowl.

  Colby dunked the ice from the tray into the glass bowl. The Core Construct immediately shivered from the frosty shock, the ice within rattling with every move.

  A single batch of ice wasn’t enough, so he slid the empty tray back into The Cheesetastic Fridge. He brought the Cheese Bowl close to his chest, sharing some of his warmth and soothing the construct's tremors—albeit slightly. After a short wait, he opened the freezer door once more.

  The tray had been miraculously refilled with ice, despite never adding a drop of water. It was a result of his horrible understanding of fridges—the one in their kitchen—when he first created the Core Construct.

  Back then, whenever he took ice from the tray, he never filled it back up with water and simply shoved it back in. And the next time he went to grab ice, it had been miraculously replenished. That logic had transferred over into The Cheesestastic Fridge when he made the Core Construct.

  Turns out that was not how fridges worked. He was just a selfish kid who had really loving and patient parents. Now, each time he took some ice out of the freezer, he made sure to fill the tray back up with water.

  Good thing he was a dumb kid, because it saved him from creating a sink Core Construct, just to produce water to freeze into ice.

  He grabbed the ice tray and dunked the cubes into the shivering Cheese Bowl.

  Congratulations! The Cheesetastic Fridge has reached Level 8!

  “Thanks,” he said, closing the door and rubbing the side of The Cheesestastic Fridge.

  Colby moved back over to Stove, placing Cheese Bowl down on his top. There weren’t any puffs of annoyed flames this time around. Temp-tation had managed to control the Core Construct, rubbing her hands all over his knob.

  Cheese-lander rushed forward and wrapped his plastic hands around Cheese Bowl, trying his darndest to warm him up. All it did was make both of them shiver. Now everyone had to deal with the clinking of ice and the clanking of a plastic colander bumping into a glass bowl.

  Colby just ignored it, instead turning his attention to the glass thermometer Core Construct. “What’s the temp, Temp?”

  “150°F” Temp-tation signed with those noodle-like arms of hers.

  “Great. Once it hits 162 °F, cut the fire and hold for fifteen seconds, then let me know.”

  Temp-tation nodded before going back to controlling Stove and his flames.

  As the milk continued to heat up, he stared at the trembling Cheese Press in the corner. That Core Construct was still filled with fear, even after so many days. How could he help him? But before Colby could continue pondering, something tapped his arm.

  It was Temp-tation, telling him that those fifteen seconds were up.

  “Thanks, Temp,” he said, before looking at Pottingham.

  Once those fifteen seconds were up, he asked Pottingham, “Do you think you can move over by yourself?”

  A small gurgle of milk bubbled up. That was his way of saying, “Fine.”

  Pottingham stood up from the burner, waddling over to Cheese Bowl with those noodle-like metallic legs of his. Cheese-lander let go and patted his friend good luck before taking a step back.

  The metal pot approached the shivering glass bowl, staring at the melting ice. With one long sigh—a flop of his noodle-like arms—he lifted a leg and dipped it into the cold bath of half-melted ice and near-freezing water. Pottingham shivered, the milk within him rippling back and forth.

  “No spilling, please,” Colby said.

  Pottingham nodded. He grabbed Cheese Bowl’s rim and braced himself before lifting up his other leg and easing himself into the ice-filled bowl.

  The pot shivered from the shocking cold, while Cheese Bowl relaxed, arms drooping to the side as he enjoyed Pottingham’s warmth. The ice fizzled away, melting into water as the milk within Pottingham was slowly cooled.

  Once the milk was cooled enough, he grabbed some empty, clean glass bottles and transferred the milk into them.

  This should be enough pasteurized milk to make halloumi. And if it wasn’t, Cheese Bowl and Pottingham would make their grievances known.

  The beginning steps of making halloumi were similar to that of mozzarella.

  Dump milk into Pottingham, while leaving just a sliver behind to pacify him. Then, heat it up using Stove’s flames. And if the Core Construct was feeling rebellious, call in Temp-tation to persuade him.

  If he wasn’t, wait until the milk was at the right temperature—again by using Temp-tation. After that, add a couple drops of parent-owned rennet, stir, then wait for the milk to coagulate—once again, Temp-tation helped to speed up this process.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Once the curds were nice and firm, it was time for Curd-Cutter’s favorite activity. Grabbing the knife, he cut the curds into even-sized cubes before telling Temp-tation to tell Stove to slowly raise the temperature, and for Pottingham to start gently stirring.

  This was where things started to differ between mozzarella and halloumi. The most important part about making halloumi was to cook it in its own whey, unlike mozzarella, where you simply drained the whey and kneaded the curds into submission.

  Colby looked at Cheese Bowl. The cold water within him had been cleared, and he was ready for action.

  Cheese Bowl and Cheese-lander bent towards each other, noodle-like limbs touching. A flash of light burst between them, and they had fused into the mighty Bowl-lander. With the combined strength of two Core Constructs, they lifted Pottingham into the air and poured his contents into themselves. Pottingham responded by flailing his arms and legs in the air. It was such a routine that nobody paid him any mind. A simple drop of apology milk, and he was back to normal.

  After all of that effort, he still had to get the whey back inside Pottingham.

  Colby picked up Bowl-lander and hovered the fusion of bowl and colander over the metal pot. This was his least favorite part of making halloumi. And if any customers saw this, they’d probably wouldn’t want cheese from him ever again.

  As the whey was being drained and separated from the curds, it didn’t just magically vanish. A hidden slot opened up on Bowl-lander’s glass bottom. Whitish-yellowish liquid drained out of them and splashed into the pot. A sharp hiss filled the awkward silence as Colby stared at Bowl-lander and Bowl-lander stared back. He had definitely made things even more awkward by doing this.

  The sound tapered off into scattered drips that eventually faded into silence. Though just for good measure, he gently shook Bowl-lander up and down, making sure that every last drop had been drained from them.

  Now that the whey was back inside Pottingham, much to his annoyance, it could be slowly heated up while he let the dry curds be consolidated—that was just a fancy way of saying all of the loose curds fused into a single solid block. An easy way to speed things up was to add a little bit of pressure.

  Colby placed his hand inside of Bowl-lander, feeling the soft, gooey curds, and applied a tiny bit of force. In regular intervals, Bowl-lander would flip the curds around, allowing them to form a well-consolidated cheese.

  While the curds were consolidating, Colby turned his attention back to the whey within Pottingham.

  There was another cheese he could make right now. It would have nothing to do with lighting up the cave, but cheese was cheese, and boy did he love it.

  Colby tossed a small amount of citric acid powder into the whey, watching it dissolve within the swirling mixture. Then, he grabbed that brand new bag of see-salt and sprinkled some in. Lastly, he added more Daisy Cow milk, much to the delight of Pottingham.

  Once again, it was time to play the waiting game.

  After a quick visit to the cave-cellar expansion where the Gouda was aging nicely—albeit too slow for his taste—he resurfaced and checked up on Pottingham.

  Gloopy chunks of white, curds, had started to form. Pottingham stopped stirring, the whirlpool of yellowish-white liquid dissipating. Slowly, those lumps of curds began to rise to the top. Now all that’s left was to skim those curds off and let them drain.

  One small problem, Bowl-lander was currently full. There was nothing else he could use to drain off that excess whey. Well, almost no one.

  Cheese Press had a mold with small perforations all around it. It wouldn’t be as good as using Bowl-lander, but it was good enough for him.

  Colby walked up to Cheese Press; the wooden Core Construct trembled even more with every step he took.

  “Hi, there,” he said.

  Cheese Press shut his eyes, unwilling to look at Colby.

  “I need your help.”

  The only response he received was more trembling.

  Colby sighed. He didn’t exactly like forcing his Core Constructs around, but what choice did he have? Sooner or later, Cheese Press had to come around. At least this way, he could show the Core Construct that he meant no harm.

  “I’m just going to borrow your mold, okay?”

  Still more trembling.

  Colby bent down and removed the plastic circular mold from the wooden frame. Noodle-like arms sprouted out of it, signing, “P-please don’t hurt me.”

  “I won’t,” Colby said. “I just need your help to make cheese.”

  He walked back over to Pottingham, where even more curds had risen to the surface. Curd-Cutter stood next to the pot, arms behind his back and looking around, pretending that he had no ulterior motive for being there.

  “Sorry, Curd-Cutter. These curds don’t need any cutting.”

  The knife Core Construct sagged, its metal blade dipped low as it slunked away from Pottingham.

  Colby dunked the mold into Pottingham, using it to scoop up all of the delicious curds that had formed. When he lifted it back up, the noodle-like hands spazzed out in a frenzy of indecipherable words. But there was still a bit more curds within Pottingham, so Colby dunked the mold back into the whey, skimming off the final dredges of curds into the mold.

  Whey dripped out of the tiny holes in the mold, back into Pottingham. Colby rushed back to the wooden frame in the corner, placing the mold back into position and making Cheese Press whole. More whey dripped out, but this time into the collection pan specifically set up for it.

  Cheese Press threw his arms around in a spastic frenzy as he continued to tremble. As long as he didn’t knock the curds out of the mold, Colby could leave the Core Construct be. Once all of the whey had been fully drained, he would have a delicious batch of Ricotta to do something with. No idea what, but that was a problem for future him.

  Another problem for future him would be to figure out what was up with Cheese Press and what he was trying to say.

  Future him still had more issues to tackle, like cleaning up the spilled drops of whey on the floor. In hindsight, he should’ve just brought Cheese Press closer instead of running back and forth, dripping whey everywhere.

  Now, present him could finally go back to the mission at hand.

  The whey within Pottingham was now nice and clear, with not a single ounce of cloudiness in sight. And the curds within Bowl-lander had consolidated into a firm whitish-yellow disk of cheese roughly two inches thick.

  This was the most important step. It was what made halloumi, halloumi.

  Colby lowered the cheese into the whey, letting it sink to the bottom. In a non-Core setting, he’d have to place something like a ladle or a strainer beneath it to prevent the cheese from sticking to the pot. But Pottingham was extremely particular. The only thing sticking to him was delicious droplets of milk.

  As the cheese cooked in the whey, Colby turned just in time to see Bowl-lander unfuse. The glass bowl at the bottom used its noodle-like hands to lift the plastic colander off it before placing it down, right next to it.

  Satisfied with a job well done, Cheese Bowl and Cheese-lander shook hands with each other, glass and plastic noodle-like hands intertwined.

  They immediately shifted into a fighting stance. Their bodies bounced up and down as they prepared to fight. They threw a fist at each other, stopping an inch before their hands collided.

  Rock.

  It was a draw.

  Maybe the next Core Construct he developed, he’d give them proper fingers instead of just round noodle nubs.

  Colby watched the two Core Constructs duke it out. Curd-Cutter and Temp-tation spectated as well, cheering them on.

  Time sure flies when you’re watching two Core Constructs perform the same action over and over and over again.

  Finally, the cheese had floated to the surface.

  The halloumi was done.

  Sick of the disgusting solid inside of him, Pottingham spat the finished piece of halloumi into the air.

  “Bowl!” Colby shouted.

  Cheese Bowl ceased his duel with Cheese-lander. He didn’t even need to turn to see what was happening behind him—perks of being made of glass. Cheese Bowl leaped into the air, and the piece of cheese slammed into him before he dropped into a perfect landing.

  He stretched out his hands and bowed, while the other Core Constructs applauded the amazing display.

  “Good job, Cheese Bowl,” Colby said, giving him his own rousing applause before grabbing the almost finished piece of halloumi out of him. “And could you guys help drain Pottingham? Thanks.”

  Cheese Bowl and Cheese-lander slowly turned towards each other. They drew back their limbs and threw them. They were fighting to see who would have to drain Pottingham. Colby rolled his eyes. They’d be at this for eternity.

  “Both of you,” he said.

  Cheese Bowl and Cheese-lander threw up their hands in frustration before stomping towards Pottingham.

  While they did that, he would be putting the finishing touches on the halloumi. Right now, it was disc-shaped, perfect for being served in a pan—not perfect if he only had a hand.

  With gentle care, he gripped the halloumi with both hands. His palms pressed in, slowly stretching and shaping the circular piece of cheese, taking extra care not to crumble its delicate structure. Bit by bit, shape by shape, the cheese was compressed, becoming thinner, yet taller at the same time.

  It was like watching a fat and chubby kid suddenly lose all of that baby fat and shoot up into a tower.

  Colby had transformed the short, coin-shaped halloumi into a tall cylinder, perfect for holding in his hand. In other words, he had made a torch.

  Though the cheese was going nowhere near anyone’s mouth, Colby grabbed a pinch of see-salt from the bags that Farmer Hound had generously given to him to keep his mouth shut, sprinkling them over one side of the cheese cylinder.

  Finally, the halloumi was complete.

  Unfortunately, the spell wasn’t.

  He had only finished the base component of the spell. Now, he had to light it on fire. Which, therein lay the problem.

  Fire was easy. There was Stove.

  Keeping the flames lit was not.

  For Flaming Saganaki, normally alcohol was used to keep the fire alight. But given that he was still a minor, alcohol wasn’t something he had ready access to.

  Maybe he should’ve put in a tad more thought into this plan.

  In his defense, he had been too excited about finishing his ingredient hunt and even more excited about finally having an excuse to test this ridiculous theory out.

  But instead of wasting time coming up with excuses for his mistakes, he would put that energy into coming up with a solution.

  And he would put in even more energy to make sure that it would work with his oddly cheese-specific skillset.

  So, what could he use to substitute alcohol?

  Colby’s eyes travelled all around his Core, searching for inspiration.

  What about milk? It was a liquid, and so was alcohol. Yeah, that was a stupid idea. It should never have left the confines of his brain.

  Could Curd-Cutter do something about it? He was the most versatile Core Construct, doing more than his name implied. The knife could ‘cut weight’ and ‘cut the fluff’ for curd's sake. Though right now, he couldn’t come up with a single thing for it to cut that would make cheese, or even milk, flammable.

  But before he delved into even weirder ideas, he should address the obvious.

  Stove.