“What do you mean that was cheese?” Elaine asked. “That looked like some sort of Earth spell to me.”

  Earth spell? Gouda did have some earthy tones to it, but that was only when it had been aged sufficiently. His young Gouda couldn’t possibly have developed enough of an earthy aroma for someone like Elaine to notice.

  “It’s not,” Colby said. “At least I don’t think so. That was just a piece of Gouda. You literally had a bite of it earlier.”

  “You’re telling me that a piece of cheese was strong enough to knock down a Thornwolf.”

  “It worked for Thornelius.”

  “There’s a difference between feeding a monster and hitting it really hard in the face, Colby.”

  “I know. It’s just… Even I don’t know what to make of this.”

  “I swear, Colby Tyro, if you're lying to me, you will regret it.”

  “I’m not. At least I don’t think I am. I just need some time to think. And maybe some Daisy Cow milk.”

  “We just got attacked by a bunch of rabid monsters, and Porter is hurt. Milk should be the last thing on your mind.”

  “I know, Laine. I know… It’s just that without the milk, I won't be able to figure out what the feta I just did.”

  “It’s no-biggie, Elaine,” Porter said weakly. “Colby can get his milk. I’m okay. I just need to lie down a bit.”

  “No, Port. You are not.”

  “I’m sorry, Porter. I really am,” Colby said. “But I need to do this. Elaine, please. Isn’t now the best time to see why those Thornwolves went all coo-coo?”

  She paused to think, emerald eyes boring deep into his brown ones, before she huffed. “Fine. I hate that you’re right. I hate it even more since it’s barely related to cheese. Ten minutes. That’s all I’m giving you. Any more and I’m grabbing you and carrying you home.”

  “Thank you, Laine. Thank you, Port.”

  Colby rushed off searching for the scattered Daisy Cows together with the Daisy Bull, who had done nothing but remain rooted in the ground during the duration of the battle. Upon noticing their savior—for real this time, not all the times he scammed them—they graciously gave him their white milk petals, refilling his supply of Daisy Cow milk.

  By the time he returned, the area had been cleared, with hardly a trace of Thornwolf left.

  “I thought you were investigating them. And I thought they were dead? Where did they go?”

  “I’m not good at these kinds of things, Colbs. It’s better if I bring it to someone who does.”

  “You put them in your Inventory? Aren’t they heavy?”

  “Yes, Colbs, they are. That’s why I’m glad I didn’t have to chase after you and haul you back.”

  “You’re welcome, Laine.”

  “Could you help support, Port?”

  “Sure, I’ll sup-port him.”

  Elaine groaned and walked off.

  “I thought it was funny.”

  “It was funny to me, Colby,” Porter said.

  “Thanks, Port.”

  Colby hauled Porter up with a grunt, steadying the shorter boy long enough for him to drape an arm around his shoulder. Together, leaves and twigs crunching under uneven steps, as they slowly made their way back to Brinebrook.

  Elaine, despite the burden of multiple Thornwolf carcasses, moved with surprising speed. She definitely still had the strength to move faster than this. The only reason she slowed was so that she wouldn’t leave him and Porter alone in a forest full of monsters.

  With a hand resting over her handle, she swiveled left and right towards the slightest noise. Something about the forest was off. It was more… lively. Things were definitely louder. Growls, snarls, and howls filled the normally tranquil space.

  Either that or the recent attack had made Colby more vigilant, albeit temporarily.

  The sounds dulled, becoming blocked out as he processed what had just occurred.

  By some miracle, he had managed to draw blood—and not with a red marker.

  How?

  [Hard as Cheese] had soared multiple levels, and [Cheese Shot] had leveled up as well, but was that really all there was to it?

  No, the difference was that he used aged cheese. They were typically harder than fresh cheeses, but young Gouda could hardly be considered hard, especially when compared to properly aged cheese. It was like comparing the hardness between clay and a brick, while mozzarella was like cotton.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Colby knew that aged cheese would open the floodgates, allowing him to reach heights that fresh cheeses could never reach, but that was only in terms of flavor, not power.

  It was cheese for Gouda’s sake.

  Although it took a whole slew of Core Constructs, a highly specialized Core Expansion, plenty of material resources, tons of Mana, and a large amount of time, all to produce a single wheel of young Gouda that had the same firepower as an Earth Elemental spell that most children could shape as they started to get the hang of casting.

  Dreams of exploring the world, slaying high-level monsters, and becoming famous flooded his mind. What kid didn’t have such lofty dreams? Most would earn a rude wakeup call as they learnt the realities of how treacherous the world truly was.

  Colby was no exception.

  But he had learnt it far earlier than most.

  Cheese was the only thing he could cast. What good was cheese in anything combat-related? It was cheese for feta’s sake. It took a lot of creativity for him to use cheese in forms other than for eating. Even then, they were nothing but cheap tricks.

  But now…After witnessing what a young Gouda could do, a small spark had been reignited, a quiet kindling that was thought to be long extinguished had been lit.

  Making the ultimate cheese would always be his dream, but now he wouldn’t be resigned to Brinebrook. It was now a little bit safer for him to travel past the safety of the little coastal town.

  He could witness what the vast land had to offer him. There were new ingredients, unique flavors, special techniques, and things he would never be able to experience in Brinebrook.

  This new development was definitely worth looking into.

  Eventually, they arrived back in Brinebrook. Instead of heading home, Colby followed Elaine toward the General Store. Inside, Mr. Goodsell sat at the register with his feet up on the desk and arms crossed. His focus was on the two little helpers.

  They were the red-haired noble, Helena, and the blue-haired, Noelle. Apparently, as part of their punishment, even with their noble status, they were forced to restock the shelves.

  They glared at Colby the moment he stepped in, but he had more important things to worry about, like why were they here at the General Store? Surely monsters being monsters wasn’t a serious enough problem to be reported to the General himself?

  The serious look on his wrinkled and scarred face as Elaine explained the situation said otherwise.

  Mr. Goodsell barked at Helena and Noelle, ordering them to carry Porter back to the Knight’s Base while he and Elaine headed for the opposite side of Brinebrook, towards The Arcanum.

  The situation apparently was more serious than Colby thought. But what could he do? He was just a cheesemaker. And now, he was going to make cheese with a serious punch to it.

  Colby sprinted home, explaining in jumbled-up and frantic detail about what happened in the forest to his parents.

  His mother rushed towards him, inspecting his entire body for any injuries that might have befallen him without his notice. “Are you hurt anywhere, Colby?”

  “I’m not, Mom. But don’t you see? Now you don’t have to constantly worry about me.”

  “I’m your mother. Of course, I’m always constantly worried about you.”

  “Okay, but now you can worry less. I have another way to defend myself. One that doesn’t involve cheap tricks.”

  “Technically, you can, Colby,” his father said. “But you mentioned it yourself. All of the resources required just for an equivalent to a basic [Rock Throw] isn’t the argument you think it is.”

  “I know, but it’s better than nothing, right?”

  “You’re right, but there’s a reason you don’t see people fighting using just cheese. It is just cheese after all, magical or not.”

  “I don’t plan to fight. It’s more like another way to defend myself. Only if I need to.”

  “As long as you know that. I don’t want you becoming overconfident and thinking you can take on the world with just cheese alone.”

  “Not with fighting, but with making everyone succumb to my flavors!”

  “That’s the Colby I know.”

  “Since your father has given his seal of cheesy approval, I recommend you try cheddar next.”

  “Cheddar? Why cheddar?”

  “It’s not fun to spoil the surprise.”

  “You can use the lard and the cheesecloth,” his father said.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, dear.” His mother rustled his hair. “But don’t go overboard, okay?”

  “Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad.”

  Colby grabbed the supplies from the kitchen and rushed up to his room. He ignored Thornelius’s and Brie’s calls to play and honed in on his Core, eager to start working on cheddar.

  The beginning was the same process as almost any other cheese. Heat milk, add culture powder, then rennet to coagulate. After the curds had formed, they were cut and slowly cooked. Once the whey had been drained, that was where the steps started to differ.

  It was time for the cheddaring phase.

  The curds within the fused Bowl-lander were cut up and pressed together into slabs, then stacked atop one another. Their combined weight forced more whey to be pushed out. Once drained, the slabs were cut apart again, re-slabbed, and restacked, repeating the process, expelling as much whey as possible.

  With so much whey squeezed out, the cheese would have a crumbly, dense, layered texture once it was done aging.

  This was what made cheddar cheddar.

  After cheddaring the cheese, the slabs were cut into tiny pieces. See-salt was sprinkled and thoroughly mixed in.

  A quick visit to Cheese Press and Colby came into possession of that iconic wheel of cheese. There was still one last step before he could begin aging.

  Unlike Gouda, which could develop a natural rind, cheddar was too dry. So, it had to be either waxed or wrapped. Doing so would protect the cheese and help it to develop as much flavor as cheese-sically possible.

  Fortunately, his parents were gracious enough to lend him the materials required to wrap the cheddar.

  With Stove’s help, he melted the lard until it was liquid. Using Curd-Cutter, because he didn’t have a brush, Colby layered the entire cheese in melted fat before wrapping it in cheesecloth, turning the white fabric translucent.

  Now it could be brought down to be aged by The Aging Book.

  The entire time, Colby had been pondering. Why cheddar?

  What did he know about cheddar?

  It was delicious for one. Both young cheddar and aged cheddar. Young cheddar was mild and creamy, while aged cheddar was nutty and sharp.

  Sharp?

  Of course!

  Sharp!

  What was the best way to defend oneself?

  With a sharp pointy thing!

  And with cheddar, he could have as many sharp, pointy things as he could desire!