Before Colby could begin his explanation about how troops of [The Ricotta Army] were indeed cheese, the ground trembled.

  Walls of light surged up from the ocean. They curved upwards, interlocking with other emerging walls, sealing Brinebrook in a protective dome.

  “Looks like The Arcanist finally got that barrier up,” Elaine said.

  “About time,” Helena said, limping towards them, looking more drained than a sink.

  “Lena!” Noelle yelled, running forward to support her sister.

  “I’m fine, Elle. Just a bit drained. And you, peasant boy.” She shot him a fiery look. “Thanks.”

  “You are welcome.”

  “And are those things really cheese?” she asked, looking at [The Ricotta Army] now mourning the fallen, by burying them in the sand.

  “Yeah, they are. I—”

  Again, before he could begin his explanation, he was interrupted. Instead of the ground trembling and walls of light emerging, an old lady dressed in all red appeared, rising up from the sand, dusting herself off.

  Instantly, the three Knights-in-training bowed. “Good afternoon, Lady Morgan.”

  “Afternoon,” she said.

  “Hi, Ms. M,” Colby said. “Are you here for the regular? Sorry, could you just give me a moment? I’m feeling a bit pooped.”

  “And hello to you, too, little Colby,” she said. “I’m afraid I’m not here for your delicious chèvre. Actually, what are you doing here?”

  “Wrong place, wrong time.”

  Ms. M arched an eyebrow.

  She turned towards the Lobster Mobster. A pool of blue blood oozed out of its cheese-laden, ruined body, staining the sand around it. But that wasn’t what drew her attention.

  It was the ginger-cheese men.

  They stood atop the monster’s head, bent over, working together to wrestle the fedora between its eyestalks. They pulled at the rim to no avail, but they would stop at nothing to claim their trophy.

  “I’d beg to differ,” Ms. M said, a slight smile curving on her face.

  “You can just differ,” Colby said. “You don’t have to beg.”

  Everyone ignored him.

  Ms. M turned to Elaine. “You. Make sure little Colby gets home safe.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.” Elaine saluted.

  “And you two.” She glanced over at Helena and Noelle.” Retrieve the bullets. I’ll bring its body back for further study. Once that’s done, immediately seek medical aid.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” They saluted.

  Helena leaned on Noelle for support as they hobbled towards the nearest shelled bullet embedded in the sand. But before they could get too far away—which wasn’t really an issue—Thornelius bolted forward.

  The Thornwolf stopped by Noelle’s side, wiggling his leafy tush before leaping high up into the air. He could only reach her palm, but that was good enough. Thornelius hopped up and down, licking her hand, before letting out a satisfied bark and sprinting back over to Colby and Elaine.

  “What was that for?” Elaine asked.

  “I think that was a ‘thank you for looking after my master’ and a ‘sorry for attacking you’,” Colby said.

  “Or maybe he likes Noelle.”

  “Or maybe you can help me up.”

  Colby’s tush was still nestled in the sand. His legs were like jelly, but even jelly was more solid. They refused to work, no matter how much he willed them to move. Not even pounding his thighs senseless seemed to have an effect other than some self-inflicted misery.

  All of a sudden, he found himself rising, higher than ever before.

  His legs still weren’t working. Neither was he having a sudden growth spurt.

  Elaine picked him up, carrying him piggyback style.

  Was she taller?

  Must be a trick of the light.

  There was no way that she had gotten taller again. Nope. It was impossible.

  She lost the race to the cove, so she was the shortest. As long as they never had any sort of competition to reevaluate the hierarchy—the height-archy—she would remain like that.

  As Elaine carried him home, with Thornelius strutting proudly by her side, Colby noticed something.

  The streets were empty—even emptier than the new normal that came along with war. There was no one else around other than them. Doors were locked, and windows were boarded over. An eerie silence washed over the area, only broken by Elaine’s footsteps echoing along the cobbled streets.

  She wasn’t even panting.

  Here she was carrying him—an average height male—without even breaking a sweat. She didn’t even look winded.

  Nope. Again, that was impossible.

  A trick of the light and a trick of the wind.

  As he contemplated whether Elaine not sweating could technically be considered a trick of the nose, they finally arrived back at the shop.

  Unlike literally every other shop, the cheeseshop was still open. Its front windows were crystal clear with nary a board in sight. It stood out in the sea of cobblestone buildings marked with sporadic wooden accents.

  The moment they entered, chairs scraped, and feet pounded.

  Jack and Pepper, Colby’s parents, rushed forward. They didn’t even give Elaine a chance to put him down before embracing him. From his vantage point, apart from Elaine’s awkward expression, he could see the counter and behind it, the ‘Employee Only’ door. It promptly burst open, slamming against the wall. Loud thumps thudded against the floor, followed by a shrill voice.

  “Broby!”

  Brie had her arms raised up and tears in her eyes as she ran. She wrapped herself around Elaine’s legs—the closest thing to Colby that she could reach.

  “Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. Hi, Brie. I’m home.”

  After being placed down, they had a proper family hug—one that included Thornelius—while Elaine stood to the side, awkwardly rubbing her shoulder.

  “Where have you been?” his mother asked. “Are you hurt?”

  “No, I’m Colby.”

  “That’s a relief,” she sighed. “But seriously. Where were you?”

  Colby began to explain everything that had happened. Of course, leaving out the houndish nature of Farmer Hound. He was already on his bad side, and things might’ve gotten worse after—either that or he had a terrible read on people.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  At the end of the story, Brie was crying with a huge smile on her face. She didn’t know whether to be scared that her brother did something so scary or amazed that her brother was so awesome.

  Thornelius went up to her side, nuzzling her, while Jack hugged her.

  Like Brie, their mother was conflicted.

  “You… I… Why?” she stuttered out.

  “Why what?”

  “I just… I need some time to process everything.”

  “Good, because I need some time to rest.”

  Colby’s legs gave out as he crashed onto the wooden floor. It was nowhere near as soft as sand, and he felt it in his bum.

  Pepper turned to Elaine, looking up at her. “Elaine. Please tell me that Colby was lying or even greatly exaggerating.”

  She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Tyro. He did run back in like an idiot. But he wasn’t stupid. It greatly sped up our fight against the Lobster Mobster.”

  “Oh, for Gouda’s sake. This is all my fault.”

  “What do you mean, it's your fault, Mom?” Colby asked. “You didn’t make me go back to help Laine. I did.”

  “If I hadn’t allowed you to start getting ingredients by yourself, this never would’ve happened. You wouldn’t be so overconfident in your cheese. You would’ve run away just like Elaine told you to.”

  “Counterpoint. Without that, my [Cheesemaking] wouldn’t have progressed so fast. I mean, just look at this.”

  Two ginger-cheese men materialized on his shoulders. They each held a toothpick-sized [Cheese With An Edge] that they swung around, showcasing their martial prowess—or lack thereof.

  “I know!” his mother yelled. “Which is also why I’m glad that it happened. Gouda, I’m a terrible mother.”

  Elaine placed a hand on Pepper’s shoulder. “Mrs. Tyro, take it from me. You’re a great mother.”

  “Thank you, Elaine.”

  After tons more comforting, hugs, and reassurance, Elaine left to continue her duties as a Knight-in-training.

  While his parents took the two ginger-cheese men to inspect Colby’s latest cheesy accomplishments, he washed up and took a much-deserved rest.

  Lying on his bed, he turned towards the window to stare at the clouds going by. Except all he found was wooden boards obstructing his view.

  That was annoying.

  The moment the barrier went up, so did the boards. And it was all because monsters started going crazy. Not all of them, but enough to cause a massive stir. Whether it was related to the war with Endruma was anyone’s guess, though not like finding someone to blame would change the situation.

  Now, with the barrier up, there was no way his parents would let him out of town. And with that, his ability to scam monsters for their milk.

  He still had some milk, though not enough for his usual cheesy tendencies. Hopefully, things would settle down soon before he went crazy from the lack of cheese time.

  For now, he could just work on trying to improve The Aging Book, something that required more thought than cheese at the moment—also because his plan to perfect Elaine’s gift was ruined due to the lack of Su-sheep milk after spending it all against the Lobster Mobster.

  Maybe he could take inspiration from [The Ricotta Army].

  As doubtful as Elaine and Helena were, there was zero doubt that the ginger-cheese men were cheese.

  Through tons of weird intent making, he had somehow created golems. And as far as he knew—which wasn’t a lot?—that was an advanced form of Mana manipulation.

  Yet, somehow he—the guy who struggled with even the most basic of spells—had managed to accomplish such a feat.

  And that was with the help of Temp-tation.

  What if she were the solution to his problems? If she could influence cheese to come to life to do her bidding, maybe she could influence The Aging Book?

  Back in his Core, Colby made a single wheel of Gouda before gathering all of the mobile and movable Core Constructs down to the aging-cave cellar mix.

  They gathered around The Aging Book for another scrapbook session, and Temp-tation had the best seat in the house, the front row.

  “Work your magic, Temp,” Colby whispered.

  As they flipped through the pages, going through special moments in the Gouda’s lives, Temp-tation stroked her body. She twisted it, moving it in a seductive manner that entranced not just The Aging Book but all of the Core Constructs as well.

  Another flip of The Aging Book and the Core trembled.

  Tons of Mana, nearly his entire reserves, were sucked into the scrapbook.

  And the result? The Gouda had been aged up by roughly an hour.

  This was the exact opposite of what he hoped to happen.

  Temp-tation made the Mana cost worse. And even reduced The Aging Book’s effectiveness.

  Colby grabbed the sultry glass thermometer and placed herself at the back of the group. As long as everyone’s focus was on The Aging Book, this shouldn’t happen again. And the best way to ensure that Temp-tation was included in the fun was by having her stand at the back—much to her annoyance.

  That plan was a bust.

  There was something he was missing. He wasn’t utilizing The Aging Book to its fullest potential. Yet, no matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t come up with anything.

  Now, he couldn’t even walk outside to get some inspiration.

  It had been a couple of days since the monsters went wild around Brinebrook. The reason was still unknown, though rumours about how it was a new super weapon by Endruma circulated through closed doors.

  Colby didn’t really care about that. All he cared about was improving his cheese.

  He stared at the ceiling, trying his best to figure out the best way to improve The Aging Book. What sort of intent could he channel through it?

  Maybe his mother was on to something when she mentioned she used torture. With torture, you didn’t need convoluted intent. You could just force everything to bend to your will.

  Was he desperate enough to try that?

  Not yet.

  If the wooden ceiling didn’t provide much inspiration, what about a change of scenery?

  Colby turned around and watched Brie playing with Thornelius.

  They were on the floor at the foot of her bed. She raised her hands up like little bear claws and made a little roar at Thornelius and the two ginger-cheese men from [The Ricotta Army] that their parents had taken for an inspection. Their conclusion?

  It was cheese, an advanced form of cheese magic, but cheese nonetheless. Brie pretended to be a monster, attacking Thornelius and the ginger-cheese men as they played with her.

  A knock on the door interrupted the scene.

  It was their father, Jack.

  “Hi, daddy.” Brie waved before gasping. “I mean. Roar.”

  “Ah! It’s the big, scary cheese puff! Don’t hurt me.”

  “Roar!” she yelled, running up to him and hugging his leg.

  “Oh no! I’m hurt.” He stuck out his hand. “Colby, save me.”

  Brie gasped again, releasing her clutch. “Daddy, are you okay?”

  “I am, Brie.” He rubbed her head. “I can’t play right now. I actually need to talk to Colby about something.”

  “Can I know?”

  “Only if the big cheese puff can beat the two brave cheese knights and the mighty Thornwolf.”

  “I can!” She puffed out her chest before running and hugging Thornelius in a death grip that also coupled as a loving hug.

  While they continued to play, Colby spoke to his father.

  “What is it, Dad? Is the barrier finally down?”

  “Unfortunately, no. It’s about Farmer Hound.”

  “That’s even worse.”

  “It’s actually not. He says he needs your help. And Mom won’t let you go out alone anymore, so I’m here to bring you to him.”

  “Can I not?”

  “I have a feeling you’ll regret it if you don’t.”

  “I have a feeling I’ll regret it if I do.”

  Colby lost the argument and was forced down to the beach by his father. There, he saw Farmer Hound along with the herd of Su-sheep that had been chased by the Lobster Mobster.

  “Good to see you, Jack,” Farmer Hound said, shaking his hand.“Things still alright?”

  “Could be better.”

  “They always can. What did you need Colby for?”

  “It’s more for them.” Farmer Hound nodded at the Su-sheep. “That Lobster Mobster scared the rice out of them. Now, they’re too scared to go back into the sea. They saw the fight, I figured that seeing your kid might give them the stones to get back into the water.”

  Was that really a bad thing?

  Su-sheep on land meant they were easier to milk. Which meant he could make as much traditional halloumi and subsequently, anari as he wanted.

  And Colby just remembered why that was a bad thing.

  If they stayed out for too long, their rice coatings would be damaged. Specifically, the colorful parts that made them look like sushi.

  It was something to do with symbiosis. Basically, tiny little organisms lived in the rice coatings, giving them their unique look. Sometimes, these were passed down by offspring. Most of the time, they sought them out in the environment.

  And that was why Farmer Hound didn’t want Thornelius near them.

  Some of the young Su-sheep still had plain rice coatings. Seeing a Thornwolf might throw them off, causing them to choose properties that were incompatible with the sea.

  It was that compatibility that determined how they would grow up.

  And that sparked an idea in Colby’s mind.

  Maybe he hadn’t been utilizing the Core Expansion and The Aging Book to its fullest potential.