Now that things were slowly settling back to relatively normal, he could focus his attention on perfecting the flavored cheese that not even his mother had come up with: candied ginger mixed with cheese.

  Butterfly Ginger mixed with mozzarella was indeed delicious; however, his cheese senses were telling him that instead of mozzarella, chèvre would be a more suitable pairing to really take advantage of the natural sweetness that Butterfly Gingers possessed.

  Alternatively, if he wanted to utilize Shell Ginger, its inherent saltiness would synergize and enhance cheese made using Su-Sheep milk—a monster that inhabited both the ocean and land.

  However, Su-Sheep milk was expensive, primarily because of the difficulty required to collect their milk, even if they were domesticated.

  Although Skate Goat milk was cheaper, it’s not like he had the funds to procure them. So, this little bit of decision-making was inherently pointless.

  Maybe he could try and lightly blackmail—gray-mail—Farmer Hound for some free Skate Goat and Su-Sheep milk. Would it work? Highly unlikely. But he would be a fool not to try.

  And now that he had successfully defeated a Knight-in-training, one from the noble class no less, Farmer Hound didn’t seem that intimidating.

  After a good night’s rest, waking up bright and early and letting his parents know of his plans, Colby walked to the beach, with Thornelius happily accompanying him.

  Along the coast, he spotted the glass fences of the See-Star pens. As usual, performers acted out tear-jerking plays on the wooden stage, while farmers harvested the salty nectar from the See-Stars.

  Farmer Hound was carrying a bucket of tears, hauling the precious nectar to the large warehouse in the middle of the beach—where they evaporated away the water, leaving behind pure see-salt.

  Colby sprinted up to the thankfully not that hairy farmer, asking, “Say, Farmer Hound. Can I get some Skate Goat milk and Su-Sheep milk?”

  The farmer paused in his tracks and gave Colby a long, judgmental look. “Depends. Are you going to pay?”

  “Well, I was just thinking…Maybe all of that Daisy Cow milk wasn’t milky enough, and see-salt not salty enough to keep me quiet.”

  “Are you trying to blackmail me?” he growled.

  Farmer Hound pulled back his lips, flashing his teeth. They slowly lengthened, sharpening into canines that rivaled—no, surpassed Thornelius’s. The Thornwolf beside Colby began to tremble in place, leaves shedding onto the sand below.

  Maybe his confidence had been misplaced. This was infinitely worse than a duel against a Knight-in-training.

  Colby gulped, “Is it working?”

  “No,” Farmer Hound growled. “And if you try this again, I will not hesitate to make you disappear. Even if you’re Jack’s kid.”

  “Try this again? Me? What? This was just a joke. A really bad joke. I wasn’t trying to black, gray, or even white-mail you or anything like that. I was just trying to make you laugh. I guess I need to work on my comedic timing a bit more. Oh, look at the time,” Colby said, glancing down at his barren wrist. “I actually have an appointment with my cheese-dresser. It’s like a hairdresser but for cheese. I don’t want to be late, so I’ll be seeing you. Bye.”

  Colby picked up Thornelius and sprinted away, ignoring the blatant stares from the other farmers within the See-Star pens. Though they tried their best to hide it, Colby managed to catch a glimpse of a whistle, muzzle, leash, and catchpole.

  His throat tightened. He swallowed hard, forcing the saliva down. Looks like he had successfully managed to avoid a Code Hound—just barely.

  Well, there went that plan of gray-mailing Farmer Hound for some milk.

  Colby sighed. It was another trip out of Brinebrook and into the forest once more. And since he was there, might as well stock up on some Daisy Cow milk.

  After a quick fake saving the Daisy Cows and Daisy Bull from the evil and treacherous Thornelius the Thornwolf, he had received plenty of decent quality milk from the gracious Daisy Cows.

  Now, he just had to find some Skate Goats. It shouldn’t be that hard; all he had to do was keep an eye out for some goats skating. And with Thornelius with him, it should be relatively fast. He was part plant, but he was also part wolf. That nose of his would surely be useful for tracking down some skating goats.

  “Hey, Thornelius. Do you think you can sniff out some Skate Goats?”

  The Thornwolf barked, lolling his tongue out and wagging his tail.

  “Is that a yes?”

  Thornelius barked again and tilted his head to the side.

  Colby sighed.

  It was back to the tried and true method of walking around and keeping your eyes more peeled than a banana for some skating goats.

  He chose a random direction and started walking, Thornelius strolling by his side. Somehow, he managed to go in one big circle, encountering the same herd of Daisy Cows that he had scammed—saved.

  Thankfully, Thornelius had the foresight to be one with a bush; if not, the encounter would’ve been disastrous.

  Colby waved goodbye and sprinted away.

  Where were the Skate Goats when you needed them? How hard was it to spot or even hear a bunch of skating goats?

  As luck would have it, he heard something. The air above him was sliced apart. Colby snapped his head up to find a Sp-arrow diving towards a patch of red flowers. An unsuspecting Butterfly Ginger was caught in the Sp-arrow’s beak before it could even react.

  Another bust. At least it was better than encountering a LeMonkey.

  Colby continued walking. He knew that the Skate Goats made their home somewhere around here—it's just that the forest was annoyingly large. If only there were some sort of monster compass, his life would be so much easier.

  All of a sudden, Thornelius let out a low growl and came to a dead stop. His body tensed, leaves standing up as he locked onto something ahead.

  “What is it, boy?” Colby asked, looking down at his companion.

  Thornelius bolted forward and dived headfirst into a nearby bush. Colby chased after him, throwing himself into the same tangle of leaves.

  The Thornwolf cautiously poked his head through the other side of the bush. Pushing away the tangle of branches and leaves, Colby stuck his head through the opening, wondering what had gotten the Thornwolf all worked up.

  On the other side, he found opportunity.

  Thornelius had done it. Whether intentionally or not, he had found the Skate Goats.

  As the name implied, they were goats that skated. Through some weird evolutionary trait that only a Monstorologist would give a feta about, their horns had also grown in an unusual way. Instead of poking upwards like any regular horn, they curled around their head, looping back to form a helmet.

  A very useful helmet.

  It protected them from the inevitable wipeout when riding on their skateboards. They had actual wooden skateboards, crudely shaped and clearly hoof-crafted, presumably out of the trees they felled.

  That might explain the opportunity in front of him.

  LeMonkeys. A whole bunch of them. Armed with baguettes and donning blue berets atop their lemony heads, they clashed with a herd of Skate Goats. Extremely hard and stale pieces of bread crashed down, bouncing off the Skate Goats’ horned helmets.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The Skate Goats bleated, then kicked off. One hoof slamming against the dirt, sending them rolling forward on their wooden skateboards. Hooves continued to strike the dirt, sending them speeding forward as they circled around the LeMonkeys.

  The yellow primates screeched, swinging their baguettes at the Skate Goats around them.

  But the Skate Goats had seen this coming.

  They shifted their weight and kicked down on their boards as they started performing tricks. Most launched into kickflips or heelflips, leaping over the stale dough blocking their way; some more skilled opted for a more radical approach.

  In the air, they angled their skateboards, landing on the baguette and grinding along the length of the bread. A shower of crumbs rained down as wood ground down on stale dough.

  The extra weight was too much for the LeMonkeys. They tilted forward, tails flailing as they struggled to support the Skate Goats and their skateboard.

  Refusing to let go of their precious dough, the LeMonkeys fell forward. Just before any of them hit the ground, the grinding Skate Goats leaped off the baguette, gracefully landing on the dirt. They kicked off once more, accelerating as they continued to circle the LeMonkeys, taunting them—especially those that had eaten dirt—with a chant of mocking bleats.

  Infuriated, the LeMonkeys screeched even louder, growing yellower by the second. In unison, they released their hold on their precious baguettes, the loaves thudding against the ground.

  Their hands shot towards their lemon-shaped domes, muscles tensing as they squeezed. Sour yellow liquid squirted out from their foreheads, splashing all over the circling Skate Goats.

  They bleated in pain.

  Eyes forced shut from the blinding agony and floor slick with sourness, they lost their balance. Skateboards shot out from under them, and one by one, they crashed hard onto the ground.

  The LeMonkeys wasted no time. They picked up their baguettes and charged at them, stale loaves raised high up in the air.

  Now, this was the opportunity Colby was looking for.

  If he could defeat a Knight-in-training, then surely he could chase some LeMonkeys away. And this time, he wouldn’t be overconfident like with Farmer Hound.

  Closing his eyes, he focused on his Core. Grabbing a ball of mozzarella from Bowl-lander, he used Curd-Cutter to ‘cut the fluff’, carving a very rough dome shape—a helmet. Not the prettiest looking one, but hopefully functional.

  And for some added protection, Colby stuck the extremely soft [Cheese Pillow] under the crudely carved [Hard as Cheese] [Cheese Helmet].

  But this helmet wasn’t for him. It was for someone far more important.

  After loading the spell into Smart Waiter, the [Hard as Cheese] [Cheese Helmet] with a soft cushion of [Cheese Pillow] under it materialized in his hand.

  Congratulations! [Cheese Helmet] has reached Level 2!

  “Thornelius,” Colby whispered into the Thornwolf’s ear as he placed the helmet onto his bushy skull. “I choose you. Go distract those bad monkeys and remember not to get hit.”

  The Thornwolf licked his face in acknowledgement, coating it with sticky sappy slobber.

  Thornelius burst out of the bush in a spray of leaves and sticks, howling like the wolf that he partially was.

  The LeMonkeys snapped their heads towards one, tearing their attention away from the beating that they were dishing out to the Skate Goats.

  Thornelius charged toward them. He ran tight circles around each individual sour monkey before darting off to the next one to annoy. He zigged and zagged, leapt and even ducked under errant baguette swings. He veered close enough to snap his jaw before slipping away.

  The Thornwolf was truly living up to his name—being a thorn in their side.

  Infuriated, the LeMonkeys dropped their baguettes once more and slapped their palms to their citrusy dome.

  Sour yellow liquid shot out of their foreheads as they sprayed Thornelius down.

  Learning from his past encounter, the Thornwolf zipped his leafy mouth shut and performed a single sharp nod. The ill-fitting [Cheese Helmet] shifted forward, shielding his eyes.

  The yellow spray splattered harmlessly across the helmet, dripping down onto the dirt. Unfortunately, Thornnelius’s snout was uncovered. His nose crinkled up from the smell, but that was nothing compared to getting LeMonkey juice in the eye.

  Now, even more enraged, the LeMonkeys snatched their baguettes off the floor. With a fresh chorus of screeches, their feet pounded against the ground as they chased after Thornelius’s bushy tail.

  No one was hurting Thornelius. Not on his watch. Just ignore the fact that, technically, Colby did send him into danger.

  He burst from the bushes and shouted, “Come here, boy!”

  Thornelius barked. He immediately swerved, locking onto his voice, sprinting as fast as his four stubby legs could carry him.

  As the Thornwolf charged towards him, Colby lifted up his arms, aiming his palms at the horde of LeMonkeys chasing the bestest boy in the whole wide world.

  He stuck to the basics, firing a barrage of [Hard as Cheese] [Cheese Shots]. The balls of mozzarella pinged uselessly off the LeMonkey’s citrusy skin. It was just like during the duel against Helena. Despite improving his spells, his cheese still wasn’t hard or fast enough to actually cause damage. This time, he didn’t have the excuse of the monsters having armor.

  And instead of slowing them down, they became irate. They sprinted faster towards him, screeching in that horrid sour tongue of theirs.

  Another barrage of cheese shot out of his hands.

  Congratulations! [Cheese Bolas] has reached Level 3!

  Multiple twin balls of cheese, spun through the air. They struck into the frontrunners of the pack, entangling their limbs with his cheese. Those LeMonkeys cried out, slamming onto the ground.

  But that didn’t deter those in the back.

  They trampled over their fallen comrades as they continued to give chase, screeching even louder. To make matters even worse, the LeMonkeys that had just been treaded on weren’t even out. The [Cheese Bola] restraining them had been destroyed. One by one, they picked themselves back up.

  With a fresh pair of screeches, they gave chase after the LeMonkeys, who were chasing Thornelius.

  Colby clicked his tongue. He was hoping it wouldn’t come to this.

  More cheese materialized and fired out of his palms.

  The LeMonkeys screeched again—this time, they actually paid attention to the guy shooting cheese at them.

  Flaming balls of halloumi hurtled through the air. Their flames whipping through the wind but never extinguishing.

  The front pack of LeMonkeys split apart like a banana, allowing the balls of [Flaming Saganaki] to sail past them. Unable to react in time, they slammed right into the LeMonkeys at the rear.

  Those in front paused in their tracks and spun around, watching their companions that they had stampeded over and were now on fire.

  They howled in pain, whacking the ball of [Flaming Saganaki] with their baguettes in a frantic panic, until the cheese finally peeled off their sour skin. It dropped to the ground, flames spurting out as it was extinguished, leaving only thick curls of smoke rising upwards.

  Blackened spots now marred their citrusy skins. Panic overtook their anger.

  Without a single screech, they turned and ran.

  “There’s more where that came from!” Colby yelled, firing more balls of [Flaming Saganaki].

  The LeMonkeys in front screeched. They scattered like dust in the wind, scrambling up trees before swinging away.

  Thornelius lunged at him, tackling him to the ground. The Thornwolf happily licked his face, coating him with that sticky, sappy slobber of his.

  “Stop. Stop,” Colby laughed, pulling off Thornelius’s helmet so that he could finally see.

  Upon the miraculous restoration of vision, Thornelius barked once more before giving him one last lick for good measure.

  Now that his friend had stopped assaulting him, Colby glanced up.

  He looked up just in time to watch the Skate Goats rise from the ground. They no longer screamed in agony, though their eyes were bloodshot red. Hooves pounded against the dirt as they rushed over to their skateboards, immediately riding away.

  “No!” Colby shouted, picking Thornelius up and chasing after them. “You’re not supposed to run away! I saved you! You were supposed to reward me with milk!”

  Thornelius barked and squeezed out of his hold, forcing Colby to turn back and chase after him.

  “What are you doing—”

  The ground was on fire. And if he didn’t do anything, the whole forest would be on fire.

  This was exactly why he didn’t want to use [Flaming Saganaki].

  Colby rushed over, stamping out every single piece of flaming cheese until only the acrid smoke of burnt failure was left.

  He breathed out a sigh of relief. It quickly turned into a sigh of despair.

  All of that cheese. All of that effort. All for nothing.

  He didn’t even get a single drop of Skate Goat milk as a reward for saving them from the LeMonkeys. How could they do that to him? He deserved to be compensated for his actions!

  If they didn’t want to give him their milk, he’d force them to. He’d sneak up on an unsuspecting Skate Goat, kidnap it, and use it as ransom for all the milk the Skate Goat community had.

  It was a stupid plan, yes. But there weren’t that many other ideas floating around in his head.

  Thornelius barked, causing Colby to look up from his revengeful thoughts.

  During the chaos, he had somehow missed it.

  All of the Skate Goats had fled, all except for one.

  It was one of the Skate Goats who had grinded on the LeMonkeys baguette. It frantically kicked its hoof against the dirt, desperate to ride away from the danger, but the board barely moved.

  The reason was fairly obvious.

  Only one side of the skateboard still had wheels; the other side was completely blown off, leaving it tilted and uselessly scraping across the dirt.

  Colby grinned.

  Not all hope was lost. This Skate Goat was the ticket to that delicious white liquid—assuming it was a female. If it wasn’t, then Pottingham would let him know in a very abrupt manner.