Colby was going to make his own cheese box, or at least something close enough. The thing about him was that he could only make fresh cheeses—not counting the Gouda being aged in his Core right now. And the thing about fresh cheese was that they tend to be more on the softer side, unless you managed to royally screw up the cheese-making process.

  So, instead of a cheese box, it would be more on the lines of a cheese pouch.

  He had done something similar before. This should be fairly quick.

  And as always, it was with the trusty, tried and true mozzarella.

  Inside his Core, he got his Core Constructs to make another ball of mozzarella. However, this time, after the fused Bowl-lander had meticulously rolled the most perfect ball that they had ever created, he immediately dug his hands into it. Ripping a huge chunk out of its centre, he created a cavity. He pressed the excess cheese along the side, reinforcing the edges.

  Bowl-lander swung their noodle-like fists around as he desecrated their creation. Sorry, guys. It had to be done.

  Technically, he was making mozzarella—but also not. He was making a unique take on burrata. That cheese used mozzarella as an outer shell with a soft, creamy filling sealed inside.

  But instead of a delicious creamy filling, he’d be filling it with insect-plant monster hybrids.

  Once the mozzarella had been stretched into a pouch, he gave it a few test shakes to make sure it was sturdy enough. There was another round of apologies as he loaded the cheese into Smart Waiter.

  The Core Construct rumbled, delivering the newly created spell to their destination: his hands.

  Congratulations! You have learned a new spell, [Cheese Pouch]!

  Cheese Pouch:

  Level 1

  A catch-all categorisation for a piece of cheese created with the intent of being used to store items.

  Can only be made with soft cheeses.

  (Each level slightly increases the structural integrity of the pouch.)

  Another new spell added to his collection. Now, he could transport all sorts of things that he couldn’t just shove into his Inventory.

  He dumped the piece of [Stickious Cheesious] [Marvellous Mozzarella Marbles] that had caught the Butterfly Ginger into the [Cheese Pouch]. Walking over to the patch of flowers, he plucked the rest of the Butterfly Gingers—cheese and all—stuffing them into his pouch.

  Great. Half done, another half to go.

  Colby looked at the [Cheese Pouch] in his hand. A smile flashed on his face.

  Soon. Soon, he’d be able to make as much cheese as he wanted.

  “C’mon, Port. Let’s go,” he said, picking a random direction to walk in.

  “Sure thing, Colby.”

  The two of them walked through the forest, both keeping their eyes peeled for anything white, butterfly-ish, and ginger-ish. If he had a third eye, he would’ve kept it extra peeled for that weird stalkerish feeling that he kept getting. Maybe it was that Thornwolf again, hoping for more cheese. Or maybe Elaine finally realised he had snuck out of the house and was out searching for him.

  Eventually, they found more Butterfly Gingers. Just his luck, it was another bunch of five.

  Colby walked up to them, swinging his arms like he owned the world. As expected, they took off the moment he came within five paces—not like it mattered.

  [Stickious Cheesious] [Marvelous Mozzarella Marbles] appeared in his palm. They were extra sticky just how he liked them. And there was something else that he liked even more.

  Congratulations! [Marvelous Mozzarella Marbles] has reached level 3!

  After planting his cheese on the leaves, he strutted back to Porter and waited. Just as he was about to pull out that cool-looking stick again, the tattered-clothed boy shouted and pointed. “Colby. Look!”

  That was fast. Not like he was going to complain.

  He looked at the patch of flowers. It was just a sea of red, green, and cheese. Not a single Butterfly Ginger in sight.

  Was Porter messing with him?

  Turning back, he saw the boy was still pointing at something. Instead of his hand being parallel to the ground, it was at an angle. Colby followed that finger, looking up at the sky.

  The Butterfly Gingers were there, flapping their white-ginger wings, but either he was horrible at math, had a disgustingly bad memory, or his eyes were having problems because he only counted four. All of a sudden, there was a blur of movement and four became three.

  Good to know that he wasn't having any eye, math, or memory problems. Bad to know that someone or something was interfering with his quest.

  Then he saw it.

  It didn’t blend in with the surroundings in the slightest. It was some sort of… arrow? No, it had feathers. Not fletchlings at the end of the shaft—actual brown feathers covering the entire thing. Also, the arrowhead had eyes. And a beak. White wings stuck out of it, only to disappear into its jaw. What was he even looking at?

  “Porter, what’s that?”

  “That’s a Sp-arrow.”

  “So, like a bird plus an arrow?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Any chance it will leave the rest of the Butterfly Gingers alone?”

  There was another whoosh of sliced air, and then there were only two left. Guess that answers that question.

  “Never mind, Port. Let’s just go and find another bunch. Hopefully, they don’t get stolen again. Also, should we be worried about that Sp-arrow?”

  “Not really. As long as we don’t get too close, it should leave us alone.”

  “Great. Because I do not want to deal with some weird bird-arrow thing.”

  Two more whooshes echoed out above them. And just like that, all of the Butterfly Gingers were gone.

  There was a third whoosh. Then, a fourth.

  Now there were some weird, bristly barking sounds too.

  Was he having hearing problems? Since when did a bird-arrow cutting through the air sound like barking?

  Colby found the Sp-arrow, high in the sky. With one powerful flap of its wings, it shot to the ground like an arrow. Its target? A monster made out of leaves.

  Wait, that’s the Thornwolf. It was eating the parts of the flowers where his [Stickious Cheesious] [Marvelous Mozzarella Marbles] had been placed.

  The Thornwolf looked up from its buffet and barked at the Sp-arrow, flashing its thorny fangs. Sticky, sappy, slobber dripped out of its mouth as it growled. The moment the Sp-arrow dove into range, it swiped, only for the bird to curve sharply upwards, shooting back into the sky.

  How dare that Sp-arrow attack the Thornwolf? The leafy beast had eaten his cheese. That made it a customer. And no one was hurting his customer! Not on his watch.

  “Port!” Colby shouted.

  “Yeah, Colby?” he said, looking at him.

  “Do you think you can catch that Sp-arrow?”

  “Um,” he said, glancing up at the sky, then back at him. “I can try.”

  “You can’t, can’t you?”

  “No, Colby. I can do this. Let me help you. I can climb up the tree and jump off, then if I use [Air Dash], I can catch it. But, it might take a few tries.”

  “Nope. There is no way I’m letting you do that, Port. Just hold tight. I’ll come up with something.”

  Colby closed his eyes, honing in on his Core.

  He paced around, trying to come up with a solution. His Core Constructs eyed him, watching him walk back and forth.

  He had to come up with something to deal with that Sp-arrow. But what?

  The only range option he had was [Cheese Shot]. And his accuracy was hit or miss—mostly miss. That’s why he compensated with volume, but volume was a luxury that he could barely afford right now.

  So, what? Just give up? Maybe instead of dealing with the Sp-arrow, he could focus on protecting the Thornwolf?

  That wouldn’t work. The Sp-arrow would inevitably pierce through his cheesy defence, and he would’ve just wasted some good cheese.

  It all led back to shooting the Sp-arrow out of the sky. Again, but how?

  He looked around his Core, searching for inspiration. Curd-Cutter, Cheese Bowl, Cheese-lander, and Temp-tation had gone back to their regularly scheduled duel to the death via Rock-Paper-Scissors. Stove could not be bothered in the slightest, while Pottingham, Smart Waiter and The Cheesetastic Fridge spectated. Then there was Cheese Press. He trembled in the corner like he was caught out in a blizzard without any clothes.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Nothing.

  He needed volume without volume.

  His eyes landed on Cheese Bowl and Cheese-lander watching them duke it out, their noodle-like arms jiggling, constantly throwing rock at each other.

  That might work.

  It wasn’t volume without volume, but it was the closest thing he could think of.

  He got his Core Constructs to make another ball of mozzarella. Grabbing Curd-Cutter, he cut into the cheese, while channeling the intent to ‘cut the fluff’. In doing so, he managed to create a couple of hard balls.

  As for the remaining soft pieces, he separated and rolled them into long strands, heating up the ends with Stove’s flames, before sticking each end to a hard ball of mozzarella.

  By the end, he had five bolas made out of mozzarella.

  This was going to be tough for Smart Waiter, but he was confident in his Core Constructs ability.

  “Sorry,” he said.

  Smart Waiter opened his hatch. A sign popped out that read, “What choice do I have?”

  “Don’t make it sound like I’m the bad guy in this.”

  “I am not. I am merely stating facts.”

  He sighed, “I know. Still, I have to do this. I’d prefer if our first five-layer spell was when you were at tip-top condition, but I was stupid, trying to cast [Burn]. I’m sorry.”

  “Apology accepted. I will do my best.”

  “Thanks.”

  Loading the five mozzarella bolas into Smart Waiter, he set them to come out one after the other and as hard and fast as possible. In other words, a [Cheese Shot].

  Closing the hatch, he opened one eye and tracked the Sp-arrow with his palm, ignoring Smart Waiter's sputter and shake. The spell materialised from his palm, shooting off into the sky.

  Congratulations! You have learned a new spell, [Cheese Bola]!

  Cheese Bolas

  Level 1

  Bolas made out of cheese. What more were you hoping for?

  (Each level slightly reduces the chance of the bolas untangling.)

  The [Cheese Bola] spun in the air, flying toward the Sp-arrow.

  It missed.

  The twin balls of cheese with a cheesy string connecting them flew off deeper into the forest.

  Colby clicked his tongue. That was annoying, but expected.

  One after another, [Cheese Bolas] materialised and shot out from his palm.

  Congratulations! [Cheese Shot] has reached level 4!

  Congratulations! [Hard as Cheese] has reached level 2!

  Congratulations! [Cheese Pillow] has reached level 3!

  They spun through the air, and one managed to snag the Sp-arrow just as it was about to dive into his first monster customer.

  The hard mozzarella balls were wrapped around the bird's wings, causing it to fall to the ground. But it was still just cheese. And that bird monster had wings strong enough to propel it like an arrow. It wouldn't hold long.

  “Porter!” Colby shouted. “Box.”

  “On it.”

  Porter grabbed that wooden box he had shown off earlier out of his Inventory, and [Dashed] toward the falling Sp-arrow. The strand of mozzarella that made up the bola’s string stretched thin, slowly tearing apart. Just before the Sp-arrow could break free, Porter slammed the lid of the wooden box shut, trapping the creature inside.

  “Wow, Colby. Since when did you learn to do that?”

  “Would you believe me if I said, just now?”

  “Yes. Cheese is what you’re good at.”

  “Thanks, Port. Also, I hope you don’t mind holding onto that Sp-arrow for a while. I kind of got my hands full.”

  Colby lifted up his hand showing off the [Cheese Pouch]. Occasionally, bulges would form. Those Butterfly Gingers must really want to get out.

  Then, Colby lifted his other hand.

  If he were strong enough to carry the Thornwolf, that would’ve been cool. Instead, it stood on its back paws, pressing its front ones against his body and kept trying to lick his hand.

  “Colby! The Thornwolf!” Porter shouted. “Stand behind me. I’ll protect you!”

  “Relax, Port. It’s all good. I’ve defeated this Thornwolf once before, and I’ll do it again.”

  “How?”

  “Just watch and learn.”

  He walked deeper into the woods, locating the [Cheese Bolas] that he had fired and missed, the Thornwolf following him. After retrieving all of them, he dipped them in the Thornwolf’s sticky, sappy slobber, before plucking the leaves from the plant that the Butterfly Gingers were resting on, and pasting them all over the hard balls of mozzarella.

  Lowering his hand, he fed the [Cheese Bolas] to the Thornwolf, who happily slurped it all down. The beast ran around in a circle before coming up to his leg, nuzzling up against it.

  “See, Port. Defeated.”

  “Okay, Colby,” his voice wavered. “But if you need any help to get away from that Thornwolf, just know it's no biggie, okay?”

  “Sure thing, Port. Sure thing.”

  The rest of the journey was uneventful, other than the Thornwolf, who kept trying to brush its furry little body against his ankles, inadvertently trying to trip him up. A couple of [Stickious Cheesious] [Marvelous Mozzarella Marbles] later, and he had all of the Butterfly Ginger’s needed for Ms M’s quest and a couple of extras for himself.

  After releasing the Sp-arrow from the wooden box that Porter had been carrying around the whole time, they made their way back to Brinebrook. The Thornwolf still by his legs.

  “See, Port? Told you there was nothing to worry about.”

  Despite his reassurance, doubt was written all over his friend’s face.

  “Are you sure, Colby? Are you sure you’re okay with being an A word?”

  “Adventurer?”

  Something pierced him through the heart. Horrible repressed memories threatening to emerge from the deepest depths of his psyche. He clenched his jaw and fought back, shoving them past even the deepest parts of his mind, buried under rug after rug after rug—along with the past couple of seconds.

  “Of course, I am,” he said.

  “And you’re doing it because you want to earn gold so that you can make your own cheese without relying on your parents?” Porter asked.

  “Well, I couldn’t stop the war. This was the next best thing.”

  “And you’re okay with doing a lot of quests?”

  “If they pay this well, then yeah?”

  “Um, Colby. You do know about the taxes, right?”

  “Yeah. It’s the reason why my parents were suddenly so strict about me making my own cheese. It’s…”

  Realisation dawned on him. No wonder the once bustling Adventurer’s Guild was an empty ghost town.

  “I’m an idiot, aren’t I?”

  “No, you’re not Colby. You were just… um… focused on your task. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner. I thought you already knew.”

  Colby sighed, “It’s not your fault, Port. How much did we actually earn from this quest?”

  “After the guild takes their cut and the new taxes… about five gold. It’s okay, you can have it all. I don’t need it. It’s no biggie, really.”

  Five gold. All of that time, effort and cheese just for a measly five gold. Curds! He really was an idiot.

  “No, Port. You helped me out even though you were supposed to go for a Supply Run. It’s not much, but you can take three, I’ll take the two.”

  “But—”

  “Seriously, Port. Just take it.”

  “Can I at least carry you back?” he asked, running in front of him and crouching a little. “Porter Delivery Service, free of charge, just for you. It’s no biggie.”

  “Thanks, Port, but no thanks. I just… I just need some time to think. You can go back first if you want.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, Port. I’ve already taken up too much of your time. You’ve got a lot more important things to do.”

  Porter bit his lip and shook his head. “Thanks, Colby, but no thanks. I hope you don’t mind if I keep you company for a little bit longer. It’s no biggie, I swear.”

  A soft smile curved up on his lips, “Sure, Port.”

  The two walked together in mostly silence—the Thornwolf, as if able to sense something was wrong, gently brushed its head against his leg, trying to comfort him.

  Gouda! It was so obvious. All he had to do was use his brain for anything other than cheese, and he would’ve realised what a dumb idea this was. Stopping wars? Being an adventurer? No, that wasn’t who he was. He was just a humble cheese maker.

  He wanted to cry. To scream. To lash out at Paralos—heck, even Endruma.

  No, what he really wanted was to make cheese. Not cheese for the shop’s customers. Cheese for himself.

  He trudged back to the Adventurer’s Guild, Thornwolf and Porter accompanying him the entire way. The guild receptionist let out a gasp when she opened up the [Cheese Pouch] filled with Butterfly Gingers that nearly flew away before she sealed it back up. Then she let out a shriek when she noticed the Thornwolf by his side.

  Colby could not care less.

  He just accepted his measly payment of five gold and went back home, sad and defeated. Porter, Thornwolf, and the [Cheese Pouch] of extra Butterfly Gingers keeping him company.

  When he arrived back at the shop, he was bombarded with a mix of worry and anger from his parents and Elaine. The only saving grace was Porter, explaining his whereabouts after he had run away from the shop the second time. Though it did little to dull their reactions when the Thornwolf started sniffing the shelves of cheese as if it owned the shop.

  But honestly? He didn’t care. He just wanted to flop down on his bed and wallow in self-pity.

  Not even the sight of his little sister Brie handing him another heart-shaped mozzarella could heal the despair in his heart.

  He mustered out a small, weak little smile, nodding through the mixture of worried anger as he went up into his room. He crashed onto the bed, without even taking a shower or brushing his teeth, for that matter. What was the point? It’s not like he needed teeth anymore—or maybe he’d save a single tooth. If all he got was one cheese experiment a day, then all he’d need is a single useless tooth.

  Somewhere along his spiral, the Thornwolf had apparently escaped Elaine’s and his parents' wrath and found its way into his room. The bushy wolf hopped onto his bed and circled around his legs before lying down.

  It could eat him for all he cared. With one last long sigh, Colby closed his eyes. But not even sleep wanted him, for he stared into the void that was the back of his eyelids as today’s events ran through his mind, whether he wanted to or not.

  From hoping to stop a war, to earning enough gold to buy ingredients, only to hopelessly fail. Apparently, his head was so high up his own cheese he didn’t even know that Ms. M, also known as Ms. Morgan, their regular customer, was some big shot hero from The Arcanum. She had somehow managed to stop some huge magical tsunami from sweeping away Brinebrook or something like that—he could not be bothered at this point.

  Some hero she was. She couldn’t even stop a war. Heck, she couldn’t even go out of town and into the forest to grab some Butterfly Gingers for herself. All she did was give him some bad advice.

  “There are multiple paths to the same destination.”

  Yeah, multiple ways for him to end up all sad and depressed.

  Path one: Try to stop the war so that things can go back to normal. He had failed miserably.

  Path two: Try to earn gold by himself so he could gather the ingredients by himself. It was another pointless pursuit—one that would put him at a cheese deficit.

  Path three: Head straight to bed and wallow in pity until either the war or he ends.

  Path one and two would inevitably converge into path three. He should’ve just skipped all of that wasted effort and cheese and headed straight to bed. He truly was an idiot.

  Stupid Colby. Stupid war. Stupid taxes. Stupid gold. Stupid ingredients. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

  Wait! That’s it! He really was stupid.

  The answer had been staring him in the face the entire time. Ms. M had literally told him the solution to his problems.

  He didn’t need to stop some war or even earn enough gold to buy his own ingredients. All he had to do was get the ingredients himself!