Colby entered his Core and went down the hatch to the cave-cellar mix. It had taken so much time, but it was finally time to appraise the Gouda aging there. It's not like he had left it unattended all this time. Occasionally, he had popped down to take a peek at it, and Temp-tation had volunteered to keep a watch on it—a part of her measuring tendencies.

  The mobile Core Constructs followed him down the ladder, all eager to take a look at the latest cheese. The very first aged cheese they had ever made.

  It had been maybe a month since he had first expanded his Core. Extremely long to him, but incredibly short for aging cheese. It just barely qualified as a young Gouda—aged for roughly four to five weeks. Even without tasting it, Colby knew that it was nowhere as delicious as what his parents could make.

  But he was going to change that—hopefully sooner rather than later.

  Colby looked at the Gouda that sat on a wooden shelf made out of pine—at least he thought it was pine. He had told the Core Expander to be a wedge of pine, but whether it really had become pine was a whole different story that he didn’t want to bother thinking about.

  The circular piece of cheese was a pale yellow, much lighter than the regular caramel colored tones of properly aged Gouda. A thin band of natural rind ringed around it, marking it as young and newly formed.

  Colby held it up and showcased it to the parade of Core Constructs behind him.

  “Our first aged cheese guys.”

  They all lifted up their noodle-like arms and waved them in the air, cheering. Curd-Cutter repeatedly slapped his blade, creating a happy tune that sounded like a marimba.

  “It’s not the best and hasn’t been aged enough in my opinion, but it’s our cheese. We can only go up from here. And we should all thank Temp for keeping such detailed notes about the aging.”

  Temp-tation, the glass thermometer blushed, the red liquid inside of her turning brighter and redder.

  The Core Constructs raised their limbs once more, cheering and hugging her.

  “Now, the taste test. I’ll let you guys know the results.”

  Colby tucked the cheese under his arm and climbed up the ladder back into the main Core floor. He could already spot potential issues with the current arrangement—mainly him dropping the cheese as he ascended or descended the ladder.

  If only Smart Waiter could wait in other places. That would be the next upgrade he gave the Core Construct, whenever that may be. Looks like whether he liked it or not, Smart Waiter was learning how to be a better waiter.

  Back upstairs, Colby went around to Stove and The Cheesetastic Fridge, showing off the fruits of their labor. The fridge opened and closed his door in chilly excitement, while Stove let out a huff of flames from his burners.

  But the one he really wanted to show the cheese to was none other than Cheese Press.

  Colby walked up to the wooden Core Construct. Cheese Press trembled at the sight of him, though slightly less than before. They still weren’t on the best of terms—mainly his fault—but hopefully this was a good form of encouragement.

  “Hey, Cheese Press,” Colby said. “You see this. This is the result of your and everyone’s hard work. And without you, we wouldn’t have been able to make it. So thank you for pressing my cheese for me.”

  Plastic noodle-like limbs sprouted out from the circular plastic mold at the base of the frame as he signed, “Y-you’re welcome.”

  “I hope you’ll keep helping me in the future.”

  “I-I’ll try.”

  Smiling, Colby stood back up and walked over to Smart Waiter, showing off the cheese before inserting it into his hatch.

  It materialized in the real world within his palm.

  Congratulations! [Cheesemaking] has reached Level 20!

  Another level up, and another step closer to the ultimate cheese.

  All of that time perfecting the candied ginger chèvre had pushed many of his Core Constructs and [Cheesemaking] up a few levels. Now, some of them were ready to be upgraded, but before that, it would be wiser to see how aging cheese might push the requirements of his Core Constructs in different directions before upgrading them.

  A bark echoed behind him, and he flipped around.

  Brie was on her bed, lying atop Thornelius as she read a story book outloud for the little Thornwolf. The book was called ‘Georgerino Stilton’, featuring a mild-mannered rat who just wanted a quiet life, but somehow kept getting roped into fantastical, faraway adventures.

  It was Brie’s favorite book series, and Colby was extra proud because she was reading at a higher level than expected for her age.

  The bark caused Brie to look up from her book, and she spotted Colby no longer focusing on his Core.

  “Hi, Broby!” she yelled. “How’s your cheesy-cheese?”

  “As expected,” he said, holding up the wheel of Gouda and showing it off.

  “Can I try, Broby?”

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  “Sure. I’m letting Mom and Dad try it too.”

  “Yay!” she yelled, putting her book on the bed and running downstairs. Thornelius barked before leaping off the bed and chasing after her.

  “Don’t run, Brie!” Colby yelled, but it was too late.

  Carrying the Gouda, he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. He hummed a soft tune along the way. This was nowhere as tense as having his candied ginger chèvre be evaluated by his parents.

  Brie sat at the dining table, a huge smile on her face as she tracked him—more specifically, the light yellow wheel of Gouda in his arms.

  Colby placed the wheel in the center of the dining table before walking to the cabinet to grab some plates and cutlery.

  A bark caused him to turn around just in time to catch Brie kneeling on the chair as she reached for the Gouda.

  “Brie,” Colby said.

  She flinched, slowly turning her head towards him.

  “Hi, Broby,” she said.

  “Hi, Brie. What are you doing?”

  She pouted and sheepishly said, “Nothing.”

  “You mean you weren’t trying to steal a bite of the cheese?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Just a few more minutes, okay, Brie? The Gouda isn’t going anywhere.”

  “Okay, Broby,” she said before slowly sitting down.

  Then she glanced down at Thornelius and waved a finger at him, whispering all too loudly, “Bad Thorpy.”

  Thornelius whimpered, shrinking into the ground. Brie gasped and immediately petted his leafy fur. “I mean good Thorpy. I’m sorry, Thorpy. But also don’t do that next time.”

  Colby smiled as he walked back to the dining table, placing down the plates before digging a knife into the cheese. He cut out a small slice and popped it into his mouth.

  It was smooth, creamy, and buttery. Not the best, but also not the worst thing he had ever made.

  Colby sliced out a piece for Brie before placing more on two plates as he walked into the main shop floor.

  “That was a quick age,” his father said, looking at the plate in his hand.

  “I just couldn’t wait,” Colby said.

  “Patience is important when it comes to aging cheese, Colby. You’ll have to learn to wait.”

  “I don’t see you waiting naturally to make aged cheese, Dad.”

  His mother elbowed his father in the side. “He’s got you there. “Now let’s taste this little bad boy.”

  His parents popped the cheese into their mouths and chewed.

  “Decent,” his mother said.

  “Decent,” his father echoed.

  “I’m still getting the hang of things,” Colby said.

  “And that’s why it’s important to let the cheese age naturally before you start making Core Constructs,” his father said.

  “I get it, Dad.”

  “So, you here for tips?” his mother asked. “Or were you hoping that this was good enough to be sold?”

  “This? It’s nowhere near good enough.”

  “Glad to see the chèvre didn’t get to your head.”

  “Sounds like someone’s still jealous that I beat them to a cheese combination.”

  “No comment.”

  Realizing that talking to his mother would get him nowhere, Colby turned towards his father. “Now that I’ve let a cheese age naturally in my Core, I was hoping you could give me some pointers on creating Core Constructs to reduce the aging time.”

  “Before that, it’s important that you understand what happens to a cheese when it ages,” his father said. “Were you able to figure out the underlying mechanisms that drive cheese aging?”

  “You leave it alone, and it gets tastier?”

  “That was my answer too,” his mother admitted.

  His father sighed, “Let me break it down for you. What actually ages cheese is the culture powder we added to the milk during the cheesemaking process. Think of them as little tiny workers. Their job is to process the cheese, transforming the boring basic parts into something delicious. How, when, and what they turn it into depends on the culture used. Then there’s temperature and humidity. The former determines how fast the workers work, and the latter determines whether they’re able to survive at all. It’s like how you work faster when it’s cool with a fan blowing at you.”

  “So I just crank the temperature up in my Core to speed up the aging?”

  “Think of it like this, if you’re too cold, you can’t work because you’re too busy shivering. If it’s too hot, sure, you’ll move faster to quickly get everything done, but you end up cutting corners and making mistakes. Now, if you have a fan blowing at you at just the right temperature, you’re able to work comfortably, fast, and with little to no mistakes.

  “Oh, I get it,” Colby said.

  “You’re lucky, son,” his mother said. “Your Dad’s been working on his explanation since before I married him. Now it’s so simple even Brie can understand it.”

  “Um, thanks, Mom?”

  She lightly smacked his head.

  “I’m dumb but not that dumb, okay, Colby. At least not now.”

  “Sorry.”

  His father sighed again, “And we create Core Constructs that help speed up this process.”

  “Think of it like drinking a bunch of coffee. It makes you go super fast,” his mother said. “But if you drink too much.”

  “An accurate analogy,” his father said. “That’s a big picture view of what’s going on within the Core.”

  “Yup,” his mother said. “Your job is to kick those little men into high gear, making them work faster than nature ever intended.”

  “And how do you do that?”

  “I think it’s better if you give it a shot first before I spoonfeed you the answers,” his father said.

  “Torture,” his mother blurted out at the same time, “I mean, listen to your father.”

  “Right…I’m gonna go now,” he said.

  Colby went back into the kitchen and found Brie with the not-wheel of cheese in her hands. She brought it to her mouth and took a large chomp with zero hesitation.

  “Brie!” Colby yelled.

  She jumped and dropped the cheese onto the table. Her eyes shot wide open as she swallowed the last bits of young Gouda in her mouth.

  Brie hopped off the chair and pointed at Thornelius, yelling, “It was Thorpy!”

  The Thornwolf tilted his head as he watched Brie dash out of the kitchen and up the stairs into their shared bedroom.

  Colby sighed and looked at the Gouda on the dining table. Apart from the clean slices that he made, there were now tiny little bitemarks and drips of saliva coating the cheese.

  Brie…

  He picked Thornelius up and walked back into their shared bedroom. Inside, he found a lump under the bedsheet of Brie’s bed.

  A voice called out, “Brie is not here.”

  Putting Thornelius on the floor, Colby said, “I’m not mad at you, Brie.”

  “You’re not?” she asked, pulling the bedsheet down and revealing her cute and terror strikened face.

  “I’m not. Okay, maybe a little bit annoyed.”

  Brie immediately pulled the bedsheet over her head and yelled, “Brie is not here.”

  “I’m just glad you enjoyed it so much, even though it wasn’t that good.”

  “It was yummy, Broby.”

  “Thanks, Brie.”

  “Brie is not here!”

  Rolling his eyes and smiling, Colby honed in on his Core.

  He recreated the steps to make Gouda, and this time, Cheese Press managed to work a little bit faster, taking less than five hours to consolidate the cheese.

  Now, he just had to let it brine and dry, and—wow, was he dumb.

  Brining was going to take another couple of hours, and drying was going to take days. He should’ve been using that downtime to create Core Constructs that sped up the brining and drying process.

  It was better late than never.

  And hopefully, he’d have enough Core Capacity to create all of the Core Constructs needed.