Every adventurer patted them on the back or cheered them on whole they made their way back to their seats. "That was really good teamwork, guys. Sir Boulder, even though you were especially impressive considering we've never fought together before. As expected of one of your status" commenters Sid. Arc spoke up "as Sid said, we fought well. Sir Boulder, thank you for safeguarding me. The fight would have been much more challenging without your strength."

Beneath his visor Sir Boulder was blushing a deep crimson. "Well fought" was all he could muster. He had seen the way these three fought together when he had met them half a year ago, and they had only improved. It was so easy for him to fall into their dynamic only because it had already so polished.

"That enemy was strong. I hope we can kill more strong enemies" was Dion's simple wish. The four watched some more battles before they retired to their quarters. As a party that had succeeded and also wished to continue in the tournament, they were allotted lodging within the area. Food would also be provided courtesy of the tournament, so the four ate to their hearts delight.

Dion sat back in his chair, his face dripping with grease. "This is good food, I hope we can eat more good food." "You said it, buddy" Sid smiled at him. Arc was silently picking at his food, he ate remarkably little compared to the rest of the party. Even Sid, who was a full head shorter than Arc ate more. Sir Boulder didn't say anything at all, eating with his helmet still on. It was certainly peculiar, but nobody said anything to him about it.

"Well fought" came a slimy voice alongside mocking applause. Sir Prentice stood nearby, sauntering slowly over. "It certainly comes as a surprise that a group as shabby and paltry as yours could defeat a manticore. Of course, it had been starved for two days and it wasn't even fully grown..."

Sid narrowed his eyes, "and how would you know such things, Sir Prentice?" It all made sense now, of course those conniving vagabonds had a hand in all this. "I... well, anyone could tell it was frenzied just by looking at it! And of course, it was visibly undersized for a full grown adult" Sir Prentice defended himself hastily. "In any case, we shall see how you lot fare in your next round. You certainly seemed to struggle with only your first round, perhaps you won't last much longer." Sir Prentice mused.

Sid instead fixed him with a pleasant smile. "We really appreciate your concern for our wellbeing, Sir Prentice. We hope the White Dragons fare well in the Althiem Tournament as well!" Sid added extra volume to his voice to draw attention to them. Sir Prentice eyes widened as he noticed everyone looking at him. "Yes, of course" he mumbled as he hastily made his exit.

The party had stayed long enough that day to see the White Dragons fight. As had always been the case, their teamwork had been nonexistent. They were strong, of course. It was impossible to gain such recognition without immense strength, but they also had huge egos. Those egos of theirs stood in the way of any actual cooperation, and so they merely worked around each other rather than with each other.

Sid set those ruminations aside and looked at his comrades while smiling. Dion was immensely strong, Arc was sharp as a tack, and Sid himself was very observant. Together they formed a tight unit, but there was still a missing element, Sid knew. Perhaps Sir Boulder could fill that missing spot, only time would tell.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

***

On the second day of the tournament, the stakes were increased. They watched as some parties failed to slay their beast opponents, or were outright defeated. This time there were two beasts per party, each beast being about as dangerous as what they faced in the first round.

The White Dragons easily slew their beasts as expected, amid copious celebration from the crowd. Soon after that the group left their seats to prepare for their own trial.

"Remember what we talked about, team. This won't be our first time against multiple enemies, but with Sir Boulder by our side I'm sure we can handle whatever they throw at us." Dion grinned like an idiot while slapping each comrade on the back. "We will kill strong enemies today. We will be smarter and stronger than them."

"I'll watch your back out there" came Arc's two cents. "I will be your shield" stated Sir Boulder in a grave tone. With that they exited the now open gate into the arena. "Group number 82!" Whaaa the crowd cheered. Arc, Dion and Sid smiled and waved while Sir Boulder didn't react whatsoever.

The gate before then grumbled and shook as it slowly opened. From within came a winged bear and a gargoyle. These monsters were individually fiercer than the manticore they'd faced the previous day. Sid cursed, but stood firm. Though both creatures were normally capable of flight, they would have been magically rendered unable to fly in the arena. This was a safety precaution for the competitors as well as for the crowd.

The gargoyle was especially tough, with its stone-like skin. Immediately Arc targeted the winged bear, loosing arrow after arrow in its direction. It was the smartest option for him, as the gargoyle would be more or less impervious to his arrows. Sid shot Sir Boulder a look and beckoned, which directing Dion to cover Arc.

The gargoyle looked from pair to pair, unsure which to attack. "Go" urged Sid in a low voice. Sir Boulder had been thinking the same thing, so without further hesitation the two charged toward the gargoyle. Seeing their advance, the beast turned toward them resolutely.

Dion slashed wildly at the bear to keep it at bay while Arc darted around firing arrows into it, wearing it down. Meanwhile Sir Boulder was struggling to fend off the gargoyle, which bore down on him with wing and claw alike. Sid, who was armed only with a spear, used the butt end to try to destabilize the gargoyle with little success. Seeing a lack of results he spun his spear around and stabbed instead at it's face.

Gargoyle were fairly rare to encounter normally, so Sid knew very little about them. He could see however that their skin was thinner on their faces, and their eyes and mouths seemed just as susceptible as any other creature's. Sir Boulder opted then to suddenly lunge into the gargoyle, putting his whole weight into it. In the crucial moment, Sid stabbed deftly with his spear.

Dion could tell that the winged bear was almost out of steam. It's movements were becoming sluggish, blood seeping from its wounds. With one decisive strike he split its head in two. When he looked up to see how his comrades were faring, he saw the gargoyle reel back clutching its face.

Just then, Sir Boulder lunged into the beast again, driving it to its knees. Gripping his mighty shield in both hands, he hammered the bottom edge into the gargoyle. The gargoyle tried to defend itself, covering its head with its wing. Sid however managed to stab it in the side, and levered off the tip to pull the wing away. Grunting and seemingly filled with bloodlust, Sir Boulder brought his weapon down again and again until the head was totally crushed and the gargoyle lay limp.

The crowd erupted in celebration. "Boulder! Boulder! Boulder!" The crowd chanted ecstatically. As if in a dream, Sir Boulder finally put down his shield, looking up at the surrounding applause. He let the shield fall as he raised his arms victoriously, and the crowd went wild.