Yvlena felt her legs pound as she rushed to catch up to the boar and grab it by its thin tail. The pig grunted but didn't stop moving leaving Yvlena to be dragged along by its pace.

She didn't have any potions with her, an Entanglia would have worked wonders right now to stop the pig from hitting the stubborn boy and her summon.

Already she could see Kuti had lifted a hand to her face in concern Even if the doll ran, her little legs wouldn’t be able to carry her away fast enough.

‘If the boar hits, she’ll shatter instantly.’ Yvlena thought in dismay.

"Sprite use bind as much as you can, we need to halt it before it reaches them! Rabbit Knight use Rabbit Volley!" Yvlena ordered.

It wasn't often she ordered her summons, most of the time she trusted the game's very intuitive AI to do what was best for her but now they were all scrambling to avoid a potential catastrophe.

'Because of this stubborn little NPC!' Yvlena thought, once this fight was over she didn't know what she would do to him.

[Sprite Cast Bind]

[Sprite Cast Bind]

[Sprite Cast Bind]

Sprite cast bind and kept casting as fast as she could,

[Kuti Cast Weaken (03MP)]

From her place on the ground, the summon must have read Yvlena's intent and quickly cast the only skill she knew that could help.

Yvlena breathed a sigh of relief, at least one of them was using their brain.

What a smart doll.

The elven girl saw the effects of the skill in the form of a dark cloud appearing over the Boar’s head. In a moment it would slow down from the effects of weakening.

"Good job, Kuti!" Yvlena called. The tail in her hand slackened as it was no longer pulled taunt by the boar dragging her forward.

The boar was slowing down now, its body tangled with the vines that shot out of the ground and wrapped around its appendages.

It stopped in front of Dylan barely able to move but struggling despite that, the NPC, with a great heave plunged the sword into the beast's head dealing the critical final blow.

The boar disappeared in flakes of light, leaving Yvlena empty handed and relieved. She fell to the ground, resting on the soft grass panting hard.

"I knew we had nothing to worry about." He said puffing out his chest. As he looked around him he saw the faces of the summons were displeased except for Kuti who only ran to Yvlena's side wanting to be picked up.

[Sprite Cast Sting (01MP)]

"Ow!" he yelled as he was suddenly hit by a tiny beam of light.

"What were you thinking?" Sprite flew up to him shaking a finger in warning. "What if you or Kuti got hurt?"

"I guess we'll never know." Dylan said holding his hands out casually. He didn’t have so much as an apologetic expression on his face after thrusting himself and Kuti into danger.

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The forest sprite shot him a dirty look before huffing and flying over to Yvlena’s side.

[Yvlena Acquired

Exp:400/2070

Pork x3

Boar Tusks x2

Moon Points x500]

Kuti sat on Yvlena's chest, jingling as she did in a giggle.

"Good Job." Yvlena said again, opening her eyes and deciding to stand once more. She stumbled a bit as she did, sighing heavily as she looked back at her party.

[Your Companion gained a Level]

[Rabbit Knight gained a Level]

[Sprite gained a level]

[Kuti gained a level]

"That is a lot of progression." Yvlena said, placing Kuti back on her shoulder.

"Okay let's continue on." Yvlena said, the fight with the boar had sapped her of any energy to scold Dylan but it seemed Sprite was doing just that for her.

"We're almost at the outpost so you'll be able to pay your respects soon." Yvlena said with a tired shrug. The young man behind her nodded sensing he had done something wrong, he followed along quietly.

Yvlena didn't say much as they walked, her mind went towards Risel and the escort mission she would have to embark on through the Verdant woods.

Risel had a lot more sense than Dylan, she knew, but Yvlena worried about the variables she could not control. No matter how many times she told Dylan to be careful he still did whatever he pleased.

‘He’s just like a real kid!’ she thought in frustration. It was annoying.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Dylan asked as he noticed the deadpan expressions Yvlena and her summons had fixed on him.

“I’m wondering if you’re going to run straight into danger for the millionth time.”

“Hey! I haven’t been that reckless.”

“Yes, you have!” Yvlena and Sprite yelled.

“I haven’t been as reckless as I could be.” Dylan said, his face split into a wide grin as he held a finger up to correct her assertions.

'Well that's why they're characters, you either work with them or against them.' she thought, but right now Dylan seemed to enjoy working against her. Yvlena puffed up her cheeks, frustration continued to bubble within her.

[Dylan can sense your mood]

"Hold on...are you really that mad I didn't get out of the boar's way?" he asked.

Yvlena felt the beginnings of a verbal lashing on her tongue but held back. He was just a young man who wanted to pay his respects to his father. It was a quest she accepted.

‘I bought trouble with my own hands.’

"I'm upset because you and Kuti could have gotten hurt, I know you want to participate in battles but at your current ability you could get...killed." Yvlena said with as much grace as she could muster.

Come to think of it, she didn't even know what happened when an NPC's HP hit zero. Would they burst into light like the enemies did? Or would Yvlena have to lug back a dead body?

Either way, she was in no hurry to find out.

"It doesn't feel right to just stand back in battles and let you handle it." Dylan mumbled.

"Well, you entrusted me to be your escort right? That's what I'm supposed to do. If you die what would I tell your mom? What would I tell Iris, or Twyla when I find her? You're my responsibility." Yvlena said. once again it felt like she had a sibling albeit a stubborn one.

But maybe that was the lesson of the escort mission, NPCs wouldn't listen to her like a summon would.

"I know, I just feel pretty useless." Dylan said. "I see you order your summons around but you don't give me anything to do."

Yvlena gasped, she guessed she understood that feeling.

"On our way back, I'll leave you to fight some of the other enemies but please no more jumping into fights and I do mean it this time. No more."

Dylan nodded but instantly had a bright smile on his face. Yvlena shook her head and cuffed him at the back of his head again.

"That's for making me grab onto that boar. You're lucky Laurent needs his pork." Yvlena said.

“I’m sorry!” Dylan whined.