"A simple task?" Xiao Hua asked curiously, realizing that rejecting the quest triggered a special storyline.

"I wish for the two of you to take me out of this Silent Forest!" The giant eagle said sincerely.

"How can we take you?" Xiao Hua was confused. They had completed the quest and could leave the dungeon after turning it in and receiving their rewards. He had never heard of taking an NPC out of a dungeon, but since the bird proposed this, there must be a way.

"It's quite simple. I wish to become a follower of either of you, then you can take me along!" the eagle explained.

"Follower!" Xiao Hua excitedly whispered to Piaoling.

"If I remember correctly, only humanoids like humans, elves, and fairies can become followers, while beasts are excluded, right?" Piaoling ignored Xiao Hua's childish excitement and directly asked the eagle.

"Even though I look like a bird, I'm actually a human!" the giant eagle said slowly, closing its eyes in pain. "My name is Abri, originally just a lumberjack living in the Silent Forest. When the evil sorceress came to this forest, she found me useful and kept me around, leaving a magic mark on me so I couldn't escape. When the Queen of Silence appeared, the evil sorceress used dark magic to transform me into a special eagle to track her movements. Thus, I became what I am today.

"In this time, I have repeatedly disobeyed the black sorceress's orders, which has made her very displeased with me. Now that the Queen of Silence is dead, I've lost my usefulness, and the evil sorceress won't spare me. Only you two can take me out of this forest and allow me to survive."

"Damn! So it's a human disguised as a bird. I was wondering how a bird could grow so big!" Xiao Hua had calmed down from his excitement, knowing that others accepted followers because they were useful, but this giant bird seemed to have little use.

"Abri, if you follow us, what can you do for us?" Xiao Hua asked straightforwardly.

"If the two of you can eliminate the evil sorceress, I can restore my human form and do some logging and carving work for you. As for my current bird form, I only possess the ability to sense dark energy and see through illusions. And..." Abri hesitated before continuing, "These abilities might be weakened after becoming a follower."

"It seems like a follower with limited utility. The ability to see through illusions might be useful, but whether it's practical needs testing. Plus, the weakening of abilities makes it uncertain. I'm going to delete my account, so taking him won't help," Piaoling said, planning to delete her character soon.

"Take him! Why not? It's free!" Xiao Hua reasoned, "If he's useless, let him die. Followers can't be revived anyway, so I can always find another one!"

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"Quite ruthless!" Piaoling remarked, feeling sorry for Abri if he ended up with such a heartless master.

"Where's the cruelty? Think about it, if I don't take him, he'll be killed by the black sorceress. By taking him, I'm saving his life, doing a good deed!" Xiao Hua said without guilt.

"Alright, Abri, I decide to take you as a follower."

System Prompt: Abri wishes to become your follower. Do you accept?

Xiao Hua chose to accept.

System Prompt: Congratulations! Abri has become your follower!

Having taken him, Xiao Hua was troubled by the giant bird's size. Followers were different from mounts; they couldn't be carried around and were autonomous NPCs. Dealing with such a large bird was a headache. If Abri remained in this form, he'd have to stay indoors, or else players might mistake him for a boss and attack him.

However, the system solved this problem for Xiao Hua. The moment Abri became his follower, his body shrank rapidly, turning into a common owl!

Abri showed no surprise at his transformation, seemingly expecting it. Flapping his wings, he flew up and said, "Master, I cannot appear before the black sorceress, or she'll surely target you. I'll wait here and follow you when you leave."

Well, that's convenient, Xiao Hua nodded. Abri then perched on a giant tree.

"I suddenly feel Abri isn't a bad follower at all." Piaoling realized that with his small size, Abri could act as a scout or spy, invisible to monsters and useful for reconnaissance.

Xiao Hua, being a thief, understood the value. Having Abri was like having a radar in the sky, making him a valuable assistant for dungeons and outdoor adventures.

"Hehe, this dungeon is great, a huge gain!" Xiao Hua said, satisfied. Not only did he get a level 40 dark gold weapon, but he also acquired a promising follower. Though he used a super boss card, it was worth it.

"Look at you. Let's head back to the camp; there are still dungeon rewards waiting for you. An S-grade quest, wonder what rewards it gives. Too bad my reward is fixed," Piaoling said, regretful.

"At my level, the result will be tragic," Xiao Hua said, dejected.

Piaoling paused, recalling Xiao Hua's level, and chuckled softly.

In the Second World, dungeon rewards follow two main rules: First, experience rewards are capped at 100% of the required experience for leveling up. Second, the level of rewarded equipment does not exceed the player's level by more than five levels.

Most dungeons have level restrictions, so these rules are often overlooked. For unrestricted dungeons, the system limits rewards to maintain balance. Xiao Hua, at level 23, would receive limited rewards.

Half an hour later, they returned to the camp. Pushing open the wooden door, they entered the hut. The old woman, the evil sorceress Ferela, saw them alive and a hint of panic flashed in her eyes, quickly vanishing.

"Praise the Lord, the two brave heroes have eliminated the terrible Queen of Silence!" The sorceress's wrinkled face showed a sincere smile, hard to imagine she was a ruthless black sorceress.

System Prompt: You have completed the quest "Save the Silent Forest" and received 100,000 experience points!

"Damn! This woman is indeed a black sorceress, too stingy. An S-grade quest only gives 100,000 experience points! What a rip-off!" Xiao Hua cursed in the chat channel.

"Dungeon quest rewards are usually symbolic. Getting 100,000 experience is already high. The key is the dungeon completion rewards. Accept your fate," Piaoling laughed. Indeed, most dungeons rely on completion rewards, with quest tasks, monster kills, and hidden areas determining the final reward.

System Prompt: You have cleared the dungeon "Silent Forest." The camp is now a safe zone for you. Please choose your dungeon rewards.

Xiao Hua resignedly selected the reward option.

System Prompt: Based on the dungeon's nature, you can choose one of the following rewards:

A. Special fixed reward, entering the skill proficiency retention system. B. Ordinary random dungeon reward.