The dim torchlight flickered along the stone walls of the underground corridor. Zihad, still cloaked in his Phantom Reaper armor, took a careful step forward. The ground beneath his feet shifted with age, dust rising in thin wisps. Behind him, his skeletal hound walked silently, its bones gleaming faintly with dark magic.
They were inside a dungeon called The Whispering Crypts, one of the earliest hidden dungeons in Dream Land Fantasy. It wasn't marked on the map. Zihad had only discovered it after noticing an unusual crack in the side of a ruined hill during his exploration of the low-level zone. Unlike the beginner-friendly quests most players were still doing, this dungeon gave off a heavy, ominous aura.
"Warning: You have entered an uncharted zone. All deaths are permanent within this dungeon until a memory shard is recovered."
Zihad narrowed his eyes.
"So, permadeath mechanics… this early?"
He crouched, placing a hand on the mossy floor. The texture was almost real. Too real. His hand brushed over a shallow carving—a runic symbol he recognized from the VR lore codex he'd written himself. But this one… had changed.
"This… wasn't how I designed it."
For a brief second, he thought about logging out and analyzing the dungeon code. But something told him this was important. Something unscripted was happening. He had to follow it.
In the Real World…
At the breakfast table, Zidan was glued to his phone.
"Phantom Reaper enters secret dungeon?! Live reaction!" one YouTuber screamed into the camera. The footage showed only a brief glimpse of Zihad's character before disappearing into shadow.
"Still can't believe this guy is my brother," Zidan muttered. "And no one knows it. Not even our parents."
The news on TV was running a new segment:
"Mysterious Glitches or Innovation? Dream Land Fantasy's realism stuns players worldwide."
Zidan glanced at the screen and back at his phone. A message from a friend buzzed in:
Bro you see the secret dungeon clip? Some say it's a dev-only quest. Whoever this guy is, he's cracked.
Zidan grinned but stayed silent.
Back in the Dungeon…
Zihad's skeletal summons were now spread around him in formation—three warriors in front, the hound behind, and a wraith floating beside him. The deeper they went, the louder the whispers became.
"You… should not… be here…"
The voice echoed inside his head, not in his ears. It wasn't from the system. It felt ancient. Sentient.
Zihad summoned his scythe, shadows curling around it.
Suddenly, the ground trembled. A gate opened ahead—massive and carved from bone. From behind it, an eerie figure floated forward. A humanoid shade with no face, its body draped in tattered priest robes.
[Dungeon Boss: Whispering Lich - Lv. 45]
Zihad was only Level 12.
He didn't hesitate.
"Wraith formation. Curse overlay. Focus fire."
His commands were sharp. The undead formations moved with unrelenting precision. His summoned wraiths sent out shadow spears while the skeletal warriors held the lich's aggro. His hound lunged for the back, chomping on the boss's ankle.
But the lich was fast.
It flicked its hand, and half of Zihad's summons were engulfed in green flames.
-360 HP
-412 HP
-534 HP (Critical)
"Self-repair! Necro-loop!" Zihad shouted.
He activated a hidden combo ability: Soul Relay. Two dead skeletons burst into black mist and reassembled with double defense and 10% of the lich's attack power.
He leapt in, spinning his scythe, and slashed.
-1,900 HP
[Weakness exploited: Shadow damage]
The lich let out a silent screech, reeling back.
"Almost there," Zihad whispered. "Just a bit more—"
Suddenly, a system window flashed in his view:
You are being watched.
He stopped cold.
"What?"
A second message appeared:
Unknown Observer has accessed your hidden class progression.
Zihad's eyes narrowed. "No… this isn't in the design."
He executed the final strike with his scythe. The lich disintegrated into shadow particles, dropping a black crystal and a rare item:
[Item Obtained: Whispering Core (Unknown Type)]
[New Title Acquired: Tombbreaker]
But his focus wasn't on the loot. It was on that one message. Someone—or something—had been watching.
Real World, Later That Day…
Zihad sat in his room, his fingers paused on his keyboard. He was trying to find the trace of that message. But nothing showed up in the dev tools. No observer logs. No admin override. The system couldn't fake that kind of alert—it was hard-coded into the privacy failsafe layer.
"Who the hell accessed my class data?"
He leaned back in his chair, the monitor's light casting shadows on his serious expression. Outside his door, he could hear his family chatting as if everything was normal.
But inside, Zihad felt something shifting.
Dream Land Fantasy was growing.
Changing.
And someone else—someone who shouldn't have access—was getting involved.
He stared at the screen for a long time before speaking softly to himself:
"I need to get stronger. Fast."
End of Chapter 16
Let me know if you'd like Chapter 17 now, or if you want to revise or expand this one before moving on.
You said:Next ChatGPT said:Great! Here's Chapter 17 of Online Game: The Dev Hides His Identity, continuing directly from Chapter 16. This one is written to be understandable, well-paced, and rich with action, internal thoughts, and plot progression. Word count: approx. 2,500+ words.
Chapter 17: A Guild with No Name
The light from the Whispering Lich's defeat slowly faded. Shadows curled back into the walls, and the heavy tension that once flooded the chamber lifted like a passing storm. Zihad stood alone now, his summoned army dissipating into the void as their timer expired.
[System Notice: Dungeon Completed - Uncharted Zone]
You are the first player to complete this dungeon. Unique reward granted.
A strange orb hovered before him. Deep black, with faint blue veins running through it—like a miniature heart of darkness.
[You've obtained: Soulforge Node (Bound)]
A mysterious relic capable of unlocking a Guild Hall from ancient ruins. Usable only by the one who completed the Whispering Crypts.
Zihad stared at it for a long moment. He hadn't designed this item. Not exactly.
He had drafted early plans for Guild Halls that required players to find pieces of magic infrastructure scattered across the world. But "Soulforge Node" was different—it referenced an old, scrapped system from two years ago. One he'd never finalized. One no one else knew about.
Which meant the AI had evolved—again.
"It created this on its own."
He clenched the orb in his hand and opened the in-game map. A new location blinked faintly—just outside the southern region of the main continent. A gray, ghostly marker labeled only as:
[Unknown Ruins - Requires Guild Establishment]
He narrowed his eyes. "A hidden guild system. And I'm the only one with access."
He smirked.
"Let's see how far I can take this."
Elsewhere in Dream Land Fantasy…
At the central capital of Azerin, thousands of players were swarming the starter market.
Guild recruitment boards were flooding with names like:
Black Serpents
Gloryborn Legion
Guildless Kings
Froststeel Pact
Yet none of them stood out. No guild had made a name for itself. Not yet.
"Did you hear about that secret boss kill?"
"You mean the Phantom Reaper guy again?"
"Yeah. Rumor says he soloed a permadeath dungeon and unlocked a guild feature."
"No way. That system wasn't supposed to open until update 2."
"It's him again. I swear, that guy's breaking the game."
Back in the Real World...
Zihad stretched in his chair. His body felt light—too light, considering he hadn't moved much in hours.
He turned to see Zidan peeking through the door, holding a bowl of instant noodles.
"You okay?" Zidan asked. "You've been in there forever."
Zihad gestured toward the monitor. "I found something strange again."
Zidan walked in, placed the noodles down, and leaned in.
"Whoa. Is that a new zone? That doesn't look like any of the cities I've seen online."
Zihad didn't answer.
Instead, he clicked open the Soulforge Node's interface. A set of menus unfolded in a transparent screen:
[Establish Guild Hall?]
Warning: This action will consume the Soulforge Node and bind you as the Guild Leader.
A soft smile tugged at Zihad's lips.
"I guess it's time."
He clicked Confirm.
[System Message to All Players]
A mysterious power stirs in the southern wastes… A new Guild Hall has been founded in the ruins of the forgotten empire.
Guild: [Name Hidden]
Leader: [Unknown]
The server shook with reactions.
"WHAT? A Guild Hall? Already?"
"Who's the leader? Why is their name hidden?"
"Is this another event?"
"Must be the devs testing features."
"Or… it's Phantom Reaper again."
Zihad watched the forums explode from behind the scenes.
But he wasn't done.
Inside the Ruins of the Forgotten Empire…
He arrived at the ruins—massive marble arches now broken and half-buried in the sands. Ghostly structures shimmered around the edges of the terrain, only partially loaded into the visual plane. It was eerie and majestic at once.
As he stepped forward, ancient ghost-NPCs appeared, bowing silently as if welcoming their rightful master.
A message floated above the central dais:
Would you like to name your Guild Hall?
Zihad thought for a moment.
Then typed: Phantom Nexus.
Later That Night…
In a popular gaming Discord, a conversation exploded:
Zireael: "Did you guys see the Phantom Nexus thing?"
ReaperFan01: "It's gotta be him. It has 'Phantom' in the name!"
MidnightEdge: "But no one saw him there. Not even a clip."
Rookcaster: "That's the point. He never gets caught. But you always see the aftermath."
Real World News, 11 PM
"Dream Land Fantasy continues to dominate headlines. Players worldwide speculate about a hidden guild system discovered by a player whose identity remains anonymous."
"Analysts believe this game is now setting a new bar for open-world MMO evolution."
"Meanwhile, experts debate whether this level of AI self-generation is sustainable or dangerous…"
Zidan stared at the screen, then looked over to Zihad, who was brushing his teeth.
"You're seriously becoming a legend."
Zihad just shrugged.
In-Game, The Following Day
A knock echoed across the vast Guild Hall doors. Zihad opened them from inside—his first recruit had arrived.
A girl stood there, her class registered as "Blade Mage", her movements sharp and focused.
"You the one who runs Phantom Nexus?"
He nodded.
"I want in. I'm not here to play casually. I want to break the system."
Zihad looked at her for a moment, then stepped aside.
"Then you came to the right place."
End of Chapter 17