Level Up by Doing Absolutely Nothing Chapter 1: The Art of Doing Nothing
There's an art to doing nothing. Most people don't appreciate this fact.
My name is Kazuto Sato, and I've spent the last seventeen years of my life perfecting this art. While other kids were busy joining clubs, studying for entrance exams, or developing their abilities, I dedicated myself to the pursuit of absolute minimal effort.
"Kazuto! Are you still in bed? It's already noon!"
Ah, there she is. My mother, my arch-nemesis in the battle for peaceful laziness.
"Five more minutes," I mumbled into my pillow, pulling my blanket over my head. The warm cocoon of my bed was too perfect to abandon. Why would anyone willingly leave this paradise?
"You said that two hours ago! Get up right now or I'll drag you out myself!"
I sighed. The threat wasn't hollow—she'd done it before. With the greatest reluctance imaginable, I peeked one eye open and stared at the ceiling.
That's when I saw it.
[Level Up! Kazuto Sato has reached Level 2! Ability: Sloth's Blessing has evolved!]
The glowing blue text hovered above my bed like a hologram from a sci-fi movie. I blinked, rubbed my eyes, and looked again. It was still there.
"What the..."
I sat up so quickly I got dizzy. The text disappeared, but another notification appeared in its place:
[Experience gain halted due to movement. Resume doing nothing to continue earning EXP.]
"Mom!" I shouted, suddenly wide awake. "I think my ability just awakened!"
The thundering of footsteps up the stairs told me she'd heard. My bedroom door flew open, and Mom stood there with wide eyes and a dishrag still in her hand.
"Really? After all this time? What is it?" Her excitement was palpable. Most kids awaken to their abilities around fourteen or fifteen. At seventeen, I was considered a late bloomer, and Mom had started to worry I might be one of the rare few without any special ability at all.
"I..." I hesitated. How exactly do you tell your mother, who's been nagging you about your laziness for years, that your supernatural ability literally rewards you for being lazy? "I'm not sure yet. I need to test it."
Mom's face fell slightly, but she nodded. "Well, that's still wonderful news! I'll make your favorite curry for dinner to celebrate. But you still need to get up and do your chores."
After she left, I flopped back onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. Nothing happened.
"Huh. Maybe I imagined it."
I closed my eyes and consciously tried to do absolutely nothing. No movement. No thoughts (well, as few as possible). Just... existing.
After about five minutes, another notification appeared:
[EXP gained: +10. Keep doing nothing to accumulate more EXP.]
"No way," I whispered, sitting up again. The notification disappeared immediately. "You've got to be kidding me."
I spent the next hour experimenting. If I lay completely still and emptied my mind, I earned about 10 EXP points every five minutes. If I fell asleep, the points stopped accumulating—apparently, doing nothing had to be a conscious choice. And as soon as I moved or did anything productive, the experience gain halted.
By the time Mom called me for lunch, I'd figured out the basics of my new status screen as well. With a specific thought pattern—kind of like crossing your eyes but with your brain—I could pull up a glowing blue interface only I could see:
Name: Kazuto Sato
Level: 2
Ability: Sloth's Blessing (Passive)
Description: Gain experience points by consciously doing nothing.
-- Stats --
HP: 70/70
MP: 80/80
Strength: 4
Defense: 5
Ability: 6
Dexterity: 5
Intelligence: 8
Luck: 9
I stared at my stats in disbelief. They weren't impressive by most standards, except for my surprisingly high Luck and Intelligence. But the implication was clear—if I continued to level up by doing nothing, these stats would increase.
"Kazuto! Lunch! I mean it, come down now or it's going cold!"
"Coming!" I called back, hiding my grin.
In a world where everyone was scrambling to develop their abilities through intense training, grueling practice, and constant effort, I had somehow awakened to the most contradictory ability possible. I could literally get stronger by doing absolutely nothing.
Life was about to get very interesting... or, well, technically very uninteresting. And that was perfectly fine by me.
At school the next day, the usual chaos of the classroom greeted me. Yukimura was showing off his fire manipulation by creating tiny flame dragons that danced around his desk. Miko was using her telekinesis to organize her notebooks without touching them. And Takashi, the class overachiever, was in the corner practicing his super-speed reading—his eyes literally blurring as he flipped through pages faster than humanly possible.
Me? I put my head down on my desk and pretended to nap.
[EXP gained: +5]
I smiled into the crook of my arm. This was going to be easier than I thought.
"Sato! No sleeping in class!" Ms. Nakamura's sharp voice cut through my concentration. Our homeroom teacher had the ability to amplify her voice—highly appropriate for dealing with a class full of teenagers with supernatural abilities.
"I wasn't sleeping," I said truthfully, lifting my head. "Just resting my eyes."
"Well, rest them on the board instead. We're discussing the upcoming ability showcase."
I suppressed a groan. The ability showcase was an annual event where students demonstrated their abilities and were scouted by universities and companies. It was a big deal for most students—a chance to show off what made them special.
But how exactly was I supposed to showcase doing nothing?
As Ms. Nakamura droned on about registration deadlines and performance guidelines, I experimentally tried to do nothing while keeping my eyes open and fixed on the blackboard. It was harder than my bedroom experiments, but after a few minutes of conscious effort to remain completely still and mentally vacant:
[EXP gained: +3]
The gain was lower, but it was working! I could theoretically level up during class just by zoning out more effectively than I already did. This was the perfect ability for someone like me.
"Sato-kun, you look unusually pleased with yourself today," whispered Mika from the desk beside mine. "Did something good happen?"
Mika Yamada was one of the few people at school who actually talked to me regularly. She had the ability to sense emotions, which made her annoyingly perceptive but also kind to even the class slackers like me.
"I awakened my ability," I whispered back, feeling a small surge of pride despite myself.
Her eyes widened. "Really? That's amazing! What is it?"
And there was the question I'd been dreading. I glanced around to make sure no one else was listening.
"It's... complicated. I'm still figuring it out."
"Well, whatever it is, I'm happy for you," she said with a genuine smile. "You seem really satisfied about it."
If only she knew.
After school, I decided to test my ability further. Instead of heading home, I went to the city park and found a secluded bench under a tree. The spring weather was perfect—not too hot, with a gentle breeze. Ideal conditions for doing absolutely nothing.
I settled onto the bench, closed my eyes, and emptied my mind.
[EXP gained: +10] [EXP gained: +10] [EXP gained: +10]
After about half an hour:
[Level Up! Kazuto Sato has reached Level 3! Ability: Sloth's Blessing has strengthened!]
I quickly checked my status screen:
Name: Kazuto Sato Level: 3 Ability: Sloth's Blessing (Passive) Description: Gain experience points by consciously doing nothing.
-- Stats -- HP: 80/80 (+10) MP: 90/90 (+10) Strength: 5 (+1) Defense: 6 (+1) Ability: 8 (+2) Dexterity: 5 Intelligence: 9 (+1) Luck: 11 (+2)
-- Skills -- Zen State (Level 1): Enter a state of perfect stillness, increasing EXP gain by 25% for up to 5 minutes. Cooldown: 1 hour. Passive Observation (Level 1): While doing nothing, gain the ability to observe details about people and objects within your field of vision.
I had gained new skills! And my stats had actually increased just from leveling up. Strength, Defense, Ability, Intelligence, and especially Luck had all improved. My HP and MP had increased too. All from just sitting around doing nothing.
I immediately tried activating my new "Zen State" skill. A wave of calm washed over me, and the world seemed to fade slightly around the edges. My breathing slowed, and I felt completely at peace.
[Zen State activated. EXP gain increased by 25% for 5 minutes.] [EXP gained: +12.5]
This was incredible. In a world where everyone was killing themselves to improve their abilities, I could just... sit here. The ultimate contradiction. The perfect ability for the world's laziest high school student.
I couldn't help but laugh out loud, breaking my Zen State prematurely.
"What's so funny, Sato?"
I opened my eyes to see Ryota Kondo, captain of the martial arts club and possessor of enhanced strength, standing in front of me with his usual judgmental expression. Great. The last person I wanted to see during my moment of triumph.
"Nothing," I replied, which was technically the most accurate answer possible.
As he stood there, I noticed something I'd never seen before—glowing blue text floating above his head:
Ryota Kondo Level 8 Ability: Enhanced Strength Strength: 18 Defense: 15 Ability: 12
Wait, I could see other people's stats now? That must be the Passive Observation skill I just gained!
"Weird as always," he muttered, continuing on his jogging path. His stats were impressive, especially his Strength at 18, but interestingly, I couldn't see any mental attributes like Intelligence. Maybe my observation skill would improve with levels.
But for the first time, his superiority didn't bother me. Let him run himself ragged. Let him spend hours in the gym. Let him practice his techniques until he collapsed from exhaustion.
I'd be catching up by doing absolutely nothing.
I leaned back on the bench and closed my eyes again, a smile spreading across my face. This was going to change everything—while requiring me to change absolutely nothing about my lifestyle.
Perfect.
[EXP gained: +10]