How many years has it been?
I don't know.
And honestly? I don't care.
This entire time, I've felt like I was in heaven. Nothing but blissful, uninterrupted slumber. No responsibilities, no annoying people, no sudden monster attacks—just pure, undisturbed rest.
I'm never waking up.
Time lost all meaning. First, a decade passed in the blink of an eye. Then a century. Then a millennium. Then… an eoncame and went.
…Then, I saw a light.
Something was calling me to wake up.
What?
Why?
Who dares to ruin my paradise?
My consciousness slowly returned, dragging me out of the greatest sleep in history. My body, still heavy with drowsiness, resisted. But against my will, my eyes fluttered open. The coffin's lid was already unlocked.
I groggily sat up and stretched, bones popping and cracking like a symphony of ancient relics finally moving after centuries.
"Uwaahh… Good morning."
Of course, it wasn't. I had no way to tell if it was morning. But at this point, I might as well embrace the habit.
I glanced around. My surroundings hadn't changed much—same moss-covered walls, same eerie atmosphere. Yet… something felt different.
It was me.
My body felt oddly… powerful.
Like I could crush a fortress with a flick of my wrist.
Was this the power of sleep?
If so, then I must go back to sleep and reach even greater heights. But as I tried to lie back down, an unsettling feeling stopped me.
Something was wrong.
I remembered the light calling me.
And worse… I felt like I was being watched.
With a frown, I grabbed my bag. The moment I touched it, I realized just how much time had passed.
The leather was covered in moss. The food inside? Nothing but dust. My iron sword was rusted to the point of crumbling. My once-pristine armor and tent were barely holding together. Even the gold coins looked like they'd disintegrate with another chip.
I… I think I underestimated time.
Is this what 100,000 years does to things? But then… why do I feel fine?
To be sure, I opened my status.
[Status Open]
Name: John Michael
Level: 50,043
Age: 100,026
Job: None
HP: 5,454,687 / 5,454,687
Mana: 1,543,789,345 / 1,543,789,345
Atk: 2,352,021
Magic: 10,345,789
Dex: 1,451,247
Agi: 1,351,161
Vit: 1,851,519
Luk: 3,402,924
Skills:(Skill List)Skill Points: 150,129
[Night Vision] (Max) (Active)[Self-Suffice] (Max) (Active)[Appraisal] (Max) (Active)Unique Skills:[Immortality][Experience Gain][Deep Slumber][Limitless Growth]
Unique Attribute: [Hero]
…
What the actual hell is this?
Why are my stats so stupidly high?
I didn't even take a single job! I literally just slept!
And why is my mana pool in the billions? How did I—wait, no. More importantly… how the hell did I even level up?!
"Unbelievable…"
I was still trying to wrap my head around this nonsense when a voice cut through my thoughts.
"Are you done already? I can't believe the only one who survived was you."
I snapped my head up.
There, sitting on a throne that definitely wasn't there before, was a woman.
Her figure was eerily familiar—long, flowing hair, regal posture, and an aura that practically screamed divinity. But her dress was tattered, and wounds covered her body.
…No way.
"Goddess Athena?"
She gave me a weak smile. "Yes, it's me. But I don't have much time left. Let me explain—" She coughed, but her voice remained clear. "You've been asleep for 100,000 years. And a lot has happened. The major part is… the Demon Lord has awakened again. But this time, he's targeting the gods. As a result, I am severely wounded."
Oh.
Well, that's… bad.
"Wait, but why would the Demon Lord attack the gods? Oh—" I sighed. "It's because you kept summoning reincarnated heroes to kill him, huh?"
Athena nodded. "You're quick on the uptake."
…Yeah, because this is so cliché.
"You see, we only reincarnated individuals to maintain balance. But since the world was peaceful, we stopped. However, the Demon Lord reappeared when we least expected it. We weren't ready. He wiped out most of the gods to prevent us from summoning more heroes. I was sent here in advance to warn the reincarnated ones, but…"
She closed her eyes. "They were stubborn. They thought they could take him down with just their blessings. They all rushed in, and—"
"And they all got slaughtered."
"...Yes."
Oh, wow.
Are they stupid?
They just blindly charged in like some half-baked anime protagonists? What did they think this was, a power fantasy light novel?!
"This world isn't doomed yet," Athena continued. "The humans are still resisting the Demon Lord's army. But according to my senior god, the world will fall within the next century."
…A century, huh?
That's still plenty of time for me to sleep.
"Wait, hold on—what about my slumber?"
Athena's face twisted in rage. "Ugh! Even after thousands of years, you still have that infuriating attitude! Don't you care about the world?!"
No, not really.
"I mean, you're not wrong."
"Unbelievable!" Athena groaned, gripping her head. "Zeus, is this child really our world's last hope?!"
"Fine, fine! I'll listen, so stop being dramatic."
She sighed and rubbed her temples before continuing.
"Now, about your absurd level. You see, you have [Experience Gain], right? That skill normally increases EXP gain up to 5x. Combined with your 2x reincarnated bonus, you get 10x EXP."
"Okay…?"
"But that's not all."
She gave me a tired look.
"[Experience Gain] has another effect. It automatically registers you as a 'party member' in dungeons."
…
"What?"
Athena coughed, then spat blood.
…Well, now I feel really bad. But instead of stopping to rest, she just kept talking anyway.
"Are you okay?"
"No… But let me finish."
She really didn't look like she'd last much longer.
"Think of it like this," she continued. "There are always adventurers challenging this dungeon, right? They kill monsters, gain experience, and level up. Your skill automatically registers you as a hidden party member in every single one of those parties. But they don't know you exist."
I frowned. "Wait. If that's the case, wouldn't my level be lower? Experience is divided among party members. I should've only gotten a fraction of it, right?"
That was basic RPG knowledge. Even if I was unknowingly getting EXP, my level shouldn't be this absurdly high.
Athena smirked weakly. "No. Because monsters here automatically respawn."
…That's not—
"Oh, and by the way," she added, "this dungeon is the hardest in the world. By your request and my pent-up anger, I chose this location specifically to kill you."
…
Uh-oh.
So that's why I was sent here. No wonder no one ever found me—I was in a place so difficult that not even the greatest heroes could clear it.
"And for 100,000 years," Athena continued, "countless adventurers have challenged this dungeon. And you've been passively absorbing every single bit of experience they gained."
…"Countless adventurers," huh?
…And I took all that EXP without lifting a single finger?
This skill is actually insane.
"But wait," I asked, "does that mean I was stealing their EXP?"
Wouldn't the adventurers notice they weren't gaining levels? If they did, why would they even bother coming back?
Athena shook her head. "No, you gain the same amount of EXP they do. But they don't lose anything."
"Oh. So it's not stealing. More like a parasitic relationship." I paused. "Wait. Is it really? I didn't actually harm them, did I?"
She ignored my existential crisis. "Because you have [Limitless Growth], another perk of a reincarnated individual, your {Stats Acquisition} is extremely high."
"Stats Acquisition?"
"To put it simply, it's how much your stats increase per level. Normally, it's a standard +1 to each stat per level. But since you have a reincarnated individual's perks, you receive +100 per level and +5 skill points instead of 1."
…
Okay, yeah. That's just broken.
No wonder my stats are in the millions.
"I know this is a lot to take in, but bear with me," Athena said. "I won't last much longer either."
And as if to prove her point, she coughed up even more blood.
"Also, the reason your mana is so high is because you've been collecting mana from this dungeon."
"Collecting?"
"You see, dungeons are places with high magical content. Monsters are born from condensed magic. But when a dungeon accumulates more magic than it can use, it needs to transfer that magic into a vessel."
I narrowed my eyes. "And this place is the most magic-dense dungeon in the world."
Athena nodded. "Meaning?"
I exhaled. "Meaning that for the past 100,000 years, all that extra magic has been dumped into me."
"Exactly. That's why when I visited this place, the magic levels were far lower than expected."
Oh.
So that's why my mana pool is in the billions.
I'm literally a walking mana battery.
"Okay," I sighed, rubbing my temples. "So I have infinite EXP gain, infinite stat growth, and an absurd mana pool. But what now?"
Athena didn't answer immediately.
She looked at me with an unreadable expression. Then, after a long pause, she spoke.
"John Micheal. You are the only reincarnated individual left."
I blinked.
"Because the Demon Lord hunted down everyone else, didn't he?"
"You really are quick to understand." Athena's voice was heavy. "Yes. He eliminated every other reincarnated individual. Even those who refused to fight—because he knew they could become a threat later."
So that's how bad the situation was.
The gods were dying, reincarnated heroes were wiped out, and the world was on the verge of collapse.
And now I, a guy who just wanted to sleep, was the only one left.
Great. Just great.
Athena coughed violently again, then reached out her hand.
"I don't have much time. I will now grant you two final blessings: [Concealment] and [Skill Acquisition]. You have [Appraisal], so you can check their effects yourself."
You have acquired [Concealment], [Skill Acquisition]!
Athena's body started glowing faintly.
She smiled weakly. "Ah… so this is my limit, huh?"
She looked at me—her gaze filled with something between hope and regret.
"I know I have done unforgivable things to you. But please… Hero—no, John Micheal… please save this world."
Her voice was fading.
"This is the last will of the God Pantheon. Take it."
You have acquired [God Pantheon's Will]!
…
I sighed. "I don't know if I'll save the world. But I will—for the sake of my sleep."
Athena laughed weakly. "Even at the end, you're truly the worst."
A single tear slid down her cheek.
"But thank you. Promise me—" she whispered, "you'll become the world's strongest."
And then, just like that—
She faded into light.
Like dust carried away by the wind.
…
I sat down in the corner, staring blankly at the floor.
What should I do now?
I pulled up my status.
---
[Status Open]
Name: John Micheal
Level: 50,043
Age: 100,026
Job: None
{Stats}
HP: 5,454,687 / 5,454,687
Mana: 1,543,789,345 / 1,543,789,345
Atk: 2,352,021Magic: 10,345,789Dex: 1,451,247
Agi: 1,351,161
Vit: 1,851,519
Luk: 3,402,924
{Skills}
(Skill List) {Skill Points}: 150,128
[Night Vision] (Max) (Active)
[Self-Suffice] (Max) (Active)
[Appraisal] (Max)
{Unique Skills}
[Immortality]
[Experience Gain]
[Deep Slumber]
[Limitless Growth]
[Concealment]
[Skill Acquisition]
Unique Attributes:
[Hero]
[God Pantheon's Will]
----
I sighed again.
My goals were simple.
I just wanted to sleep for eternity.
And now, out of nowhere, I've got this massive responsibility thrown onto my shoulders.
This isn't fair.
I wish I could be like that guy from some manga—you know, the one who got thrown into space and was forced to sleep forever? That sounds so much better than this.
…Seriously.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?