Ch.4441 – Copycat

“What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“NoName, what’s wrong with her? Why is she acting like that?”

NoName shrugged her shoulders.

How would I know?

“Hey, there’s an empty spot over there, girls. Let’s eat there.”

Ji-hye, who got her lunch first, found an empty seat, and Seo-ri sat next to her.

Finally, NoName followed and sat across from Seo-ri.

But Seo Yu-na, who had been following their group persistently, boldly claimed the seat next to NoName.

The seating arrangement was somewhat strange since she wasn’t sitting across from Ji-hye but rather on the opposite side.

“I told you not to worry about it, didn’t I?”

Yu-na, holding her head high, picked up her chopsticks as if sitting next to NoName was accomplishment enough.

“NoName, is this right…?”

“What?”

“Do you always eat this little for lunch? Do you eat a big breakfast?”

“No? I actually skip breakfast every day.”

Yu-na looked dejected after seeing the amount of food on NoName’s tray.

That’s because she had the exact same amount of food on her own tray.

“Two spoonfuls of rice… no soup… three anchovies, one sausage, one mashed potato piece, and a single strand of spinach…”

Beef seaweed soup, my favorite.

And soy sauce braised pork belly isn’t served that often either.

“Yu-na, won’t you be hungry eating like that?”

“No? I’m fine! This is enough for me too.”

“Haha…”

Seo-ri shook her head.

Yu-na had been following NoName everywhere lately, and now she was copying everything she did.

‘But copying her lunch portions is going a bit too far, isn’t it?’

Yu-na was naturally the first of the four to finish lunch.

With just five movements of her chopsticks, her tray looked brand new.

Seo-ri and Ji-hye were busy chatting about stickers from the stationery store, while NoName picked at her rice grain by grain before putting down her chopsticks.

“What? You’re not eating anymore?”

“Yeah, I don’t have much appetite.”

“I just can’t believe this.”

NoName couldn’t even finish that small amount, so she just leaned back in her chair and watched Seo-ri and Ji-hye’s talk show.

“You’re doing this on purpose to mess with me because I’m copying you, right?”

Yu-na finally exploded, unable to hold back any longer.

“Copying me? Ah.”

NoName finally realized the reason behind Yu-na’s recent behavior.

[Aren’t you taking notes?]

[Studying is done with your head, not your hands.]

[Hmm…]

Yu-na, who used to fill her textbooks with various highlighters, suddenly stopped even taking out her pencil case.

[NoName, you’re out!]

[Teacher, I got hit too. I’ll go out.]

[Oh really? Go ahead then.]

During dodgeball, she always followed the same path as NoName, trailing behind her.

[Seo Yu-na, if you’re not busy, can you help me with this?]

[Don’t talk to me. I’m extremely busy right now.]

During breaks, she crossed her arms and bowed her head to take naps just like NoName.

All these were behaviors mimicking NoName.

Seo Yu-na had realized something after seeing NoName’s magic the day before yesterday.

This girl was on a completely different level from Yoon Si-hoo.

Feeling the gap that seemed impossible to close even with 16 hours of studying per day, she came up with another approach.

Assuming NoName’s intelligence came from some special secret method, she thought she might gain insight by copying her every action.

That’s how “Copy NoName” began.

But as Yu-na observed her, she couldn’t help questioning herself.

NoName didn’t take notes, but she didn’t seem to be paying attention in class either.

She seemed to lack confidence in physical activities, barely participating in PE classes.

Plus, not eating all day was making Yu-na feel like she might faint from dizziness first.

While holding her throbbing head, NoName once again drank from her flask as usual.

She swirled the flask around like a sommelier savoring wine.

“I’m curious. What’s that thing you drink every day?”

Yu-na was certain.

The secret must be in that liquid.

Is it a memory-enhancing drug? Or maybe something that keeps you energetic all day without sleep?

“It’s a mana potion, but it’s not for you guys.”

“Potion? Like in games? Those exist in real life?”

“The effects are somewhat similar.”

What is a potion?

It’s a substance that replenishes depleted mana in the body.

But such a convenient thing couldn’t possibly exist in reality.

If it did, no one would need to make the effort to increase their Etheric Capacity.

But what if such a medicine really existed?

Magic above 2nd circle was all paid.

The standard point for payment was the ‘storage’ stage, as that’s when information exchange with the base station occurred.

But if you stopped magic at the 2nd or 3rd stage—injection or activation—you’d lose additional mana due to the magic circle’s irreversible nature.

Despite this inefficiency, having infinite mana would mean being able to practice magic all day.

Yu-na wasn’t about to miss such a good opportunity.

“Give me some too. I want to try it.”

“I told you it’s not for you guys.”

“Is it expensive?”

“Not particularly expensive.”

“Then why not? I’ll pay you back tomorrow.”

“This isn’t like a vitamin supplement—it’s medicine. You need a prescription to take it.”

Not everything good should be consumed carelessly.

NoName firmly stood her ground despite Yu-na’s persistence.

This really shouldn’t be drunk by others.

“How do I get a prescription then?”

“I’m not a doctor, so I don’t know.”

It was actually a medicine that reversed genetic traits altered by continuous exposure to high-mana environments. She couldn’t guarantee what would happen if a normal person kept drinking it.

Of course, who would be crazy enough to drink this in their right mind? But still… what’s not allowed is not allowed.

“Tch…”

Seo-ri, curious about our conversation, asked about the potion.

“NoName, how much of this do you drink each day?”

“3 liters every day.”

“Ugh, that’s a lot. No wonder you don’t eat much lunch.”

Seo-ri clicked her tongue.

It’s definitely torture to drink it every day.

Most people would struggle to drink even 3 liters of water daily.

“Your determination is admirable, but I’m not giving you even a sip, so just give up.”

“Why not! One sip wouldn’t hurt!”

“You seem to misunderstand—this isn’t like a potion in games. It does replenish mana, but it’s not in a usable state, so it’s meaningless anyway.”

“Then why do you drink it? You must drink it because it’s good for something!”

“Let’s drop it.”

* * *

Just one step away from uncovering the secret.

During the break after 5th period.

Yu-na focused on the timing when NoName went to wash her flask.

She had four 500ml flasks in total, and she always emptied three bottles and went to the bathroom to wash them before 6th period started.

She seemed to choose that time deliberately since there would be too many people during dismissal.

And for some reason, she always left the last bottle untouched as a spare.

‘Just one sip to taste it.’

Yu-na took the flask from NoName’s bag and placed it on her knees.

Feeling guilty, she looked around to make sure no one was watching.

‘It looks like ordinary water.’

Half a liter of liquid created waves inside the bottle.

But strangely, there were no bubbles.

She carefully opened the flask cap.

‘It doesn’t even smell strange?’

But something was wrong with the mana potion.

The clear liquid immediately became cloudy and turned black as soon as she opened the lid.

‘What! Oh no, this…!’

This was bad.

Yu-na’s thoughts immediately froze.

She belatedly remembered that the residue was always black when NoName washed her flasks.

The color changes when it contacts air.

Getting caught was just a matter of time now.

‘In that case…!’

Whether she took a drop or a sip, getting caught was already certain.

Yu-na figured that if she was going to be hated anyway, she might as well find out the potion’s effects for sure.

Gulp

“…!!!”

The moment the liquid touched her tongue.

Yu-na felt her strength drain from her entire body as if by magic.

“Kuhuck…!”

Crash

Without support, the flask lost balance and fell straight to the floor.

The glass bottle shattered into pieces when it hit the dull wooden floor.

“Kyaaak!”

“Whoa, you scared me! What’s wrong, Seo Yu-na?”

Yu-na’s small body collapsed.

She grabbed her throat in agony but couldn’t make a sound.

“Kack…!”

The liquid went beyond simple taste categories like bitter or sour.

It numbed her senses completely as every cell in her body screamed for help.

Experiencing this pain for the first time, Yu-na felt more fear than suffering.

‘No… no… I don’t want to die like this.’

She wanted to cut off her tongue.

She didn’t want to feel this sensation anymore.

But the burning sensation in her throat plunged her into even deeper despair.

‘Please save me…’