Chapter 1

"Nova, I paid a fortune for these mushrooms. People online say if you eat them, you can see the answers to the SAT."

The moment I opened my eyes, I saw my best friend, Elise Moore, excitedly holding a white-stemmed, red-capped mushroom in front of me.

"When the exam day comes, I'll eat one of these. Getting into a top university will be effortless."

The smug look in Elise's eyes made my whole body tremble with rage.

In my previous life, when I heard her say this, I had curiously examined the mushroom in her hand.

As someone who grew up in rural Aethoria, I immediately realized something was off.

This wasn't just any poisonous mushroom. It was a fly agaric with strong hallucinogenic properties. If consumed carelessly, it could kill someone.

I told Elise the truth and even showed her news articles about people dying after eating those poisonous mushrooms.

She had been terrified and immediately threw the mushroom into the trash.

"Nova, thank God you warned me. If I'd actually eaten it, forget getting into a top university—I probably wouldn't even make it into community college."

But after the SAT was over, a classmate claimed they'd eaten the poisonous mushrooms, hallucinated all the answers, and aced the test without breaking a sweat.

When the results were released, that classmate was indeed admitted into a top-tier university.

Meanwhile, Elise missed the cutoff score by a single point and could only attend a community college.

She completely lost her mind and blamed everything on me.

As I was celebrating my university admission, she stabbed me 18 times while I wasn't paying attention.

"You bitch! If you hadn't meddled in my business, I would've been the one accepted into a top university!"

I bled to death on the spot.

Later, to cover up what she'd done, Elise turned herself in and claimed she had a mental illness. Not only did she avoid prison, but she even became an Internet celebrity by exploiting my death for attention and sympathy, making a fortune from it.

The phantom pain from those stab wounds still felt fresh, like it was carved into my bones. I swallowed the hatred churning inside me and forced myself to look calm.

"El, once you get into a top university and make it big, don't forget about me."

Elise's face beamed with pride. She couldn't hide her grin.

"Nova, you're my best friend. Of course, I won't forget you when I'm rich."

Then her expression shifted slightly, and worry crept across her face.

"But I'm kind of scared. These mushrooms aren't going to kill me, right? Nova, you grew up in the countryside in Aethoria. Can't you just check if they're safe to eat?"

I blinked innocently. "I haven't been back to my hometown in years. I don't know anything about mushrooms anymore. If you're worried, you should just throw them away."

I said that on purpose.

I knew Elise too well.

She hated studying and only wanted shortcuts. As long as there was even the slightest chance of effortless success, she would never give it up.

Sure enough, Elise clutched the poisonous mushrooms tightly to her chest.

"Lots of people online ate them and were totally fine. I'll definitely be fine too. When exam day comes, I'll turn them into mushroom stew."

I said nothing. She could go ahead and eat them.

This time, I wanted to see whether Elise would get into a top university or die from the poisonous mushrooms first.