# “Is there anything you're afraid of, Peter?” Anaxtra asked seriously.
“Whatever is out there, it's something we have to face, not avoid!”
“So prepare yourself properly!”
Anaxtra suddenly leaped into the middle of the river. After her feet landed on a large rock in the river, her body sprang back into the air and flipped.
Anaxtra fired three laser shots from her left hand toward the trees far away along the riverbank.
Boom!
The large tree struck by the shots immediately toppled over, its side blown apart.
Anaxtra landed back on the rock where she had stood before. This time, she leaped again, but unlike her earlier jump, she sprang backward and flipped once more as she said,
“Come on, Peter! Play with me.”
Then Anaxtra took a match-sized object tucked against her right thigh. It was no more than fifteen centimeters long. As soon as the object was in Anaxtra's grip, it emitted an elongated beam of light one meter long. It transformed into a bluish-green laser sword.
After hearing Anaxtra's challenge, Peter did the same. He pulled out an object exactly like the one Anaxtra possessed.
“All right, just you wait!” Peter called back.
Before Anaxtra could land again, Peter, already holding his laser sword, leaped forward and swung it at her. Anaxtra made no attempt to dodge. She simply swung her sword to block Peter's attack. Sparks of fiery light flew from the two clashing swords.
Peter's sword slash was blocked, sending him flying backward to where he had been standing, while Anaxtra, still suspended in the air, was forced to land early by the force of the impact.
“That was cheating! You attacked me before I was ready,” Anaxtra said.
Then she leaped toward Peter, who was already prepared, driving her sword down at him.
Like a duel in the Star Wars movies, they continued practicing and sharpening their swordplay throughout the day. Every so often, they also leaped and flipped through the air to attack or evade one another. Sometimes they had to dive underwater for long periods to train their breathing.
Anaxtra and Peter lay on their backs, staring at the sky. Their entire bodies were soaked with sweat mixed with river water.
“Your speed is incredible, Anaxtra! I always fall far behind when I try to keep up with your movements,” Peter said admiringly.
“Your strength has improved rapidly too. I have a hard time facing you if I rely on strength alone.”
They laughed together, then fell silent as they gazed at the sky and its clumps of white clouds.
“Anaxtra, what exactly do you see up there?” Peter asked after they had been silent with their own thoughts for some time.
Anaxtra turned toward Peter.
“Peter, maybe there's other life out there besides us.”
Peter stared intently at Anaxtra.
Meanwhile, Anaxtra got up and sat down. Peter also rose from where he had been lying.
With a distant look in her eyes, Anaxtra explained,
“Up there, just like in this valley, there's a stretch of land, but the temperature is extremely hot.”
“I don't know for sure whether there's life up there, but what I do know is that wherever there's a place, something is bound to inhabit it.”
“Didn't you use the sensor radar to make sure?” Peter asked.
“I tried, but I still couldn't confirm anything. When I used my visual sensor radar, the monitor picked up five things moving away from me at incredible speed.” Anaxtra explained.
“Why didn't you chase them?”
“They were too far away. Even my visual sensor couldn't reach them. I think the land up there must be enormous.”
Peter's curiosity grew more apparent.
“Are they dangerous?”
“We'll know once we see them. That's why I asked you to train with me—to prepare for the worst. We never know what we'll have to face later.”
Peter merely nodded.
“Then I'll always be with you!” Peter said, slipping an arm around Anaxtra's shoulders.
Anaxtra only smiled. “Then let's go home! We'll see whether Father has finished making the Flying Surfboard for us.”
Peter smiled back, and the two of them stood up to head home.
“Catch me, Peter!” Anaxtra called, having already leaped away and started running.
“Typical! You always make me run behind you,” Peter grumbled as he jumped after Anaxtra.
“Wait for me! I'll catch you for sure!” Peter shouted.
Meanwhile, in Dieng Valley Village, news that Anaxtra had successfully climbed Dieng Cliff spread quickly among all the valley's inhabitants. Her success was closely tied to the Flying Surfboard, which had undergone significant development. Most of the valley's residents had long awaited a means of transportation that could take them to the surface. For generations, they had lived their entire lives within the circle of the isolated Dieng Valley. It was only natural for humans to want to know more and grow curious about life in this world. Even if they could explore Earth, they would surely want to explore life beyond Earth. Though some disagreed about the world outside, perhaps because they didn't want to know—or perhaps because they already knew too much.
It was no longer a secret. Rumors of other life beyond the valley had become a belief passed down through generations.
Early that morning, the villagers had already gathered in front of Orval's house. They wanted to see how Anaxtra, Peter, and Lilia operated the device. A short while later, Orval and the three teenagers came out, each carrying a Flying Surfboard.
“Orval, are you really going to let our children play too far away with that toy of yours?” asked a man among the gathered crowd.
“You don't need to worry about them, Guston! They're grown up and can take care of themselves,” Orval replied.
“But they don't know what they'll face up there,” Guston insisted.
“Have you ever been to the world above? Or do you happen to know something about what's up there?” Orval asked suspiciously.
Guston drew a breath. “Forget it!” he said, waving his hand.
Orval merely sighed.
“When the time comes, I'll make more for all of you, so you can follow them if they need help or wander too far,” Orval continued.
“I'll see what kind of modifications you've made, Father,” Anaxtra said, trying to defuse the situation.
Orval turned to look at Anaxtra.
“I call it Gen-3. This Flying Surfboard has a distance sensor, and I've also added an autopilot feature. Better yet, you can connect to it directly and issue voice commands,” Orval explained.
“Try your Flying Surfboard! Run a voice detection scan, and this Flying Surfboard will only respond to your commands. Then you can connect it to other devices, like GPS or other scanning equipment.”
“Peter, Lilia, you can do the same!” Orval ordered.