Several years later, Nova was now sixteen years old.
TING! TING! TING!
"NOVA! WAKE UP QUICKLY OR YOU'LL BE LATE ON THE FIRST DAY OF YOUR NEW CLASS!"
Nova woke up with slow movements, her eyes still half-closed with eyelids that felt very heavy. Her black hair was now messy. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand while lazily glancing at the round wall clock hanging on the wall.
7:15!
"HAH?! This is bad! Really bad!"
Nova jumped from her bed and ran to the bathroom.
She showered quickly, came out of the bathroom with her body still half-wet, a towel wrapped around her waist, then immediately grabbed the school uniform she had hung in the closet since the night before.
Clean white shirt and black long pants and a black tie.
While putting on her pants, her eyes glanced at the clock again anxiously.
7:25!
"Hah?! Oh no! I'm really late! How could ten minutes pass so quickly?!"
"NOVA! WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING UP THERE?!"
Nova grabbed her black school backpack hanging on the study chair, making sure all books and stationery were inside, then ran out of the room.
At the dining table, her mother had prepared two slices of toast, a glass of chocolate milk, and several pieces of fruit.
She immediately grabbed one slice of toast with her right hand while her left hand was busy putting on the black school shoes she had placed near the door since last night.
"Hey, don't rush like that! You could choke if you eat while moving!"
"Yes, I'll be careful!" Nova answered with her mouth still full of bread.
After both her shoes were properly on, Nova immediately stood up and ran to the front door.
"Be careful on the road!"
"Yes!" Nova answered while opening the door with her free hand, the bread still clenched in her mouth.
Outside the house, Nova stood for a moment.
She reached into her backpack pocket and pulled out a flat rectangular object in metallic black about the size of a smartphone—maybe 15x10 centimeters with a thickness of only 2 centimeters, made of lightweight but very strong metal alloy. In the center of the object was a small round blue button.
CLICK!
As soon as the button was pressed with her thumb,
The small metal panels that previously looked solid suddenly moved. In a transformation that only took three seconds, the small rectangular object expanded into a full-sized skateboard about 80 centimeters long and 20 centimeters wide.
Its deck was made of lightweight but very strong black composite material—capable of supporting loads up to 150 kilograms.
Energy Skateboard, Modern Technology from Energy Stones.
20 years ago—precisely in 2025—an expedition group consisting of scientists and explorers went to the Amazon Forest. A forest famous for its extraordinary biodiversity, dangerous predators.
In that dense forest, on a dark night, they witnessed a phenomenon that changed history—stones glowing with very bright intensity, emitting a blue-green light.
After in-depth research, they discovered that those stones contained energy in very large amounts—energy that was not found anywhere else in this world. The energy was stable, could be stored for a very long time, and could be utilized for various purposes.
That's why those stones were called Energy Stones—a simple but accurate name to describe their function.
However, Energy Stones were also very dangerous if in the wrong hands. With that much energy, someone with bad intentions could create weapons of mass destruction, bombs, or other devices that could endanger thousands of lives.
Because of that threat, since 2025, the Amazon Forest began to be guarded very tightly.
And until now—only the Amazon Forest has proven to have deposits of Energy Stones. There is no other place in this world that contains similar materials.
Nova placed the skateboard on the ground, one foot on the deck, one foot still on the ground to push. She opened the house gate with her free hand—the gate—and walked out while biting the remaining half of the toast.
She walked to the right—the direction toward her school—while preparing to get on the skateboard.
But just as her foot was about to push the ground to start—
"Hello, where are you going so early in the morning?"
Nova turned with an expression that immediately turned slightly annoyed.
Anna—the next-door neighbor who was also a doctor at Klang Hospital—had just come out of her house door while locking it with keys dangling from her index finger. She was wearing a neat white doctor's coat, her black hair tied back.
Nova looked at her with a flat stare. "Can't Auntie clearly see the clothes I'm wearing right now?"
Anna laughed softly. "Yes, yes, I can see. I was just making small talk." She walked closer while spinning her car keys on her finger. "Want to go together? I'm also going to the hospital now, and the route is the same direction as your school!"
"No need, thank you for the offer," Nova shook her head quickly. "I'll be fine with this skateboard!"
"Alright then," Anna gave up easily, not forcing.
"By the way, my siblings already left earlier, right? They left together with Uncle Reza?"
"Should be. My husband dropped them off at school first before continuing to the office. They left about half an hour ago."
Anna opened the car door, but before getting in, she turned around again.
"By the way, Nova... When do you think you'll awaken your power? You're sixteen years old now. You should have been able to awaken your special power a long time ago, right? Most people awaken their powers at age fourteen or fifteen."
"Well, that is the exact same question I've already heard!"
"And now—on this busy morning when I'm already very late—is this really the right time to discuss philosophical matters like awakening powers?"
"Besides, I don't know when or even if I'll awaken a power."
"Maybe when I'm almost dead, my power will be forced to awaken. Or maybe it'll never awaken forever. Who knows?"
"Alright," Anna put on a slightly sulky face. "That's also the exact same answer you gave several years ago! Do you keep a script for this question?"
"Because the question is the same, the answer is also the same."
"Oh no!" Nova suddenly shouted while glancing at her watch again—07:30! "I'm really very late now! Sorry Auntie, I have to go right now!"
Without waiting for a response or giving Anna a chance to ask again, Nova immediately jumped onto her skateboard.
She pressed a button on the side of the skateboard—the second button that was red—activating auto-pilot mode at maximum speed.
WHOOOOOSH!
The skateboard immediately shot forward with very fast acceleration. The glowing blue wheels left a thin light trail on the asphalt, the wind blew hard messing up Nova's hair, and in an instant she was already tens of meters from her house.
Anna, still standing next to her car, could only watch Nova's back rapidly receding while shaking her head with a wry smile.
*Haha, that's actually my fault for asking at the wrong time. But... why hasn't she awakened her power yet until now? This is very abnormal.*
*Since the incident at the hospital four years ago—since I examined her body after she was seriously injured—I've felt there was something very strange about her body structure. Her bones that were too dense, regeneration that was too fast, resistance to poison that made no sense...*
*But I can't explain what's strange about it. All medical test results show she's normal.*
Anna started the car engine and began driving to the hospital.
◇◇◇
On the Way to SMMA,
"HAAHH! THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF HER! Why did she have to start a conversation about powers at such an inappropriate time! Now I'm definitely late!"
The morning streets were still quite empty, only a few cars and motorcycles passing by, making the journey quite smooth.
Nova passed stores that were still closed, passed the city park that was starting to get crowded with morning joggers.
After ten minutes of riding at full speed and avoiding pedestrians, avoiding holes in the road, taking shortcuts through narrower alleys—Nova finally arrived in front of the SMMA gate.
A large blue iron gate with the school logo in the center was still wide open.
"Thank goodness..." Nova breathed a sigh of relief while jumping off the skateboard. "Fortunately the school gate is still open. If it was already closed, I'd have to enter through the back fence."
She pressed a button on the skateboard, activating compact mode. The skateboard immediately folded itself back into a small rectangular object in three seconds.
She put the skateboard into her backpack, then started running toward the main building.
SMMA, this was one of the largest schools in the city. The school itself had 5 floors.
Floor 1: Classes for students aged 14 years old.
Floor 2: Classes for students aged 15 years old.
Floor 3: Classes for students aged 16 years old.
Floor 4: Classes for students aged 17 years old.
Floor 5: Classes for students aged 18 years old.
Each floor had ten classrooms with class numbers—with a capacity of thirty students each.
Nova had to go up to the third floor—the floor for her who was now sixteen years old. She didn't have time to climb the stairs leisurely, so she ran and jumped several steps at once.
The third-floor corridor was already deserted—all students had already entered their respective classes. Only the sound of teachers teaching could be heard from inside rooms with closed doors.
Nova looked for her class—Class number 3.
*Alright... this is the moment...*
Nova opened her classroom door.
KLEK
And as soon as the door opened—
All eyes in the room—immediately turned to her.
At the front of the class stood a female teacher with tied brown hair.
Her name was Linda. The teacher for this class.
"Do you know what time it is now?"
"That's... uhm... About... twenty minutes to eight?"
"Seven forty-two, to be exact. Twelve minutes after the bell rang."
"Haah..." Linda let out a long sigh. "You really are something. This is just the first day and you're already late!"
"Alright. Because this is your first day in the new class, I'll forgive this tardiness. BUT! JUST THIS ONCE! Don't expect any more tolerance for future tardiness. If you're late again, you'll get punishment!"
"Understood, Teacher," Nova nodded.
"Now," Linda pointed to the front with her hand, "before you sit down, introduce yourself to the other students."
"Yes, Teacher."
Nova closed the door behind her and walked to the front of the class.
"My name is Nova. You can just call me Nova. My age is obviously the same as yours—do I need to say it? Okay. That's all."
"...That's all?" Linda asked. "No hobbies? Nothing you like? No additional information at all?"
"Is it necessary?" Nova said with her flat face.
"Why does she talk like someone who has no friends?"
"So stiff... like a robot."
"Is she always like that or just nervous?"
"Maybe she's an extreme introvert type."
"Alright, you can sit at the very back desk, the one by the window."
"Yes, ma'am."
Nova started walking to her seat.
As she passed the middle row—right next to the desk of a blond-haired male student—
Suddenly, with a movement that looked intentional, the student stretched his leg into the middle of the aisle, intending to trip Nova who was walking.
But Nova casually stepped to the left, avoiding the outstretched leg.
The blond-haired student—his name was Reno, a student known for bullying new students. Reno for some reason looked annoyed.
*This person's behavior makes no sense.*
Nova finally reached her desk—the back right corner desk, right next to a large window facing the school sports field.
From here she could see the wide sports field with a running track, basketball court, mini soccer field.
Nova put her bag next to the chair.
"Nice to meet you, new student!"
A voice came from her left—from the student sitting at the desk next to her.
Nova turned and saw a boy with black hair.
"Hi," Nova replied.
"My name is Kazui! Nice to meet you! I'm sitting next to you for this semester! I hope we can be good friends!"
"Yes... I'm Nova. Nice to meet you too."