Once again, it was Central Park in the heart of Manhattan, New York. Today, Annie's school had organized an outdoor activity. Two large school buses brought several classes of students here, and the park management had even set aside a separate lawn for the students of Julia Academy.
Today, Maine's lesson was to take the students to play in the park. That's right: all their classes this afternoon consisted of playing! Teacher Maine believed that play could also develop the students' practical and hands-on skills. Playing in the park would not only give them some exercise, but the park's wonderful surroundings would also let them experience nature and learn to love it!
Maine felt that students shouldn't spend all day cooped up at school or in the classroom. Getting out to play and breathe some fresh air would also do wonders for their physical and mental health.
"Oh, my God! Annie, I think you can sit out and rest for a while! Just look at you—you must be exhausted!" At the beginning, Maine had set up two makeshift goals on the park lawn and split her class into two teams for a friendly match.
Maine thought that would keep the students occupied for quite a while, and she could sneak in a little rest. But reality dealt her a cruel blow! She had no choice but to cut short her plan to sneak off for a twenty-minute break.
Maine had realized that no matter where Annie was on the field or how many opponents tried to stop her, whenever the ball reached Annie's feet, she could always kick it into the goal from some impossible angle! Just now, after Annie had easily scored her eighth goal, Maine had been forced to stop the game and politely ask her to sit out and rest for a while.
She had no choice. Annie's opponents were on the verge of breaking down. After letting in so many goals in a row, the chubby goalkeeper, Jack Harper, looked so aggrieved he was almost in tears.
This one-sided match hadn't been part of Maine's plan at all! It was terribly unfair to the other half of the children. If they kept playing like this, it might even leave a bad impression on their young minds. So she had to step in, make some adjustments, and take Annie out of the game at the right moment.
Hmph! This sport called soccer wasn't fun at all! There was no challenge whatsoever. It was way too easy.
Annie had been taken off the field early because she was too good. Now she sat on a swing in the park, pulled a bottle of water from her backpack, and drank as she watched her classmates on the field with a smug look. Only after Annie had left the game could they play normally. They were now chasing the ball, taking turns attacking and defending as they fought hard.
My master, if you hadn't used magic to guide the ball while you were playing, your argument might have been a little more convincing! Tibbers couldn't take it anymore. They were only playing with classmates—was there any need to take it so seriously? Just look at Jack. The poor chubby boy was about to cry.
You don't know the half of it, Tibbers. I did it on purpose! That fatso tattled on me again the day before yesterday! Of course I had to teach him a good lesson. After finishing her water, Annie quickly shoved the bottle back into her backpack and fastened it shut again. She didn't feel like discussing this with Tibbers now.
"Annie, you played really well!" As soon as Annie left the field, a little blonde girl hurried over to her.
This was Angelina Roberts. Ever since Annie had played a song at her birthday party, she had become Annie's best friend. At school, she was almost always glued to Annie's side.
"Ahaha! Thanks!" Annie felt a little embarrassed. After all, she'd cheated with magic! But magic was one of her abilities, too. Winning with her own abilities didn't count as cheating, right?
"So, Annie, could you play for me again sometime? Dad and I really want to hear you play!" Angelina kicked at the grass, setting the swing in motion, then turned to look at Annie with hopeful, wide eyes.
Almost every day at school, the girl came over to pester her once or twice, always asking to hear Annie play again. But Annie knew that listening to music enhanced with magic too often could make people addicted. And it was bad for them! Especially for people with worries weighing on their hearts or those looking for something to give them emotional comfort. So Annie had never played for Angelina again, no matter how many times she begged!
"Ah... Angelina, I can't go to your house every day and play for you!" There it was again. Annie had known this was coming.
"But... but I really want to hear it again..." The little girl lowered her head dejectedly. Angelina actually knew her request was a little unreasonable. She pestered Annie every day, but she really, really wanted to hear her play again. Even if it was just one last time!
"How about this? I'll teach you!" Annie felt she couldn't let Angelina keep pestering her like this. She had to put an end to it once and for all.
"Teach me? But I don't know how to play the harp. I only know the piano..."
When she heard Annie offer to teach her, Angelina froze. She had just started to feel happy when her spirits sank again. She suddenly remembered that she couldn't play the harp. She had tried before, but she didn't have much talent for it. The harp was just too difficult for her.
"The piano will work, too. You just have to do this when you play!" Annie silently recited a spell and tapped Angelina on the forehead. She passed on the basics of a meditation technique to develop magical power, along with the fundamentals of using magic in musical performance.
Of course, those methods weren't the powerful beguiling melodies Annie had used twice before. She had only given Angelina a few harmless little tricks! Most of it was just the basics of magical music theory, but even that was already remarkable!
"Ah! Huh? This? This is all I have to do?!" Angelina couldn't understand what it meant for Annie to transmit all that knowledge directly into her mind, or what it might help her accomplish in the future.
Even Annie hadn't expected that the casual thing she did today would one day give the Marvel Universe a super heroine whose name struck fear into the hearts of her enemies! A heroine who specialized in music, yet was known to the world as the Voice of God: Angelina, the Soul Player! Of course, that was another story...
"Annie, this is amazing! How did you do it? It feels so strange!" Angelina was still carefully absorbing the knowledge that had suddenly appeared in her mind.
"This is our secret, okay? Don't tell anyone."
"Okay! I promise I won't tell anyone, not even my dad!" Angelina nodded vigorously, then held out her little finger and linked it with Annie's.
"Then it's a deal! As long as you keep practicing until you develop magical power, you'll be able to play songs like mine." This was great! Annie smiled happily. Now she wouldn't have to worry about Angelina pestering her to play anymore, right? Perfect!
"Huh? Angelina! What's that thing over there?" After calming Angelina down, Annie spotted a large, house-shaped machine at the edge of the lawn. Quite a few people had gathered around it.
"Oh! That's a toy claw machine. You can put in a dollar coin and try to grab a toy." Angelina followed Annie's pointing finger. Of course she knew what it was.
"It looks like fun! Come on, Angelina, let's go play!" When Annie heard it was something fun, her eyes lit up. She hoisted her backpack, grabbed Angelina's hand, jumped off the swing, and ran straight toward the giant claw machine.
"Angelina, do you have any coins? Give them to me and I'll grab a few toys for you!" Annie watched other people play for a little while and quickly figured it out. She couldn't wait to give it a try herself! But she didn't have any one-dollar coins. She did have gold coins, but they were obviously too thick to fit into the slot!
"I do! But I've only got three left!" Angelina sadly took the last three one-dollar coins from her pocket. She had already tried a few times, but, unfortunately, she hadn't won a thing!
"Only three? That's enough! Tell me, which one do you want? I'll grab it for you!" Annie snatched Angelina's pocket money and eagerly stepped up to a control panel, inserting one of the coins.
"I want that one!!" Angelina pointed to the biggest teddy bear, which was half a head taller than her!
"Sure thing. Just watch me." Annie excitedly worked the joystick. The mechanical claw slowly moved over, lowered itself, and grabbed the big teddy bear. It began to lift the toy, but, unfortunately, it had barely risen twenty centimeters before the toy fell back down... The attempt had failed, and the dollar was gone.
"Huh? How is that possible?"
She'd clearly grabbed it! How had it fallen? Annie froze for a moment, then, refusing to give up, inserted another coin. This time she operated the machine even more carefully. You had to understand, Annie could even fly a Quinjet. How could she possibly fail at a claw machine? That was impossible!
The second attempt went much better than the first. The mechanical claw held onto the big teddy bear and slowly moved back. Annie knew that as soon as she dropped it into the chute, the toy would be theirs!
"Huh?! That's impossible!" Annie cried out.
Just as the teddy bear was about to drop into the chute, the mechanical claw had suddenly loosened on its own? That was right—it had loosened by itself! Annie could swear she hadn't made a single mistake, but the claw had still opened on its own. There was no way that could fool the superhuman senses of a mage like Annie! So that was what was going on... This machine was cheating!
"Annie, maybe we should just stop playing?" Angelina was so upset she was almost crying. Including the times she'd played earlier, the machine had already eaten several dollars of her pocket money today. Now Annie had only one coin left!
"Hmph, don't worry, Angelina! I'll get that big teddy bear for you, I promise!!" Annie was so angry she almost laughed. The machine was trying to cheat her? She'd show it!
Before Angelina could object, Annie shoved the last coin into the machine and began operating it again. Once the claw grabbed Teddy, Annie secretly cast a Strong Stickiness Spell on the toy, using magic to glue the big teddy bear firmly to the claw! Then she started moving it toward the chute.
Just as expected, when the claw was about to reach the chute, it loosened ever so slightly on its own again. If Annie's spell hadn't been working, the big teddy bear would have fallen already, right? Hmph, it really was cheating! Annie smugly thought to herself that she'd seen right through the machine's tricks.
At last, under Angelina's admiring and excited gaze, Annie successfully placed the big teddy bear she'd been dreaming of into her arms.
"Hey! Who else wants a toy? I'll grab one for free! If I lose, it's on me!" Annie decided to teach the machine a proper lesson. She'd grab every toy inside so it couldn't cheat anyone else. So she turned and shouted to her classmates, who were playing soccer nearby.
"Hey, Pete! Where are my students?" Teacher Maine had just gone to pick something up, and when she returned, her students were nowhere to be seen. Surprised, she questioned Pete, the school security guard in charge of watching them.
"Over there." The guard took an unconcerned bite of his hot dog, then gestured for Teacher Maine to look toward the claw machine. A brand-new plush dog was tucked behind his seat. Annie had just won it for him for only a dollar. What a bargain! He planned to take it home for his little boy.
"Oh, my God! How is this possible?"
Maine doubted her own eyes again. Every one of her students was holding a toy, cheering excitedly beside the claw machine! Each of them had at least one toy, and some even had two. The chubby little Jack had the most: he held one in each hand and had two more tucked under his arm, grinning from ear to ear.
Maine couldn't believe it was real. Since when had those rigged claw machines become so easy to win from? She hesitated, wondering if she should try to get a couple for her three-year-old daughter at home.
"Hello? Boss? Here's the problem: the claw machine we put in the park seems to be malfunctioning! You'd better send someone over to fix it right away. Yes, that's right! If you don't hurry, it's going to be emptied out!" On the other side of the giant claw machine, an employee was hiding in an empty corner, sweating profusely as he called his boss.
Happy times were always short-lived. In the blink of an eye, Annie's outdoor activity was drawing to a close. Teacher Maine blew her little whistle, and Annie and the other students began lining up in a crooked row, all of them carrying various toys, too! They were getting ready to leave class and take the bus back to school.
"Class! Today..." Maine had barely begun when an air-raid siren suddenly rang out across all of New York. The people relaxing and enjoying themselves in the park all stood up in confusion and looked around, unable to understand what was happening...
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