*”Mile 103…104…..105….106…..106 ….
107…..
108….
109″*
The monster stopped blowing kisses.
Her smile vanished.
Her eyes went cold blue.
“You’re fast, baby,” she said.
“But let’s see how you dodge this.”
She raised both hands.
*All of it.
At once.*
Lightning.
Water Lightning.
Lava.
Wind.
Energy Ball.
All condensed into *one massive, devastating attack* behind him.
Jasper didn’t look back.
Rat Peak Level 5 told him it was coming.
He sidestepped.
The attack screamed past him.
Missed his skin by *a hair*.
The heat singed his shirt.
The wind nearly knocked him over.
He didn’t slow.
He *sped up*.
Not a breakthrough.
Not yet.
He was still at the bottom of the next stage.
Still a long way from Rat Peak to Pick Stage.
But he was moving.
*10 feet.
15 feet.
20 feet.*
He left the monster behind.
*”Mile 110…
115…
120…”*
The system pinged in his head.
***_
*”Host, you have reached Mile 120.
Would you like to take a break?”*[System]
Jasper didn’t answer.
He kept running.
*”Mile 121…
125…
130…”*
He was a blur now.
Miles stacking fast.
No burn.
No jelly.
Just motion.
The monster was still behind him, 10 feet back.
She wasn’t laughing anymore.
She was sprinting, desperate.
*”Mile 135…
136…
137…
138…
139…”*
She screamed from behind.
“JASPER!”
One last attack.
All her power.
Desperate.
Point blank.
He felt it at his back.
He twisted.
Dodged by a hair again.
*”Mile 140.”*
*DING.*
_***
*”Congratulations, Host.
You have completed 140 miles.
Jasper Crimson.”*
*”You may choose one special item from the Marathon’s Treasury.
Would you like to collect now, or take a break and deal with it later?”*[System]
Jasper skidded to a stop.
Chest heaving.
Sweat pouring.
But standing.
The monster stopped at the 5-foot line, hands on her knees, staring at him.
Leon was clapping.
Slow.
Then faster.
“140 miles. Hard Mode. Four clones. Peak Rat Stage. And you didn’t break.”
He walked up.
“So. Treasury item. Now, or later?”
Jasper looked at the monster.
Then at Leon.
His legs were shaking.
But his eyes were clear.
Jasper was still sweating.
Chest heaving.
140 miles will wreck a teenager.
He bolted away from the Treasury screen and grabbed Leon’s sleeve.
“Master Leon, please help me,” he gasped.
“This monster, she’s going to eat me. I don’t know what her plans are, but do not let her get near me.”
He pointed at the 5-foot line like it was a ward.
The woman walked forward.
No attacks.
No chase.
She stopped in front of Leon and dropped to one knee.
“Master Leon,” she said, voice calm and respectful.
“Did I do good?”
Jasper froze.
“Huh?”
He stared at her.
Then at Leon. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“Huh?”
He was confused.
Because she just called Leon `Master Leon`.
Leon smiled.
The proud one.
“You did excellent,” he said to her.
Jasper’s brain lagged.
“Master Leon. What is happening right now?”
Leon let go of Jasper’s sleeve and put a hand on her shoulder.
“Ah. I forgot introductions,” he said.
“Jasper, this is Piper.”
He gestured to her.
“She will be your bodyguard. And your martial arts instructor.”
Jasper stared.
“Huh?”
“For the next two months of training,” Leon continued.
“But her job as bodyguard doesn’t end there.”
He held up a finger.
“First, you have 10 days of discipline training. With me. After those 10 days are done, then Piper’s martial arts training begins.”
His voice went firm.
“Piper will stay your bodyguard until I believe you no longer need help in upcoming fights. Until you can handle yourself. There is no set date.”
Jasper blinked.
“So… she’s with me until I’m strong enough?”
“Exactly,” Leon said.
Piper stood up.
Still beautiful.
Still the same woman who ran him through 140 miles of hell.
She looked at Jasper directly and nodded.
“Hi Jasper,” she said.
“My name is Piper.”
Then, without missing a beat, she turned to Leon and bowed again.
“Yes, Master Leon,” she said.
Jasper’s eye twitched.
“Huh?”
That’s when it hit him.
She called Leon `Master Leon`.
And she was about to call him `Master Leon` too.
Leon cut in before it happened.
He looked at Piper, eyes sharp.
“Piper,” he said.
“Stop teasing him. No more games. You’re his security until he can stand on his own. Instructor after the 10 days. Act like it.”
Piper bowed her head to Leon.
“Understood, Master Leon. I will maintain appropriate conduct.”
She looked back at Jasper.
Neutral.
Professional.
“So, Jasper,” she said.
“I will be with you until Master Leon says you no longer need me. After 10 days, we begin martial arts.”
Jasper dropped his face into his hands.
“Master Leon… she’s my bodyguard indefinitely? I think I preferred it when she wanted to eat me.”
Leon clapped him on the back.
“Discipline, kid. It is 1:01. You are one minute late. Let’s start.”
The Treasury prompt cut through the tension.
“Excuse me,” the Marathon System voice said.
Flat, then with an edge.
“Marathon Runner Crimson. Would you like to take your prize from the Treasury now, or would you like to come back later?”
A pause.
“You now have one minute to confirm.”
Jasper blinked.
“Why does the AI voice sound so annoyed?”
Leon didn’t even look at the screen.
“Because it has built-in emotions. Beyond the sale smile.”
Jasper pointed at Piper.
“Also, Master Leon, you said her name is Piper, right?”
“Yes,” Leon said.
“And she’s a monster?”
Leon shook his head.
“No. She’s not a monster, Jasper.”
Piper stepped forward.
“Master Leon, if you would excuse me. Let me explain to Jasper what I am.”
Leon nodded once.
“Go ahead.”
Piper turned to Jasper.
No bow.
No knee.
Just direct.
“Well, I’m not a monster per se, Jasper,” she said.
“How to put it? Hm. Let me think for a moment.”
She tapped her chin.
“Ah, yes. The best way for you to understand: in different scriptures I would be known as a changeling, a false human.”
Jasper’s mouth opened.
“…Huh?”
“But the most common name you should know my kind by is shapeshifter,” she said.
“I can turn into anything, anyone I want.”
She gestured to herself.
“The form that I’m using now, right? Looks the same age as you.”
Her expression softened.
She took a small step closer.
“And this,” she said, “is my original form.”
She winked at him.
Jasper stared.
The Treasury timer ticked down.
`00:58…
00:57…`
Leon cleared his throat.
“Treasury, Jasper. One minute.”
The timer was still ticking.
`00:45…
00:44…`
Jasper tore his eyes off Piper and looked at the screen.
“Okay, okay, I’ll enter,” he said fast.
“I’m entering the Treasury now.”
He stepped forward.
The air rippled.
A door opened.
He walked through.
The Marathon System voice came back immediately.
Still flat, still annoyed.
“Welcome to the Treasury, Marathon Runner Crimson,” it said.
Jasper started walking down the line of pedestals.
His hand hovered over a war hammer.
“This hammer is a replica of Storm Breaker,” the voice said.
“Next to it is a replica of Meomere.”
Jasper nodded.
“Okay. Replicas. Noted.”
He moved on.
“A ring that can travel through time. It belonged to a mischievous God.”
Jasper frowned.
“Okay, I don’t need that.”
Next pedestal.
“A token for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”
Jasper kept walking.
“Yeah, okay, I don’t need that either.”
Another ring.
“This ring will help you levitate.”
Then armor.
“Body armor that is invincible. Not even an Apex God could crack it.”
Then a cloak.
“A cloak that closely resembles Harry Potter’s invisible cloak.”
Jasper stopped, looked at it, and muttered, “Anyone who chooses this cloak is a pervert.”
He kept walking.
Past artifacts and relics from stories and history books he’d read.
Then he passed a diary.
It glowed faintly with golden light.
The voice said, “A diary belonging to the Demon Queen, Lyra.”
Jasper took two steps back immediately so he wouldn’t touch it by accident.
“Nope. Not touching that.”
He continued walking.
Eventually he stopped.
In front of him were two daggers, attached to long chains.
Jasper walked up to them and inspected them.
The voice spoke again.
“These chains once belonged to the greatest vampire that lived in existence. The Vampire Queen. Legend has it that she overthrew the great vampire Dracula and became even more powerful than him.”
A pause.
“These are known as the Crimson Dual Chains. The Crimson Dual Blades.”
The voice continued.
“You can detach them from the chains and fight with them normally. Or you can use the chains to extend them outwards to fight. Or you can detach the chains from the blades, use the blades with telekinesis, and use the chains as separate weapons.”
Another pause.
Colder.
“Caution. These chains require a massive, enormous amount of energy to use. Wielder’s discretion is advised.”
Jasper stared at them.
The voice spoke again.
“Marathon Runner Crimson. Have you made a choice, or would you like to continue?”
Jasper didn’t answer.
He kept walking.
More pedestals.
Oils with remedy herbs.
A book on how to become an alchemist.
Then pills.
The voice described them as he passed.
“Pills that could boost your power all the way up to Apex God.”
Jasper slowed down.
“Okay. That’s a lot.”
Next: “God killing armor.”
He kept moving.
“Bangle,” the voice said.
“It can boost your cultivation. If it boosts cultivation by two, then every level you reach it doubles. If you reach level one in a stage, it will boost you all the way to level two, and so on.”
Jasper stopped.
“…Wait. That’s broken.”
The voice continued.
“Breakthrough pills. It also has the recipe for them. The pills can be used to help a person get to the next level of cultivation.”
Then swords.
“Swords that can temporarily boost the user’s abilities all the way up to Dragon Peak.”
Jasper kept looking around.
Eyes scanning everything.
The voice cut in again.
Still flat, still annoyed.
“Marathon Runner Crimson. Have you made a choice?”
Jasper was thinking.
Hard.
Chains, bangle, pills, armor.
Too many options.
He took another step forward.
The AI didn’t stop him.
It just kept describing as he walked.
So Jasper kept walking.
Then he stopped.
In front of him was a lamp.
He leaned in and sniffed it.
“Oh boy,” he said.
“I know exactly where this is going.”
The voice spoke.
“This lamp is a replica from the story of Aladdin. It houses a gin, not a genie.”
Jasper didn’t touch it.
Blue smoke puffed out of it anyway.
The smoke cleared.
Standing in front of him was a beautiful young woman with blue skin, pointy ears, and long black hair in a ponytail.
She was dressed like a gin from the stories.
A cropped top, loose bluish pants, and genie-style shoes.
She looked at Jasper.
A spark of mischief flashed in her eyes.
“Well hello there, stranger,” she said.
“Would you like to become my master?”
The voice cut in immediately.
“Caution. This gin is not a true choice to pick.”
A pause.
“If you pick this gin, two items will be given to you as compensation for choosing the gin. However, the items will be at random.”
Another pause.
“The gin only gives you three wishes. After that, it will reappear back inside the Treasury.”
Jasper thought.
Hard.
“Hm,” he said.
“Three wishes is a very, very interesting idea.”
He sat down to think.
The gin snapped her fingers.
A cup of tea appeared in front of her.
She offered it to Jasper.
He took it, sipped it, and his eyes went wide.
“Oh wow. This is the best tea I have ever had.”