Jasper threw his head back and laughed.
“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”
He pointed triumphantly at the glittering dust that had once been the lamp.
“Scammer got scammed!”
Leon pinched the bridge of his nose.
“…I cannot believe that actually worked.”
Piper blinked.
“…Neither can I.”
Jenna, who was still embracing Jasper, slowly stepped back.
She looked at her own hands as though seeing them for the first time in over a millennium.
Then she smiled.
A real smile.
“For over a thousand years…”
“I was imprisoned within that lamp.”
She looked toward the shattered remains of her prison.
“A true djinn possesses only a single wish to grant.”
“We choose who receives that wish.”
“And once it is fulfilled…”
“Our obligation ends.”
She sighed.
“Then Aravus found me.”
Leon muttered under his breath.
“That sounds exactly like something he’d do.”
Jenna nodded.
“He once rendered me a great service.”
“As repayment, I owed him one wish.”
“By the laws that govern my kind…”
“I could not refuse.”
Jasper frowned.
“So what did he wish for?”
Jenna smiled bitterly.
“He wished for me to be imprisoned inside that lamp.”
Jasper’s eye twitched.
“…That’s evil.”
“It was only the beginning.”
Jenna continued.
“After binding me to the lamp…”
“He immediately used another wish.”
“He wished that whoever possessed the lamp after him would receive three wishes instead of one.”
“I had no choice but to grant that wish as well.”
She lowered her gaze.
“So for over a thousand years…”
“I remained trapped.”
“Waiting.”
“Granting wish after wish…”
“Only to return to the Treasury.”
“Again.”
“And again.”
“And again.”
She placed a hand over the radiant golden seal resting above her heart.
“But now…”
“I am no longer confined to that prison.”
She smiled warmly at Jasper.
“Well…”
“Not completely free.”
“My bond has merely changed.”
She gently touched the seal.
“I now belong to you instead.”
She bowed deeply.
“I shall faithfully serve you, Young Master Crimson.”
Jasper scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“…I honestly wasn’t trying to make anyone my servant.”
“I just wanted to beat that scammer at his own game.”
Leon folded his arms and laughed.
“And somehow…”
“You actually did.”
He looked toward the pile of golden dust that had once been the lamp.
“When Aravus discovers what you’ve done…”
“He is going to be absolutely furious.”
Jasper grinned from ear to ear.
“Good.”
“Scammer got scammed.”
Jasper was still grinning.
A thousand-year-old scam had just been turned upside down.
And somehow…
He was the one responsible.
Leon shook his head.
“I still can’t believe that worked.”
“Neither can I,” Piper admitted.
Jenna stood quietly beside Jasper now, occasionally looking at her own hands as though she expected the lamp to reappear and drag her back inside.
It never did.
The golden seal over her heart remained.
She was free.
Well…
Free enough.
Jasper folded his arms proudly.
“See?”
“I told you.”
“Scammer got scammed.”
Leon laughed.
“You are entirely too pleased with yourself.”
“I earned this.”
“You accidentally earned this.”
“Still counts.”
Piper snorted.
“Fair point.”
For a few moments, nobody said anything.
The wind drifted through the pavilion.
The Treasury doors had long since vanished.
The Marathon was over.
Finally.
Leon stretched.
“Alright.”
“Enough standing around.”
Jasper blinked.
“Huh?”
Leon looked at him.
“You just ran one hundred and forty miles.” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“You survived a Hard Mode Marathon.”
“You obtained three treasures.”
“You accidentally outsmarted one of the greatest thieves in existence.”
“I think you’ve earned a meal.”
Jasper immediately perked up.
“A meal?”
Leon nodded.
“A large one.”
Jasper pointed dramatically.
“Master Leon.”
“Lead the way.”
“Food is calling me.”
Piper rolled her eyes.
“You sound like you’re about to propose marriage to a sandwich.”
“If the sandwich is good enough, I might.”
Jenna giggled.
Leon sighed.
“I regret everything.”
The group started walking.
As they headed toward the city, Jasper’s excitement slowly faded.
His legs were beginning to remember that he had run one hundred and forty miles.
Every step hurt.
“Ow.”
Three steps later.
“Ow.”
Another few steps.
“Ow.”
Piper smirked.
“Feeling the marathon now?”
Jasper glared at her.
“No.”
“Your face says otherwise.”
“My face is lying.”
“Interesting.”
“Very.”
Piper laughed.
Jasper decided he didn’t like that laugh.
After a few minutes of walking, Leon suddenly spoke.
“Jasper.”
“Yes, Master Leon?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
Jasper immediately frowned.
“No.”
Leon ignored him.
“Tomorrow morning we continue your discipline training.”
Jasper groaned.
“But I already completed one day.”
“Correct.”
Leon smiled.
“Which means only nine days remain.”
“That is not encouraging.”
“It should be.”
“It isn’t.”
Leon continued anyway.
“Nine more days of discipline training.”
“After that…”
His expression became serious.
“Your martial arts training begins.”
Piper’s smile slowly widened.
The expression alone made Jasper nervous.
Very nervous.
She folded her arms.
“Just so we’re clear.”
“The Marathon was me being nice.”
Jasper stopped walking.
“…What?”
Piper’s smile widened further.
“I was under strict instructions not to break you.”
Leon nodded.
“Correct.”
Piper looked directly at Jasper.
“When your combat training begins…”
“I won’t be going easy on you.”
Jasper suddenly had a terrible feeling.
A very terrible feeling.
Piper leaned forward slightly.
“Prepare for pain.”
Silence.
Jasper looked at Leon.
Leon nodded.
Then Jasper looked at Jenna.
Jenna nodded too.
Then he looked back at Piper.
Piper was still smiling.
That somehow made everything worse.
Jasper sighed.
“Master Leon.”
“Yes?”
“I would like to return to the lamp.”
Jenna immediately laughed.
“Denied.”
Piper laughed.
Leon laughed.
Even Jasper eventually laughed.
And as the four of them disappeared into the evening, heading toward food, rest, and tomorrow’s suffering…
Things felt normal.
At least until Piper started training him.
The next nine days blurred together.
Every morning began before sunrise.
Leon was always waiting.
“Late.”
Jasper would stare at the empty sky.
“…Master Leon, the sun isn’t even awake yet.”
“And neither should excuses.”
The punishment never changed.
Push-ups.
Squats.
Burpees.
Mountain climbers.
Then the Marathon.
One hundred and fifty miles.
One hundred and sixty.
One hundred and seventy.
Every day, Leon quietly added another ten miles.
He never explained why.
He simply expected Jasper to finish.
So Jasper ran.
Sometimes Piper ran beside him.
Sometimes she ran behind him.
Sometimes she vanished completely…
…only to suddenly appear in front of him.
“Tired?”
“No.”
“Liar.”
She would grin before sprinting away again.
Jenna accompanied them nearly every day.
She carried water.
Prepared meals whenever Leon called for a break.
And quietly watched Jasper endure training that seemed almost impossible.
She had lived for over a thousand years.
Even she had to admit…
Cultivators were a peculiar breed.
Every evening ended the same way.
Dinner.
A bath.
Sleep.
Then it all began again.
The soreness never truly disappeared.
By the fourth day, Jasper stopped complaining.
Not because the training had become easier.
Because complaining wasted breath.
Leon noticed.
He said nothing.
He simply gave a small nod.
That tiny gesture meant more to Jasper than any praise.
His posture improved.
His breathing became calmer.
His footing became steadier.
His mind grew quieter.
There were no breakthroughs.
No sudden surges in cultivation.
No miraculous increase in power.
Only repetition.
Only sweat.
Only discipline.
By the end of the tenth day…
Jasper crossed the finish line of his final Marathon.
Two hundred and thirty miles.
He remained standing.
Barely.
Leon looked him over.
A faint smile crossed the old master’s face.
“Good.”
Jasper blinked.
“…That’s all?”
“That’s all.”
Piper sighed dramatically.
“I was hoping he’d cry at least once.”
“I cried internally,” Jasper muttered.
“Does that count?”
“No.”
Jenna laughed softly.
Leon folded his hands behind his back.
“Your discipline training is complete.”
Jasper let out the biggest sigh of relief he’d released in ten days.
“So…”
“When does combat training begin?”
Leon answered immediately.
“Not tomorrow.”
Jasper blinked.
“…Really?”
“You’ve pushed your body hard for ten consecutive days.”
“Recovery is part of training.”
“You have five days to rest.”
“Eat well.”
“Sleep.”
“Stretch.”
“And recover.”
Jasper nearly collapsed with happiness.
“Master Leon…”
“I think I love those words.”
Leon chuckled.
“Enjoy those five days.”
He glanced toward Piper.
“Because once they’re over…”
Piper’s smile slowly widened.
It was the same smile she’d worn during the Marathon.
Only somehow…
It looked much more dangerous now.
“When your rest ends,” she said quietly, “your martial arts training begins.”
She folded her arms.
“And unlike the Marathon…”
“I won’t be running beside you.”
“I’ll be hitting you.”
Jasper’s smile disappeared instantly.
“…Can I have six rest days?”
“No.”
“Seven?”
“No.”
“Ten?”
Piper smiled sweetly.
“You’ve already used up all your luck by scamming Aravus.”
Jasper sighed.
“I miss the marathon already.”