Rise of the Commoner: Johnny Burns's The Lost Heir

Chapter 2: Got the Power

[The process is complete.]

[The user's body has returned to its optimal state.]

[The user may now use healing and fire.]

Those words were the first thing to greet Johnny when he regained consciousness. As if to confirm the vadility of those words, he raised a hand and flexed it. There was no pain or difficulty in movement whatsoever. The system had truly healed his body from the brink of death without so much as a scar. The divine power system was really amazing.

"This is awesome," he whispered as he sat up.

Johnny felt like a kid on a sugar rush. However, his childlike wonder was interrupted when a familiar face stomped towards him. It was the man from before who had nearly killed him with a single punch. He hadn't realized so little time had passed since he got the system. The thought of what happened earlier ignited his blood, and he abruptly stood up.

"How are you still alive?" the giant demanded as he pointed a meaty finger at Johnny. "Well, whatever. I'll make sure you stay dead this time."

The giant launched into the air with his arms over his head. Despite the danger coming at him headfirst, Johnny felt a slight thrill of excitement along with his fear. Curling his hands into fists, he watched the giant's eyes widen in shock as his hands caught on fire. Throwing one of his hands forward, a blast of fire erupted from it.

The torrent of flames landed, covering the man in flames. Johnny quickly realized that the giant was still falling towards him and scrambled out of the way. He could hear the man scream in agony as he crashed into the ground where Johnny had been previously standing. Immediately, the thrill of being able to control fire was replaced with horror as the smell of burning flesh reached his nose.

Turning to the side, he retched as he realized he had just killed a man with his power. Suddenly, it was no longer amazing that he could control fire. Wiping his mouth with his arm, he panicked over what would happen to him now. There was no way he would get away with murdering someone. He was going to be arrested and thrown into jail.

Suddenly, the ground erupted, and he was knocked off his feet. Startled, he lay sprawling on the ground as he watched with wide eyes as the flaming giant got back on his feet. The man was somehow still alive, even though he was literally on fire. While Johnny was relieved he wasn't a murderer, he now had to deal with a man who was on fire.

"How dare you. How are you able to wield fire?" the giant roared as he lumbered towards Johnny.

With the threat of death right in front of him, Johnny unleashed his flames on the giant. His concerns over being labeled a murderer were forgotten with his life on the line. The man raised an arm to block the flames as he roared in pain. Despite this, he was still walking towards Johnny. It was beginning to look like Johnny was in over his head when the giant finally stopped.

Before Johnny's eyes, the giant fell to its knees before collapsing face forward to the ground. Johnny panted as he stared at the fallen man. He was afraid that the man was going to suddenly get back on his feet, but his previous concerns came back to the forefront. There had to be a way to stop the flames before he killed a man. As if responding to his thoughts, the flames suddenly went out.

He stared before he hesitantly took a step forward. Placing a hand on the man's wrist, he was able to find a pulse. Johnny breathed a sigh of relief as he landed on his butt. Staring at the unconscious man, he suddenly burst out laughing at the craziness of it all. He never imagined that his life would change so suddenly in one day. It was unreal.

For a moment, he wondered if this was a dream. Raising a hand to his face, he watched as his hand caught on fire again. If it was a dream, he didn't want to wake up. Letting the flame die out, he thought about what he was going to do next when he heard footsteps. Getting to his feet, he spun around and saw one of the women from earlier staring at him.

"I didn't expect trash to come out and interfere, but I'll have to show you your place," she said as the wind whipped around her.

Now that he saw her up close, he recognized who she was. She was Rachel Wright of the Wright family, known for their wind powers. It was a poor matchup. It didn't take a genius to know fire would have a problem facing against wind. The thought of his fire turning against him made him anxious about fighting the woman in front of him.

Before he could react, icicles rained down on them. Rachel used her power to knock the iciles away, while Johnny instinctively used his flames to melt them before they could reach him. Looking to see who had attacked them, he saw that it was the woman who totaled his car. She had to be Dorothy Martin from the Martin family.

"Where do you think you're going?" Dorothy demanded as she created more iciles. "We're not finished here."

Johnny anxiously looked between them. Well, he was in a tough spot. He was now stuck between two women from powerful families that could crush him like an ant. While they were distracted, he should get out of there and register his power as soon as possible. The problem was that he wasn't sure if he could get out of there without drawing their attention.

"I don't have time to waste on you," Rachel said as she flipped her hair.

"I'll be the judge of that," Dorothy spat as she launched her attack.