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

Chapter 4: Next Step is Fighting

Fortunately, luck was apparently on Johnny's side today. At the last second, he was able to dodge the attack and watch as it cut a car in two. He swallowed, thinking that it could have been him. Turning his attention back to the women, he saw that he hadn't even been the intended target. If he was, he didn't think they would be focused on each other instead of him.

[Don't worry. With your healing power, you should be able to recover from any attacks.]

Johnny had forgotten about the healing power he had. "Would I really be able to survive being cut in half?"

[As long as the injury isn't fatal.]

Seeing the amended statement, he supposed the healing power had to have some drawbacks or else it would be too powerful. If he could heal from anything, he would basically be immortal. At first, he thought that would be a great power to have, but seeing the women fight, he took back his words. Immortality actually wasn't a great power, and he was glad that he didn't have it.

[The user should focus on the task the system has set out for them.]

At the reminder, he recalled what he had been trying to do before he nearly got eviscerated. Looking down at his hands, he grimaced when he saw that the flames had gone out. He didn't know what had happened, but he was going to have to summon them again and keep them from going out. Concentrating on his hands, he watched as flames sputtered to life.

Once his hands were coated with flames, he stood up. Now that he summoned them again, all he needed to do was hold it for several minutes, like the system told him to. That should be easy. He was obviously being sarcastic, because that was actually harder than he would have liked. With wind, ice, and water flying around, keeping the flames lit was difficult.

Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about being forced into a fight since the women had completely forgotten his existence. Any attacks that came his way were just byproducts of the two fighting each other. It was like he was a speck of dust in their eyes. He could imagine why they would think that, but that didn't mean he appreciated being caught up in their fight.

When he was finally able to hold on to the flames for two minutes, the ground shook. "What now? It had better not be another bigshot coming to fight."

It was worse. The giant he had knocked out before was back on his feet and was the cause of the earthquake. The man was going on a rampage, destroying everything in sight as he roared and raged. Watching this happen from a distance, Johnny decided he should hide. He had a feeling that if he was spotted, he was going to be in a world of hurt.

Ducking behind some debris, he saw that his flames hadn't gone out yet. "System, what do you think?"

[The user had done well. Now it is time for the next step. The user has to use the power in a fight without losing control of the flames.]

He stared at the message for several long moments before asking, "Isn't that a big jump?"

[It is essential that the user learn to use their power in a life or death situation.]

[The system has determined that the user has nothing to worry about since the user has already defeated the blessed before.]

There could only be one person the system was talking about. Peeking from his cover, he watched as the giant smashed a fist into one of the buildings. The side of the building exploded, sending rubble flying everywhere. This didn't stop the giant, as he continued to punch the building until the damage was too extensive, and it caved in on itself.

Looking back at the system, he said, "I'll die if I fight him now."

[Why is the user not confident?]

[The user was able to beat the other blessed earlier.]

"That was pure luck. I would have died," he hissed.

[As long as the user avoids a lethal blow, the user will survive.]

Johnny could see why most liked to pretend the system didn't exist. "I don't think you understand. One blow from him, and my head will be sent flying."

Before he could get a response from the system, he noticed a shadow over him. His eyes widened in realization, and he immediately threw himself out of the way. As he rolled across the ground, a huge chunk of a building crashed where he had been previously hiding. If he had been a second too late, he would have been crushed to death.

"There you are," the giant roared as he threw himself at Johnny.

Seeing the giant coming at him, Johnny instinctively threw flames at the giant. Unfortunately, this was where his streak of good luck ended. The man grabbed a car to use as a shield against Johnny's flames. Johnny grimaced as he tried to increase the intensity of the flames. For some reason, they weren't as powerful as last time.

The giant was quickly bridging the gap between them, and Johnny was forced to stumble back to create some distance. However, the giant was moving faster. As the giant was about to reach him, Johnny threw himself to the side and started running. He could hear the giant stomping after him as he tried to come up with a plan to face him.

There had to be some way for him to deal with the giant without killing him. The only good thing so far was that his flames hadn't gone out yet. Suddenly, he felt something crash into his back. He swore he heard something break, and he coughed up blood as he was sent flying. Johnny crashed into the ground a few moments later.

When he tried to get up so he could run again, he found that he couldn't move his body. It was like he lost control of everything. As he panicked over what was going on, it suddenly hit him. The cracking sound from before must have been his spine. The thought of being paralyzed for the rest of his life terrified him, though he might not last long.

[Don't worry, user. The user's healing power is working to heal your spine.]

He was glad to hear that, but as the giant lumbered towards him, Johnny begged for the power to hurry up and do its job. He didn't want to die right after he was healed. Soon, the giant was looming over him with a twisted smile on his face as he looked down on Johnny. Johnny could only whimper as he prepared himself for what was about to come.