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

Chapter 5: Rematch

The giant threw a punch at Johnny, who unleashed a torrent of flames similar to what he had done before. However, the distance between them was too short. His flames barely did any damage before he was struck across the face and sent flying. As he crashed into a building, Johnny had a sense of deja vu. This felt very similar to what happened before he gained his power.

As Johnny struggled to sit up, he coughed up blood. He was only barely keeping himself from screaming in pain. It might have been because his face felt swollen, but it was close. However, he could feel his healing power working its magic. The problem was that it was happening way too slowly. The giant was charging towards him like a bull, and he couldn't get out of the way in time.

This time Johnny really did scream in agony as he felt his bones, which hadn't been broken before, break from the force. He was close to blacking out as the giant grabbed his head and lifted him up into the air like a ragdoll. Unable to think or move, Johnny was limp in the giant's hands. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see flashes of blue. He tried to focus his blurry vision on the text.

"Where's all that power from before punk?" the giant demanded. "Did you finally see the difference between us?"

Johnny couldn't speak, even if he wanted to. He just wanted the giant to shut up as his head throbbed. His healing power was trying to heal the damage done to him, but the process was slow going. Johnny vaguely wondered why it was so slow compared to the first time. He remembered being completely healed within minutes.

"Now it's time for you to die," the giant said as he increased the pressure on Johnny's head.

Insticnitively, Johnny's hands shot upward to dig their nails into the hand, trying to crush his head like a watermelon. It wasn't enough to deter the giant, but he refused to stop. There was a burning smell, and he heard a roar of pain before he was dropped to the ground. His head bounced across the ground, which only aggravated his injuries.

Glancing upward, he saw the giant clutching his hand while cursing a storm. He could make out burn scars wrapped around the giant's wrist that matched the others wrapped around his body. That's when Johnny noticed that the flames in his hands hadn't gone out all this time, despite everything that was happening, but he was in a position to be happy about it.

[The user needs to stall for time until the healing power is finished healing their body.]

"You maggot," the giant growled. "I'll really kill you."

At those words from both the system and the giant, Johnny felt like giggling like crazy. "You're both crazy."

The giant looked confused for a moment as Johnny's mumbled words before saying, "You're crazy. No wonder you thought you could raise a hand against me, Roy Diaz."

Just as the giant was about to land the finishing blow, there was a blast of water that knocked him off his feet. Johnny watched as the giant was sent flying over his head and crashed into another building. Then he quickly glanced back in the direction that the attack had come from. Just like before, it looked like the attack had been accidental. He was just grateful to be alive.

[Congratualtions. The user has done well.]

He threw a dirty look at the system. Johnny swore that he was never going to listen to the system ever again. Everyone had the right idea to ignore it. It was insane if it thought things had turned out okay. He nearly died back there if it couldn't tell. It was only thanks to sheer luck again that he managed to survive against the giant.

[The user was able to control their flames, though it was just barely.]

[The user deserves a reward.]

Johnny quickly took back what he said before. Listening to the system was great. He was curious to see what the system would reward him when he felt the ground rumble beneath him. All the excitement he had been feeling turned to dread as he saw a giant wave of water rushing towards him. With his body's current condition, all he could do was brace himself.

The wave crashed into him face first. This time, he really did black out from the sudden blow. When he came to, he found himself submerged in water. Gasping for air, he realized his mistake too late as more water flowed into his lungs. Grabbing at his neck and thrashing in the water, he didn't have time to notice that his body had finally healed from his previous injuries.

[The user needs to calm down and use their power to get away.]

In his current state, Johnny was unable to think properly about how he could do that. He just unleashed as many flames as he could. The water around him bubbled violently before there was an eruption. Suddenly, the water around him exploded outward as he landed on the ground, choking and gasping for air. However, he didn't have time to relax.

His actions had certainly caught the two women's attention. They stopped their fight to study him before they came to the conclusion that they should put their fight on hold to face the unknown variable. Looking up, he froze when he saw the two women looming over him with very familiar looks. They were the same looks his ex girlfriends would make when they looked down on him.

The thought made his blood boil, as his fear of them was momentarily forgotten. So what if they were from two prestigious families? They were nothing without their family's support. They wouldn't have been able to make it this far without their help. If he had that kind of support, they wouldn't dare to be looking at him like that.

[The system has determined that the user should be rewarded with a new power. Given the user's circumstances, the user will be given a mental power. The user can now influence others with their words.]