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

Chapter 9: Registration

Johnny didn't hear her chasing after him, so he took it as a sign that he was in the clear. Just in case, he kept walking without looking back. As he was thinking about how to get to the registration office, he groaned as he remembered how his car got totaled. Now he didn't even have a place to sleep. A sudden thought crossed his mind, and he frantically searched his pockets.

He nearly screamed in frustration. His phone was gone. It must have been destroyed in the fight, along with his wallet. That was assuming they hadn't fallen out of his pockets from all the running he did. This was the worst. He literally had nothing to his name except for his clothes. Speaking of clothes, he noticed the stares he was receiving.

Glancing down at his appearance, he could see why. That made why they hadn't taken a second glance at him earlier strange. He looked like he had been put through the wringer. He needed to change, but he didn't exactly have the money to pull that off. Hopefully, no one called the police on him before he got to his destination.

Luck was on his side, as after over an hour of walking, he reached the registration office without anyone stopping him. Of course, that quickly changed when the guards blocked him from entering the building. Staring at the two hulking men blocking his way, he swallowed. They weren't as huge as the giant he faced before, but they were certainly intimidating.

"Sir, I think you're in the wrong place," one of the guards said as he purposely looked him up and down.

Okay, that was rude. Just because he wasn't looking his best didn't mean they could deny him entry. He was still clothed, even if he did look like a mess. Besides, if they were doing it because they didn't think he was a blessed, that was discrimination. At the last part, he took it back. Since the blessed were mostly the wealthy, he could see why they looked down on him.

[What does wealth have anything to do with it?]

Not expecting a message from the quiet system, Johnny jumped. The guards immediately reached for the weapons, probably wary that he would try something. While he wanted to interrogate the system about what it meant, he needed to deal with the current situation first. He raised his arms to show that he meant no harm, but the guards didn't lower their guards.

"I'm just here to register. I just got my power earlier today," he said before allowing a small flame to appear in the palm of his hand.

Unfortunately, it didn't get the desired result as the guards were now pointing their guns at him. That was completely unfair. They were refusing him entry because they didn't think he was a blessed. Then, the moment he showed proof, they were threatening him with their weapons. He simply couldn't win, but he would admit that he would be nervous too if someone summoned flames.

Just as he was thinking that he would be forced into a fight, someone said, "Enough."

The three men jerked as they looked towards the speaker. A beautiful woman stood at the entrance, staring at them with cold eyes. It was like she was staring right into their souls. Johnny wracked his mind trying to figure out who she was. She didn't look like she was from one of the seven families. Each family had a signature appearance, which she didn't possess.

"Let him through," she ordered.

The guards hesitated, but they lowered their weapons and stepped aside to let him pass. He watched them warily as he walked past them before turning his gaze to the imposing woman. She had to be some bigshot if they bowed down to her. However, that didn't exactly narrow it down since all the blessed were bigshots. When he was a few feet away from her, he stopped.

She gave him a once over before turning her back and saying, "Follow me. Let's get you registered."

Seeing no reason not to follow her, he walked after her. As soon as they entered the building, his eyes widened at the fancy interior. It didn't look like a government building. The place looked like it belonged to some wealthy businessman with all the expensive furniture out. He swallowed as he thought about how much it would cost to furnish the whole place.

Wealthy people were sure scary. They could spend money like water on something like this without batting an eye. There weren't actually many people inside. A few people were roaming around, but it was mostly empty. Everyone stared at the duo as they passed. He could tell they were mostly looking at him and judging him with their gazes.

After walking for a while, she stopped in front of a door and said, "Please step inside to complete your registration."

Johnny frowned. This didn't seem like how it should go. He thought all he had to do was fill out some paperwork at the front desk and submit it, and he was free to go. It seemed odd that he had to walk further into the building. Maybe it was because they needed to confirm his power, even though he had shown it earlier in front of the building.

Looking at the woman, he opened the door and stepped inside. The moment he was inside, the door suddenly slammed closed behind him. Startled, he looked back just as he heard the lock click. Grabbing the door knob, he found that he wouldn't budge like he feared. She had just locked him in the room. He seriously couldn't believe this was happening.

Before he had time to process what was happening, men came out of the shadows to grab him by the arms and drag him away. "Hey, what are you doing? Stop. You can't do this."

His words fell on deaf ears as they dragged him to the table and forced him to sit down. In front of him was a rugged looking man with a large scar running down his face. Johnny shuddered and looked away as his mind whirled over what would happen to him now. Possible scenarios passed through his mind, each one worse than the last.

As if reading his thoughts, the scarred man said, "You have nothing to fear, young master. We're not here to harm you."

In an instant, his fear was replaced by confusion. "What?"

"I said we're here to bring you back to your family, young master," the man said.

Staring at the man, Johnny hesitantly asked, "What family?"

The scarred man looked him in the eye and said, "I'm referring to the Burns family."