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

Chapter 3: Impromptu Lesson

Johnny did the only sensible thing he could in this situation. He ran for cover as they threw wind and ice at each other. He wasn't crazy enough to take on two women who had many more years of experience with their powers than he did. His fight with the giant had been luck on his part. He wasn't arrogant enough to think otherwise.

As he hid around the corner of one of the buildings, he wondered if he could get away with just running away from the area. Despite all of the chaos around him, there were no people running or screaming. He wasn't sure why, but something was telling him that trying to run wouldn't end well for him. The only thing he could do for now was watch the two women fight.

Rachel blocked another wave of icicles before flying into the air. From above, she launched a whirlwind of wind at Dorothy. The woman cursed as she raised her arms up to defend against the raging winds. Her long blue hair whipped around as her blue eyes narrowed. Suddenly, she threw her arms out, and a wave of water rose up toward Rachel.

The woman simply flew out of range before launching more blasts of wind at Dorothy, who deflected with bursts of water and ice. Johnny's jaw dropped at the impressive display. He had seen plenty of videos about fights between blessed, but it was completely different in person. The fighting was so intense that he was truly afraid he was going to get hit by one of their attacks.

Temporarily looking away from the fight, he whispered, "System, excuse me, I don't know if you can, but can you help me out a little here?"

[What does the user require?]

He hadn't actually expected a response. "Is there some way you can help me deal with the two women trying to kill each other, please?"

[The system doesn't understand the user's inquiry. Please try again.]

Okay, he supposed it was a bit much to ask the system to interfere in a fight between the blessed. From what little he knew about the system, it only gave people powers and occasionally provided advice. Otherwise, it didn't interact with the blessed. It didn't favor anyone. Most of the time, the blessed just ignored its existence because of that.

"Well, if you can't help me with that, can you please tell me how to control my powers?" he asked.

[The system will gladly guide the user through the tutorial.]

[First, the user must understand that their power is linked to their mental state. The more unstable their mindset, the more unstable their power is.]

Johnny nodded. He could see what the system was saying. His power had obviously reacted to his emotions during his fight with the giant. However, it was easier said than done when he had no experience going through a life or death situation. There was no way he could remain calm when the entire area was being torn apart between the two women.

"What's the next part?" he asked as he peeked around the corner to keep track of what the women were doing.

[Second, the user must practice starting with the basics.]

He stared unimpressed at the text. It was telling him the obvious. Of course, practice would help, but this wasn't the time to be practicing. What he wanted was a quick method to get strong enough so he wouldn't die in the crossfire. Besides, what was it going to ask him to do? Was it going to tell him to mediate or visualize a flame or something?

[The easiest way to practice is to use live targets. Practice using your powers on the other two blessed.]

That was so left field that it took him a moment to process what he just read. "They would kill me if I tried that. Besides, I thought you didn't choose sides."

[This is the first time in a long time since the user encountered someone polite and asked the system for advice on how to use their powers.]

Johnny didn't know how to feel about that. The system sounded so alive. Was it alive? He didn't really know too much about that kind of stuff since he had been focused on working on jobs and making money. However, the part that really got him was when the system said that it had been a long time since anyone had been polite to it. That sentence resonated with him.

He solemnly said, "I understand."

[Since it will be difficult for the user to fight two other blessed on their own, the system will provide aid.]

His eyebrows shot up as he asked, "How?"

[The system will provide tasks for the user to complete that will help the user harness their powers.]

Their conversation was interrupted when the side of the building exploded. Johnny was sent flying, and he rolled across the ground until he crashed into a car. He groaned as he sat up. While everything hurt, he was still alive. Looking up, he saw Dorothy standing not too far from where he was previously hiding. Her back was to him as she faced Rachel.

"System, can you please hurry up? Thanks," he whispered frantically.

[Quest]

[Tutorial]

[The system has determined that the user needs a tutorial on how to properly wield their powers.]

[Follow what is written, and the user will surely be able to control their powers.]

[First, you need to be able to summon your fire and hold it for several minutes.]

Johnny didn't like the idea of drawing attention to himself, but if the system said he needed to do this, he was going to take its advice. Trying to recall how he first summoned the flames, he remembered the anger of being treated like a punching bag and nearly killed. Flames covered his two hands, and he curled them into fists. With his attention on the flames, he didn't notice the blast of wind coming towards him.