Agora

Chapter 88 - Agora

Mike stared at the system window floating in front of his eyes, reading the words again and again as his mind struggled to keep up with everything that had happened. The answer had been there all along, buried beneath the confusion of the fight and the shock of seeing Mia standing over him after he had believed her to be dead.

The attack from behind had not been random. The way Mia had remained completely still while he checked her pulse, the way her eyes had eventually opened, and the strange smile on her face all pointed toward the same conclusion. Claire had not been the only one with something hidden up her sleeve. When Claire had copied his skills during their fight, Mike had thought she had somehow learned them through observation, but now he understood what had really happened. She had a system of her own, and that system had been copying his abilities.

Mike's eyes remained fixed on Eve while he spoke to the system inside his head. His wrists were still trapped in the heavy chains, and every small movement made the metal scrape against his skin, but he barely felt it anymore. His entire attention was focused on finding a way out of this situation.

“Why can’t I activate my skills?”

The system answered immediately, its voice calm despite the chaos around him.

[Doom system is blocking them.]

Mike's expression tightened. He pulled against the chains again, testing them as hard as he could. The metal bit into his wrists, and a sharp pain ran through his arms, but the restraints did not move. He stopped struggling for a moment and looked down at his hands before raising his eyes again.

“Then why are you here?”

His voice cracked as he spoke. Tears were already running down his cheeks, but he did not bother wiping them away. There was no point pretending he was in control of the situation. He was chained to a pillar, his abilities were sealed, and someone he cared about was right in front of him. He could not even move close enough to help her.

Mike forced himself to look toward Eve again.

Sam continued moving, and Eve's body moved with him. A blindfold covered her eyes, leaving only the lower half of her face visible. The sounds coming from her filled the warehouse and mixed with the movement around them. Mike's jaw tightened as he watched, his hands slowly curling into fists despite the chains holding them apart.

He wanted to look away.

He could not.

His eyes stayed fixed on Eve.

[I got upgraded, remember], the system said.

Mike pulled hard against the chains again. The metal cut deeper into his wrists, but he did not stop until his arms began to shake from the effort. The thick wooden pillar behind him remained completely still. Whoever had restrained him had not left him any obvious way to escape.

“Then what do I do?”

His voice was quieter now, but the desperation in it was impossible to hide.

“Tell me how I can save her. I am helpless right now. Aren’t you here to help me?”

For the first time, there was a pause before the system answered.

[I can activate Agora for you, but there is a price.]

Mike's breathing stopped for a moment.

“Agora?”

The unfamiliar name immediately caught his attention. “What’s that?”

[That’s the first power you get with the charm system when the host has fucked over fifteen college girls, ten married women, and five milfs. Right now you are at three married plus milfs and two college girls.]

Mike did not react to the explanation.

He did not question the numbers. He did not ask what the power could do. He did not even blink.

His eyes remained locked on Eve.

“What’s the price?”

The words came out immediately.

“I am willing to pay any price. Anything. Just tell me.”

A new system window appeared in front of his eyes.

The familiar glow illuminated his face in the darkness.

Two lines appeared.

[Follow the quests and complete them no matter what, without question, and give up on boxing.]

Mike stared at the words.

For the first time since the window appeared, he stopped breathing.

Boxing.

His eyes remained on that single line.

It was not just another skill.

It was something he had spent years building himself around. The training, the pain, the hours spent in the gym, the fights, the discipline, the feeling of standing inside the ring with nothing between him and another fighter. Giving it up meant abandoning a part of the path he had chosen for himself.

But the thought lasted less than a second.

His eyes moved back toward Eve.

That was enough.

Mike did not hesitate. “Accepted.”

The system immediately began to speak.

[That’s fas—]

“I SAID I ACCEPTED!”

Mike's shout tore through the warehouse.

His voice echoed from the walls and disappeared into the darkness beyond them. His chest rose sharply as he breathed, his eyes remaining locked on Eve. There was no hesitation left in his expression now. Whatever the system wanted from him, whatever he had just sacrificed, he had already made his choice.

He would deal with the consequences later.

Right now, he needed power.

The system window remained suspended in front of him for another moment.

Then it changed.

The purple glow became brighter.

Mike's eyes narrowed.

Behind the window, Sam's movements finally slowed. Eve's body trembled as the moment came to an end, and she released a long, broken sound through the blindfold. Mike's hands tightened into fists again as he watched her.

He still could not move.

He still could not use his skills.

But something had changed.

The system window suddenly flashed. The ordinary system display disappeared.

Purple light spread across Mike's vision, brighter and stronger than anything he had seen from the system before. The glow reflected across his wet cheeks and illuminated the chains around his wrists.

A new message appeared.

[AGORA Taking over]

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