Falling Into Slumber

["I can't. Not anymore"]

"What are you saying? This is no time for jokes! That monster can sense Aki, so hiding won't work. The only way we can survive against that monster is for you to tell me where it might come from! If we know its location, then we can keep our distance, change our position effectively, and avoid getting cornered!" Haru urgently expressed. He knew it wouldn't be long before the monster would find their location within the building.

["I'm not joking. I am bound by a rule which clearly states that I can only assist you with guidance, as I mentioned before. Just because I already warned you about that monster's attack, I am going to face a penalty!"]

Realizing things weren't simple, even for someone like Mimi, he asked cautiously, "What penalty?"

["Listen properly! I don't have much time. The penalty is already trying to put me into a slumber, which might last for few hours or until that monster is beaten by you! But don't worry! The System will work fine, and your abilities won't go away! Just remember, every monster will have a weakness--"] But before she could complete her sentence, Mimi's voice just stopped.

"What-!? Mimi!? What weakness!?" Frustration surged within Haru as he shouted, realizing that he wouldn't be able to get any help from her as she fell into slumber.

"Damn it!!" But as he was running away thinking about his options, he then remembered something and shouted, "The system!! It might know!!"

Remembering that the System had an inbuilt feature that provided a detailed Appraisal of most of the things, Haru willed for that information.

Up until then, Haru had never faced a situation where he willingly used it, as Mimi always laid out the information whenever it was necessary. But now things were different.

Pop! Just as he expected, the moment he thought about it, a golden window popped up in front of his eyes.

###########################

Name – Roachina

Rank – Elite

Description – 

Roachina, once a humble roach, evolved into a scary monster with the power of Prana. It's a creepy creature with a sadistic nature, hunting its prey for fun. It particularly dislikes humans, especially non-single males, blaming them for its species' decline, simply because their wives or girlfriends are scared of its species.

Protection –

Roachina is tough to beat because of its strong outer shell where only really powerful Elite-Rank weapons can crack it open.

Attacks -

Beyond its physical strength, Roachina exhibits the capability to launch fiery balls that explode like super-powerful grenades. The resulting explosions engulf the surrounding area in flames, reaching a radius of three meters.

Weakness -

Roachina might seem unstoppable, but it has a soft spot. Aim for its eyes or the inside of its mouth to have a chance at beating it.

###########################

"Sadistic!? And what's with the eyes and inside the mouth? Will it even give me a chance to come that close to it--!?" Haru was really frustrated about not getting the information he wanted, but he couldn't even express it as his eyes widened when he saw something.

"!!!" As Haru was running along the dimly lit corridor, on the right side where the classroom with windows on both sides laid, his sight caught the body the monster, shinning under the moonlight right outside the building, flying just parallel to Haru.

 'Shit... Will it blast through the windows again!?' Haru's heart quickened as he wondered what the monster would do next since his location was already revealed. But the monster did something completely unexpected. 

As Haru was running in a straight line with his nervous eyes fixed on the monster flying parallel to the building, the Roachina suddenly disappeared from his sight. 

'What the-!? Where did it go!?' Haru panicked a little as he lost sight of the monster. His heart couldn't help but worry about what the monster might do next. 

"Shit!!" Gritting his teeth, Haru removed any unnecessary thoughts and continued to run toward the emergency staircase, hoping to descend to the ground floor to mislead the monster into thinking that he would go up instead. 

Haru understood that it might not be a brilliant idea, given that the Roachina could sense Aki. But for them, hiding in one place wouldn't be effective if the monster suddenly appeared right in front of their hiding spot, potentially leading to a disastrous outcome. Besides, he also wasn't even sure about the extent of its ability to pinpoint their exact location. All he knew that he had to take action and do something. 

'There!!' Looking at the emergency exit door in his sight, Haru increased his pace and quickly open the door.

However, Haru made a slight error in judgment due to panic and the urgency of their situation. He was right to think that he should take a detour to the first floor, but because of the urgent situation, he forgot about a significant thing regarding those staircases on the emergency exit.

Unlike normal staircases, the ones on the emergency exit were a bit different.

Haru forgot that at each floor, the building had a significantly huge glass panel etched on the walls designed to be shattered in emergencies using a special device. However, this robust glass wouldn't hold up against an attack from an Elite Rank monster.

"!!" The same realization immediately occurred to Haru as his eyes fell onto the large glass window in disbelief just upon entering through the emergency exit.

He knew he messed up, but he didn't even have time to think of something before the huge glass suddenly shattered into pieces.

Crash!

Just five meters away from Haru, the Roachina stood on the broken window. As its reddish eyes fell onto Haru, the creature's terrifying yet disgusting expression resembled that of a predator cornering its prey in amusement.

"SCREECH!!" Before Haru could react, the Roachina shot straight toward him with its metallic, scythe-like arm.

"Shit--!!!" Haru immediately raised his sword in reflex to intercept the attack, fully aware that it could drill a hole in his body if it landed.

Ting! Sparks erupted as the creature's arm and Haru's sword came in contact, but judging by Haru's tensed expression, he was barely able to stop the attack. 

'What the hell is this creature!?' Haru used both hands, yet it felt meaningless as he stared into the creature's terrifying face and felt its strength. However, he couldn't just give up that easily, not when Aki's life was on the line.

"Screech!" Seeing someone half its size, Haru, giving his all to stop its one arm, a mocking-like screech escaped its mouth. But it did not stop there.

"!!" While Haru was being pushed by the terrifying creature, his sword barely able to stop one arm, the Roachina suddenly extended its other arm and jerked at Haru's unguarded stomach.

Bang!

[-70 HP]

'Damn it... it hurts!!!' The metallic taste of blood filled Haru's mouth as he, along with Aki, was thrown back due to the great impact, leaving a terrifying cut form on his stomach that consumed a significant portion of his HP.

The only reason he was still alive was because of his Defense stat, which protected him; otherwise, he would have died on the spot. 

But the pain in his stomach and being thrown into the air as he passed through the emergency door were the least of his worries because something even more terrifying awaited them as they were still midair in the corridor.

Swoosh!

His eyes widened as he saw a fiery ball hurtling in his direction, and this time there was nothing he could use to block it since he was still in midair.

"Ah, f***."

BOOOM!!

A huge explosion occurred right in the middle of the corridor, engulfing the area in flames.