Survival of the Fittest

"I'm screwed—I'm so screwed! I'm gonna die, I'm gonna fucking die! Jesus Christ, what should I do? What should I do man? Please, someone, give me a solution!!"

Standing in the midst of an open field, and surrounded by low-level mobs, was a party of players.

One was an Adventurer class, another was a Gunner class, and the last was an Archer class which seemed to be panicking.

"C-Calm down Jacob! We can find a way to stop it!" The gunner, who was a human woman with long dark hair and hazel eyes, tried calming Jacob down.

"Jacob, take deep breaths, in and out, slowly." The archer, who was an elf with long blonde hair, and two braids on both sides of his head, placed his hands on Jacob's shoulders to relax his body.

"I can't, I'm gonna die! I'm so screwed, why is my internet so bad?! I-I thought lag would no longer exist if we were transported into the freaking game!" Jacob fell to his knees, pulling chunks of his avatar's hair out, "…Guys, go on without me! D-Defeat the Phantom Mutiny without my help, I believe in you both!"

"Jacob?" The dark-haired woman glanced down at him with sorrow in her eyes.

"It's okay, Alice, if I lag out of the game from my bad internet, please remember; it's none of your guys' fault."

"But Jacob, we—"

"No, don't worry about it, Legolas, just go."

"Why do you think that's so easy, my friend? We've been playing together for over a year now; we traveled with one another and completed dungeons as a party. I won't simply leave you just because you asked."

"Yeah, what Legolas said! We won't leave you, Jacob! Just because you're lagging doesn't mean anything!" Alice clenched her fist, determined to stay with her friend.

Legolas simply smiled and kneeled down to place his hand on Jacob's shoulder.

"We'll be with you until the end, my friend."

Alice kneeled down to do the same to his other shoulder.

"It's okay, Jacob, we know your internet is trashy compared to everyone else's, but that doesn't mean we're gonna leave you behind like scum! We had fun times together, like when you lagged out of the game when we fought that dragon with our Middle-Grade equipment, Ehehe!"

"S-Seriously, Alice?! Do you have to tease me in a situation like this!? Oh come on, I'm probably gonna die here!"

"Hahaha, she's right, my friend! We did have fun times together, I remember all of the wondrous journeys we had." Exclaimed Legolas.

"You guys are completely insane. You know how it is being around someone who lags all the time! When you're around laggers, it can affect the entire party and other players outside of the party. My lag can cause attacks to miss, and sometimes cause people to glitch underground, killing them from suffocation! Or sometimes it causes your guys' spells to malfunction and not shoot out! It causes so much mischief, I'm just unlucky!"

"…Yeah, laggers do suck, but you're still our friend. We'll find a way to deal with it." Proclaimed Alice.

"Indeed, we will." 

Jacob looked at both of them with visible panic in his eyes, but it slowly faded away to show a reassuring smile of comfort.

"Thank you guys, that means a lot—I can't thank you enough, really."

"Of course, buddy!" Alice would pat his back a few times before standing up, looking around their location, "Oops, looks like we attracted a bunch of low-level slimes. Hey, Legolas, you wanna take care of them? Or do you want me to gun them down?"

Legolas also stood up and could see the slimes hopping towards them from every direction.

Their life points were fairly small, even some low-grade equipment could one-shot them.

"It may be best if I handle them, Alice. Your gun attracts a lot of attention, and sometimes dangerous mobs…"

"Ehehe, I guess you're right about that. The cons of being a gunner class I suppose!" Alice gave a shrug, sticking her tongue out.

"Unfold," Legolas opened his Personal Hub and brought up the other options inside. By scrolling down, he went to his equipment, searching for a specific weapon, "Let's see, I don't wanna handle a couple of slimes with my Rare-Grade equipment, so I'll just choose something of the low-grade… like this one!" He clicked on a specific weapon, which was magically summoned inside his hand.

"I'll just use a normal wooden bow!" Said Legolas with pride.

"Seriously? Why do you have to be so dramatic about it? You could've used something flashy, like a spell or something. Isn't your Magic Class, Elemental?" Asked Alice

"Of course it's Elemental, that's exactly why I'm not using my spells! Slimes are naturally immune to all elemental attacks, despite their low levels."

"Really? Where did you find that out?"

"From the guidebook, do you not have one? All players of Isekai World Online should have it in their inventory."

"Really? Do you follow a guidebook? Pfft, Bwa ha ha! I didn't take you as the type to rely on help, Legolas!" Alice arched back, laughing toward the sky.

"Tsk, how annoying. You mean to tell me you've been playing the game without looking at the guidebook at all?" Asked Legolas, curiously.

"Well duh; only cowards look up help when it comes to video games! I never once looked up any tutorials on YouTube when I played stuff like Dark Spirits and Elden Pearl."

"Hey, uhhh, guys." 

"Huh? What's up, Jacob?" 

"Yes, my friend?"

"Look over there!" Jacob pointed in front of them as his arms started to shake with anxiety.

"What is it— Oh crap…" Alice widened her eyes, taking a few steps back.

"What are they doing here?" Legolas also did the same, nearly tripping on his behind

They were all shaken up.

"Hide!" Jacob suddenly tugged on their wrists, pulling them down to the ground.

Both Legolas and Alice were sunk into the tall grass, masking their presence.

"What the heck are Swindler members doing here?" Whispered Alice, "This isn't good at all, if they find out that we're here, then we are all screwed!"

"Keep your voice down, if they hear us, then we are not making it out of this alive." Whispered Legolas.

"Hey, did you hear someone talk just now?"

The two Swindler members looked around them, questioning their ears.

"Yeah, I heard it too, but it could've just been some NPC."

The Swindlers was a guild, known for their notorious crimes and ruthless leader who's said to have hacked the database of Isekai World Online, having obtained everything he desired.

But that's only a theory.

Yet that theory alone scares the entire player base for Isekai World Online.

"They're wearing dark red robes with a Raccoon and dagger symbol on their backs, that's definitely them." Proclaimed Jacob.

"Hey, maybe we should perform a sneak attack and take their outfits? How does that sound? By doing that, we can wear them whenever we want just in case we run across the Swindlers Guild again. Because let's face it, the Swindlers are definitely gonna be a problem from now on; since we're stuck in this game!" Alice looked at Jacob and Legolas, awaiting a response.

"Your ideas are usually crazy… but this one shows promise," Legolas responded with a smirk.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Alice is right, the Swindlers are gonna be more active and come out of hiding because of what happened. Maybe we should sneak attack them and steal their belongings." Whispered Jacob.

"We shouldn't kill them though."

Jacob and Alice both looked at Legolas with confused expressions.

"Huh? Why the hell not? They're bad people." Said Alice.

"Yes, they may be bad people in the game, but who's to say for real life? For all we know, they could be the most kindest individual."

"Hmmm, maybe you're right. Then how about this: we confront them together and see how they react to us. If they react harshly, we beat them into a pulp! But if they react with kindness and generosity, we spare them and let them be. Does that sound okay to you, Legolas?" Asked Alice with her confident grin.

"I-I suppose that can work, but we better react quickly before they get away."

"Alright, then I'll be the first to approach them—"

KABOOM!

All of a sudden, a spell was launched from meters away.

A semi-large explosion collided with the ground, blowing away the slimes who were hopping around.

"Stupid ass slimes, they get on my nerves." (Swindler Member 1)

"You dumbass, slimes are immune to Elemental spells, it's no use. Keep doing that and you'll attract some powerful mobs." (Swindler Member 2)

"No, they're only immune to Rank E and F Elemental spells, but tiers above that can definitely bypass their immunity." (Swindler Member 1)

"Then why didn't you fire a C-tier spell, rather than some measly F-tier?" (Swindler Member 2)

"Because, I wanted to see if they uploaded any new graphics in this update, but I guess not. Not like it matters anyway, you and I are both level 60, and the mobs around here are no match for us. They're fodder!" He chuckled, crossing his arms. "Besides, what's the highest-level monster in the forest biome?" (Swindler Member 1)

"It's the Slime King, I believe." (Swindler Member 2)

"Exactly, so no reason to worry. The Slime King is only level 50, and we're leagues above him." (Swindler Member 1)

"Wait, they're level 60? We're only level 30, holy cow, I'm so glad we didn't pick a fight with them, that was a close one." Alice turned around and laid on her back, panting.

"Good lord, we would've been mincemeat." Said Jacob as he released a sigh.

"Agreed." Responded Legolas.