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 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… in and out…" The archer, who was an elf with long blonde hair, and two braids on both sides of his head, placed his hands on Jacob to relax his body.

"I-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 outta the game from my bad internet, 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 a year now, we traveled with one another and completed dungeons as a party. I won't leave you, I just can't…"

"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! We had fun times together, like when you lagged out of the game when we fought that dragon with our Middle-Grade equipment, hehe!"

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

"Hahahaha, 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 patted his back a few times before standing back up and 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…"

"Heheheh, 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 opened the other options inside of it. 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 Guide book, do you not have one? All players of Isekai Online should have it in their inventory."

"Really? Do you follow a guidebook? Pfft, hahahahaha! I didn't take you as the type to rely on help, Legolas! Hahahaha!" Alice leaned back, laughing to the sky in all her glory.

"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 looked up any tutorials on YouTube and any other game 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 nervously.

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

"What are they doing here?" Legolas also did the same, visibly scared from his expression alone.

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 so screwed…"

"Keep your voice down, if they hear us, then we are definitely not making it out of this unharmed." 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 Online, and obtained everything he desired.

But that's only a theory.

Yet that theory alone scares the entire fandom for Isekai 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 sneak attack them 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 Swindler 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 definitely gonna be more active now, 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 in 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 respect 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'm 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. Besides, you and me are both level 60, the mobs around here are no match for us. They're fodder! 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, 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.