@Arythazin That is exactly where the gold would come from. Slave traders and other folk would have a lot of gold after all. Its unfortunate that they resort to killing everyone they meet, but its much more viable an option than trying to live in the open as slave bait. The switch might be a bit abrupt but have you ever met someone truly desperate? The moment they think you can solve the problem they go from murder to trying to suck yo dick. Her situation seemed hopeless after all and her decisions are not just about her life but the lives of those behind her. A good person doing bad things will stop the moment they get the opportunity to stop.
@firosahoge Well we do get those stories from time to time. I think its more that there is a level of depth or intricacy required to pull off a cliche without it feeling like the same old story with a new skin. Of course there are a lot of bandwagoners who just complain because they are under the impression that cliche's are bad. People are pretty odd after all. They don't understand that a world is made up of intertwined cliches and that thats why they are cliche. They are often fundamentals or simply fun. This story is pretty vanilla and bland so far but its only chapter 4. Still plenty of time to go into something real interesting without ramping the edge to 9 and having the loli maid and elves raped by the heroes who killed all his pets on the way to the dragon. I mean you could make an interesting story out of that sure, but its not required and i would even say its a little bit of a cliche thats only not used due to how it changes the tone.
There is something to be said for not beating an enemy or not making it in time to save people. Very good elements if done carefully. They do pose a challenge to the stories thematic and tone though.
I don't read the stories where the MC is stuck at level 1 because to me thats a nightmare and defeats the whole purpose of going to a video game world. The progression element is very important and without the potential to power up you just end up with the same kind of story you get without levels, but with everyone else becoming more awesome. Imagine playing a game or living life having while having to watch everyone else grow and improve constantly while your stuck as you are, forever. Its like going to a fantasy world and not being able to do any of the fantasy things. No magic, no wonder, just you with a sword or gun murdering things in dirty messy ways to stay alive. Not my cup of tea to be sure and a completely different story to one like this.
My point is that there is a balance between all the cliches and subversion that needs to be carefully maintained while thinking about the world, characters and above whether its cliche or not, whether its fun or enjoyable or interesting. Sure an MC building to some special power the whole story but losing it right at the moment of climax before they even get to use it or we get to see it is subversive and not cliche, but its also really disappointing and not fun for anyone. Winning every fight is better than losing every fight simply because winning is atleast a power fantasy and therefore a little more fun to people. However if your setting does not require the MC and friends to win every fight its obviously more interesting for them to struggle and lose from time to time. A loss can also not just be about the immediate battle but the behind the scenes events. Returning to find your friends dead is just one of those indirect losses.
At any rate i may be rambling a bit now. Its probably just ignorance/nonsense like the guy from another comment section i spoke to who thought a character was too many minorities. Like you could somehow be too many things and therefore a bad character by the virtue of that. A Mary Sue is often many things but thats not why they are bad, and even a Mary Sue can be a great character if handled as more than mental masturbation by the author.