Lord of Avalon : Lost in Another World

A New Feature: Item Merge

After instructing Ren and the shinobi to gather the villagers, Ardi opened his inventory panel.

Just as he was about to access his Summoning Tickets, a system notification popped up.

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[System Notification]

The system has detected items with high compatibility. You may perform an Item Merge.

Warning: Merging carries a risk of failure, resulting in the loss of all involved materials.

Do you wish to proceed?

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Ardi raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the new feature.

"Oh? It looks like I can merge some items in my inventory."

Yui and Megumi, standing behind him, peeked at the system screen, curiosity written all over their faces.

"Item merging?" Megumi repeated, tilting her head.

Yui crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes. "Ardi, are you sure about this? Remember what happened last time you experimented with something new?"

Ardi grinned. "You're overthinking, Yui. If the system suggests it, doesn't that mean the success rate is high?"

Yui scoffed. "There's still a chance of failure. If you start acting arrogant just because you think you're unbeatable, I'll personally pull your ear!"

Ardi frowned. "Huh?! I'm not arrogant!"

Yui smirked. "Really? You just said you'd succeed because the system suggested it. That sounds pretty arrogant to me."

Megumi covered her mouth, stifling a giggle.

Ardi narrowed his eyes before launching a sudden tickle attack on Yui.

"GYAAAH! Ardi! Stop! I—Hahaha—!"

Megumi chuckled softly, which made Ardi turn to her next.

"Don't think you're safe, Megumi!"

Megumi's face turned bright red. "A-Ardi-sama, no! AHAHAHA—!"

After successfully defeating both girls with tickles, Ardi pressed YES on the screen.

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[Item Merge Panel]

[Merging in Progress...]

Merging:

Sulfur Pit + Coal Deposit → Blazing Crucible (Rare – Natural Wonder)

Salt Flat + Stone Hill + Gold Vein → Gilded Highlands (Rare – Natural Wonder)

Wild Herb Grove + Timberland + Mystical Forest → Ancient Woodland (Rare – Natural Wonder)

Ancient Woodland + Fairy Spring of Abundance → Eldertide Grove (Super Rare – Natural Wonder)

Dungeon Core + Mana Crystal Deposits + Mythril Vein → Aetherian Dungeon (Epic – Dungeon)

Warning:

There is a 20% chance of failure for each merge.

Proceed?

[YES] / [NO]

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Merge Results

[Merge Successful!]

Blazing Crucible (Rare – Natural Wonder)

Produces Sulfur, Coal, Copper Ore, and Volcanic Ash daily.

Gilded Highlands (Rare – Natural Wonder)

Produces Stone, Salt, Gold Ore, and Quartz Crystals daily.

Ancient Woodland (Rare – Natural Wonder)

Produces Wood, Herbal Medicine, Kuroki Woods, and Spirit Resin daily.

Eldertide Grove (Super Rare – Natural Wonder)

Produces Wood, Herbal Medicine, Kuroki Woods, and Arcane Resin daily.

Produces Fertility Essence and Fairy Dew weekly.

Aetherian Dungeon (Epic – Dungeon)

Produces Iron Ores, Gems, Mythril Ores, and Mana Crystals daily.

Produces Orichalcum Ores and Etherium Dust weekly.

Produces Adamantite Crystals and Aether Crystals monthly.

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Celebration & Worries

Ardi's eyes widened in excitement. "WOAH! Look at this! These are amazing!"

Megumi stared at the screen in awe. "A-Amazing... With these, our village will grow even faster..."

Yui, however, covered her face with her hand. "Why do I feel like this will bring more problems later?"

Ardi chuckled before hugging Yui from behind.

"Oh, come on, Yui. We should celebrate this victory!"

Yui pouted, still annoyed, but a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Fine, fine. But you better be careful. And stop taking so many risks!"

The area in front of Daimyo Manor was packed with villagers, their eyes filled with curiosity. Shinobi and ashigaru stood among them, keeping order.

Ardi walked out of the manor, holding both Yui and Megumi's hands.

"My Lord!" The villagers greeted him with excitement.

Ardi raised a hand, signaling them to quiet down.

"There are two important things I want to announce today."

The crowd fell silent, waiting eagerly.

Ardi took a deep breath before glancing at Yui and Megumi beside him.

"First, I have an announcement regarding my personal life as your lord."

The villagers listened attentively.

Ardi gazed at Yui with warmth before speaking.

"Yui is my fiancée and will be the first Lady of Minori Village."

Yui stiffened for a moment before turning away, her face flushed.

"W-Well, of course, I'm the first!" she said, trying to sound composed.

The villagers erupted into cheers.

Before they could get even louder, Ardi continued.

"And Megumi… she is also someone very precious to me. I want Megumi to be my second wife."

The cheers suddenly stopped.

All eyes turned to Megumi, whose face turned red like a ripe tomato.

Megumi lowered her head, gripping her apron tightly. "A-Ardi-sama…"

The villagers slowly started cheering again—this time, louder and with playful teasing.

"Finally! We've been waiting for this!"

"Congratulations, Megumi-sama!"

"Our Lord is truly a lucky man, hahaha!"

Among the crowd, Ren and Kenshin exchanged knowing glances.

"We all saw this coming," Kenshin chuckled.

Ren nodded. "True. What's surprising is that Lord Ardi actually admitted it sooner than we expected."

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Summoning Ritual Begins

Once the excitement settled, Ardi raised his hand again.

"Now, for the second announcement…"

The crowd fell silent once more.

"Today, I will be using Summoning Tickets to bring new residents to Minori Village."

Some villagers exchanged confused glances, still unfamiliar with the concept.

Ardi opened his inventory and selected USE on all 10 Summoning Tickets.

Suddenly, a massive magic circle appeared in front of him, glowing with intricate symbols.

The intense light forced the villagers to shield their eyes.

After 30 seconds, the light faded.

Standing within the magic circle were:

25 humans

18 goblins

16 cat-kins

20 gnomes

4 dwarves

8 lizardmen

20 elves

4 demon humanoids

A murmur spread through the crowd.

"Demons…?"

"Are they dangerous?"

Some villagers looked shocked, while others appeared nervous.

Before panic could spread, the summoned individuals stepped forward.

The humans bowed respectfully.

The goblins grinned, their tools hanging from their belts.

The cat-kin gave an elegant servant's bow.

The gnomes stood proudly with their pickaxes.

The dwarves smirked confidently.

The lizardmen saluted in a disciplined manner.

The elves remained elegant but wary of the dwarves and demons.

And then…

The demons knelt before Ardi.

The Demon Lord's Oath

"O Great Demon Lord," one of them spoke. "We pledge our eternal loyalty to you!"

The entire village fell silent.

The elves immediately reacted.

"Demon Lord?!" one of the high elf mages exclaimed in alarm.

Vivian and Amanda, watching from a distance, froze.

"Mother… is Ardi really a Demon Lord?" Vivian whispered.

Amanda clenched her fists. "I don't know… but if he is, this could be a huge problem."