Hikaru is a dead person.
Literally.
But at the same time, he is also a Transmigrator, originating from the Celestial Empire, named Kobe Hikaru—thoroughbred, yet the kind that is terribly unlucky.
A transmigrator who dropped dead on the spot after crossing over.
Three months ago, his soul departed from the bed in his modern rental apartment without any warning. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying in a pile of corpses at an ancient battlefield site.
All around him were samurai corpses strewn about, limbs severed, blood flowing like a river.
The air was filled with the scent of blood and gunpowder smoke, and crows circled in the distance.
He looked down and discovered that he was still himself—it was undoubtedly a physical transmigration—but a broken spear was pierced through his chest, though he didn't know when it had happened.
And then, he died.
Not metaphorically, but truly died.
The joy of transmigration hadn't even had a chance to surge into his heart before it was extinguished by the chill of death.
At the final moment before his consciousness plunged into darkness, Hikaru had only one thought—
"What the hell, isn't this too unfair?"
Then, he woke up again.
He didn't know how much time had passed; it could have been a few hours, or perhaps a few days.
When he opened his eyes again, he found his vision had become very strange; the whites of his eyes were pitch black, and his pupils were scarlet.
The surrounding corpses had already begun to rot, yet he couldn't smell any stench.
Because he no longer needed to breathe.
His chest didn't rise and fall, his heart didn't beat, and his blood had solidified in his veins.
He had become a walking corpse.
More accurately, an Ghost Samurai.
He was a monster.
Perhaps because he had become a monster, although his body was dead, the various thoughts in his mind had not disappeared—
And the reason he had 'risen from the dead' was that a translucent panel had suddenly appeared in his mind.
A system called [Favorability].
The introduction on it was written very clearly.
[The host may initiate Favorability strategies on any non-sentient objects within visual and tactile range.]
[Increase Favorability through methods such as conversation, touch, feeding, and maintenance.]
[When Favorability reaches a certain threshold, bond storylines and special bonuses can be unlocked.]
[When Favorability reaches 100, you may choose to fully assimilate the target's abilities—retaining only basic bonuses and conversation functions.]
Hikaru stared at this panel for a long time.
A Favorability strategy system?
Isn't this the kind of golden finger common in harem novels?
Wooing beautiful girls, collecting favorability, and reaching the pinnacle of life?
Just as he was about to cheer, he noticed a keyword—non-living entities.
What does "non-living entity" mean?
Rocks? Trees? Houses?
Can you "woo" these?
He tried to initiate a'strategy' on a rock beside him.
[Soil and rock fragments: Cannot be targeted. Quality is too low; does not meet strategy conditions.]
It didn't work.
He then tried a broken spear nearby.
[Broken spear: Cannot be targeted. Damage level is too high; does not meet strategy conditions.]
Still didn't work.
His gaze swept across the battlefield and finally landed on the katana at the waist of a samurai corpse not far away.
That was a black katana that was relatively well-preserved.
He crawled over and took the sword from the corpse.
[Eligible strategy target detected.]
[Katana (Mass-produced)]
[Quality: Low]
[Current Favorability: 0 (Stranger)]
[Unlock condition: Feed with fresh blood.]
It looked like it worked.
Looking at the prompts on the panel, Hikaru finally understood the logic of this system.
It was indeed a Favorability system, but the targets were not people, not monsters, not any living things.
Only "objects" like blades, swords, bows, armor, Barrier, and divine artifacts, as well as complete items with a certain foundation, were within its scope.
At first glance, it seemed quite useless.
But upon closer thought, it wasn't unusable.
After all, although he didn't know what kind of world this was at the time.
However, since he could turn into an Ghost Samurai—a creature that clearly looked bizarre—it was likely a place where the supernatural existed.
There must also be other monsters similar to himself.
Then there should also be items with incredible abilities, right?
Such as legendary famous blades, divine artifacts, or magical treasures.
If he could max out the Favorability of these things...
Wouldn't he be able to claim the abilities of all these divine weapons as his own?
However, he soon discovered another problem.
Different objects seemed to have different ways of increasing Favorability.
For example, the katana in his hand needed to be "fed with fresh blood."
In other words, he had to feed the blade with blood.
Based on the system's hints, some objects might require 'conversation' to increase Favorability.
Some required 'maintenance.'
Some required 'companionship.'
Some might even require... celebrating a birthday?
Hikaru wasn't sure, but he had a vague feeling that wooing those legendary divine artifacts would definitely not be as simple as feeding a blade.
But that was a matter for the future.
At that time, he was penniless and destitute; the only thing he needed to consider was surviving and finding a way out.
Nothing more.
...
The night wind in the forest gradually calmed down.
Hikaru, carrying the muramasa that had been 'fed full,' walked out of the forest.
This blade was naturally not the original katana; that had just been an ordinary katana. In the three months since his transmigration, that blade had long since been used up—Favorability maxed out, abilities assimilated, and its fate was destruction. It wasn't because of the fusion, as only its abilities were assimilated; it was simply because the ordinary material couldn't withstand repeated battles.
Although Hikaru still kept its fragments, it was clearly no longer usable.
This blade of his was a subsequent trophy.
And at this moment.
After feeding this mass-produced muramasa, which also needed to be 'fed with blood,' he did not linger in place.
Those five Blue-skinned Oni were merely peripheral members of some monster gang, and their true core members were definitely still holed up in the mountains.
With his current strength, poking that hornet's nest wasn't very wise.
After passing through a bamboo forest, Hikaru arrived at a low hill.
The view here was open, and he could see the rolling mountains in the distance and the dilapidated village at the foot of the mountain.
He sat down on a blue stone and placed the muramasa horizontally across his knees.
The moonlight spilled down, and the blade shimmered with a cold, eerie luster.
"You ate five Blue-skinned Oni today; you should be in a better mood, right?"
Hikaru spoke to the blade, his tone like he was coaxing a picky child.
"I know you'd rather eat an Demon Slayer, but that stuff is too hard to deal with; it won't be fun if we get killed in return. Let's level up first, and we'll talk once we're strong enough."
[demon blade muramasa: Mood 'Calm', Current Favorability 15.]
The prompt on the panel didn't change; it seemed this blade wasn't buying his rhetoric.
Hikaru sighed and reached into the cloth bag at his waist to pull out a small piece of oilcloth.
It was a maintenance item he had picked up from the battlefield; although it was a bit rough, it was barely usable.
He dipped the oilcloth slightly and began to carefully wipe the blade.
"Look, aren't I good to you? I even give you a spa after your meal. If it were any other blade, where would you get this kind of treatment?"
[demon blade muramasa: Feels 'Comfortable' with the maintenance.]
[Favorability +1.]
[Current Favorability: 16]
The corners of Hikaru's mouth curled slightly.
Although it only increased by 1 point, every little bit helps.
He continued to wipe the blade, muttering on and on.
This was also what the Favorability system called 'communication.'
Although weapons couldn't speak, the system could interpret their 'mood.'
As long as there was continuous interaction, the Favorability would slowly rise.
"Once your Favorability reaches 30, we can unlock the first special ability, and then we can fight stronger monsters and eat better blood. It's a virtuous cycle, understand?"
As Hikaru was speaking, his hand suddenly stopped.
He looked up, his scarlet pupils slightly contracting.
On the distant horizon, a massive Demonic Qi was rapidly approaching.
The Demonic Qi wasn't strong; taken individually, it wasn't even as powerful as the leader of the Blue-skinned Oni from earlier.
But the problem was—
There were too many.
Densely packed, covering the sky and the earth.
Like a swarm of locusts passing through, it almost dyed the entire night sky a turbid gray-green.
And within that Demonic Qi, there was a completely different aura mixed in.
Bright, scorching, and carrying a certain sacred scent.
That was the spiritual power of a human.
"Hum—"
The muramasa in Hikaru's hand suddenly began to tremble, and the blade pattern on the sword shimmered with a faint purple light.
[ demon blade muramasa: Detected a large number of prey, mood changed to 'excited' ]
[ It conveyed a message to you: 'Want to eat' ]
Hikaru stared at the surging wave of Demonic Qi in the distance, his mouth twitching.
"I know you want to eat, but that depends on whether we can win."
He stood up and gripped muramasa in his hand.
"Let's see the situation first."