Hikari Kanbe was a dead man.
Literally.
But he was also a transmigrator from modern-day China. He was a genuine, bona fide traveler from another world who happened to be incredibly unlucky.
He was the kind of transmigrator who died immediately upon arrival.
Three months ago, his soul had detached from his bed in a modern rental apartment without warning. When he next opened his eyes, he found himself lying in a pile of corpses on a battlefield.
Around him were the mangled bodies of samurai, severed limbs, and rivers of blood. The air was thick with the stench of gore and gunpowder, while crows circled ominously in the distance.
He looked down and saw that he was still himself—he had clearly transmigrated in his own body—except for the broken spear protruding from his chest.
And then, he died.
Not figuratively. He actually died.
Before the joy of transmigration could even surface, it was extinguished by the icy grip of death. As his consciousness faded into darkness, Hikari had only one thought:
This is a total rip-off, isn't it?
Then, he woke up again.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed—maybe a few hours, maybe a few days.
When he opened his eyes once more, his vision had changed. The whites of his eyes were now pitch-black, and his pupils were a glowing crimson. The surrounding corpses had begun to rot, yet he couldn't smell the decay.
Because he no longer needed to breathe.
His chest didn't move, his heart didn't beat, and the blood had congealed in his veins. He had become a walking corpse. More accurately, he was a Ghost Warrior.
A yokai.
Perhaps because he had become a demon, even though his body was dead, his thoughts remained clear. And the reason for his "resurrection" was the semi-transparent panel that had suddenly appeared in his mind.
A system called [Affection].
The description was laid out in plain English:
[The Host can pursue "Affection Targets" among any non-sentient entities within visual and contact range.]
[Increase Affection through dialogue, touch, feeding, maintenance, etc.]
[When Affection reaches certain thresholds, Bond Stories and special bonuses can be unlocked.]
[When Affection reaches 100, the Host can choose to fully internalize the target's abilities—retaining only the base bonuses and dialogue functions.]
Hikari had stared at that panel for a long time.
An Affection System?
Wasn't this the kind of "Golden Finger" usually found in harem novels? Wooing beautiful girls, collecting favorability points, and rising to the top of the world?
He was about to cheer until he noticed a key phrase: non-sentient entities.
What did that mean?
Rocks? Trees? Houses?
Could he actually "romance" those?
He had tried to "pursue" a nearby rock.
[Soil and Rubble: Cannot be pursued. Quality is too low to meet pursuit conditions.]
No go.
He tried a broken spear nearby.
[Broken Spear: Cannot be pursued. Damage level is too high to meet pursuit conditions.]
Still nothing.
His gaze swept across the battlefield, finally landing on a katana at the waist of a fallen samurai nearby. It was a black blade that remained relatively intact.
He crawled over and took the sword from the corpse.
[Eligible pursuit target detected.] [Katana (Mass-Produced Model)] [Quality: Low-Grade] [Current Affection: 0 (Stranger)] [Unlock Condition: Feed with fresh blood.]
It worked.
Looking at the prompts, Hikari finally understood the logic of the system. It was indeed an Affection System, but the targets weren't humans, yokai, or any living creatures. Only "vessels" like blades, bows, armor, barriers, and artifacts—things with a certain degree of history or substance—fell within its scope.
At first glance, it seemed useless.
But upon reflection, it had potential. Even though he didn't know what kind of world this was yet, the fact that he had become a "Ghost Warrior"—something clearly supernatural—meant he was in a world of high-fantasy elements.
If he existed, other yokai must exist. And if yokai existed, there must be items with incredible power.
Legendary swords, divine artifacts, magical treasures...
If he could max out his favorability with those things...
Wouldn't he be able to claim all their powers as his own?
However, he soon discovered another problem. Different objects required different methods to increase Affection.
For example, the katana in his hand required "feeding with blood." According to the system's hints, some objects might require "dialogue." Some required "maintenance." Some required "companionship." Some might even require... a birthday party?
Hikari wasn't sure, but he had a feeling that wooing legendary divine artifacts wouldn't be as simple as feeding a blade.
But that was a problem for the future. Back then, he had nothing. His only goal was to survive and find a way out.
That was all.
The night wind in the forest began to die down.
Hikari, carrying the now "full" Muramasa, walked out of the woods.
This blade was not the original katana he had picked up. That first sword was just an ordinary blade; in the three months since his transmigration, it had already been exhausted. Once its Affection was maxed out and its abilities were internalized, the sword eventually broke. It wasn't because of the fusion—only the abilities were internalized—but because its mundane materials simply couldn't withstand repeated combat.
Though Hikari still kept its fragments, it was no longer usable. This current blade was a trophy from a later battle.
After feeding this mass-produced Muramasa, which also happened to require blood, he didn't linger. Those five Azure Ghouls were just low-level scouts for a larger yokai gang. Their core members were likely nested deeper in the mountains.
With his current strength, poking that hornet's nest would be unwise.
Passing through a bamboo grove, Hikari reached a low hill. From here, the view was wide, revealing the rolling mountain range in the distance and the dilapidated village at its foot.
He sat down on a mossy rock and laid the Muramasa across his knees. Under the moonlight, the blade shimmered with a cold, eerie luster.
"You ate five ghouls today. Feeling any better?"
Hikari spoke to the sword in a tone one might use to coax a picky child.
"I know you'd rather have an Exorcist, but those guys are hard to handle. It wouldn't be fun if we got ourselves killed instead. Let's level up first, then talk."
[Cursed Blade · Muramasa: Current Mood: 'Calm'. Affection: 15.]
The prompt didn't change. It seemed the sword wasn't entirely buying his excuses.
Hikari sighed, reached into the cloth pouch at his waist, and pulled out a small piece of oiled cloth. It was a maintenance tool he'd scavenged from a battlefield; though crude, it served its purpose.
He applied a bit of oil and began to carefully wipe the blade.
"See? Look how well I treat you. I even give you a spa treatment after dinner. What other blade gets this kind of service?"
[Cursed Blade · Muramasa: Feels 'Comfortable' with the maintenance.] [Affection +1] [Current Affection: 16]
A slight smile touched Hikari's lips. Even one point was progress.
He continued wiping the steel, murmuring quietly. This was the "interaction" the system spoke of. Even if the weapon couldn't speak, the system could interpret its "mood." As long as he kept interacting with it, its favorability would slowly rise.
"Once your Affection hits 30, we'll unlock your first special ability. Then we can hunt stronger yokai and get better blood. It's a virtuous cycle, you get it?"
As Hikari spoke, his movements suddenly stopped.
He looked up, his crimson pupils narrowing.
On the distant horizon, a massive surge of demonic energy was rapidly approaching. Individually, the energy wasn't strong—perhaps not even as powerful as the lead Azure Ghoul from before.
The problem was the sheer number.
It was a dense, swarming mass that seemed to blot out the sky, staining the night with a murky, grayish-green hue.
And within that tide of demonic energy, there was a single, vastly different aura.
It was bright, scorching, and carried a sense of the divine.
It was human spiritual power.
Hum—!
The Muramasa in Hikari's hand suddenly began to vibrate, the hamon pattern on the blade glowing with a faint purple light.
[Cursed Blade · Muramasa: Large number of prey detected. Mood: 'Excited'.]
[It transmits a message to you: 'Want to eat.']
Hikari stared at the approaching wave of demonic energy, his lip twitching.
"I know you want to eat, but we have to see if we can actually win first."
He stood up, gripping the Muramasa firmly.
"Let's go check it out."
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