Under the Oak Tree (Web Novel KR) - Chapter 29: Disobedience to the King (1)

Lin Ye was just a regular college student, or so he claimed while secretly obsessing over his favorite web novel, The Hero Returns. But when the hero died, his allies suffered, and the world burned, Lin Ye lost it. “Why not fix it properly? Why not rewrite the damn ending?”The universe answered... with a truck.Now, Lin Ye wakes up as Damien Voss, a minor villain fated to die before the main story even begins. Worse, he’s just one week old, powerless, and trapped in a world teetering on the edge of apocalypse. Within twenty-five years, demons will devour ninety percent of life, aided by corrupt nobles and blind gods watching from the stars.But Lin Ye didn’t come here to die like some background NPC.Armed with foreknowledge of the original plot, a fledgling OP system powered by Destiny Points, and the bloodline of the Voss family, wielders of the deadly Contract Gem ability, he's ready to flip the script.Whether it means outplaying the second crown prince, defying divine fate, or seizing the throne himself, Lin Ye has one rule!If the gods won’t save this world, then he will become the villain it needs.Unfortunately, destiny has a price. Every point spent alters the timeline and draws the attention of heroes, monsters, and forgotten gods alike.But then again… who says the villain can’t be the main character?

I have calculated for people before I was born, and I have all five yin, and I am born with fierce ghosts. A knowledgeable gentleman said that I will not live to be seven years old. After death, I will cultivate blood-clothed little ghosts to harm people.

In order to save me, my grandmother married me a child-in-law, so that I had an Ann birthday, although I later discovered that the daughter-in-law and sister-in-law are not human…

I have been lingering and panting since I was a child, and I have been accustomed to accepting it, but my grandmother was killed.

For this reason, regardless of karma, I inherited my grandmother’s job of raising ghosts and vowed to send everyone who killed her to hell.

- Description from MTL

Leon was a robotics engineer with a bright future—until he was run over by a military truck and killed on the spot. But death wasn’t the end. Thanks to a cosmic glitch and to an idiot, Leon wakes up in a new world, reincarnated as the son of a minor noble family guarding the wild frontier of a massive Empire. With his intact mind, enhanced brain, and a world begging for progress, Leon sees opportunity everywhere—one that he will grab for sure.But not everything will go smoothly. Monsters come over in the winter, the Empire monopolizes magic and technology, and society clings to barbaric ways. Refusing to accept the status quo, Leon decides to reshape his family’s backwater territory into a land he would enjoy living in. Armed with knowledge from his old life, modern problem-solving, and an irreverent attitude, he plans to revolutionize his territory. But in a land where magic is rare and unknown to ordinary people, he knows he’ll need more than blueprints to succeed. He will need his own wizards and witches...Hey-ho! Welcome! I thought I need to add some information to those who want to know if they should just skip it or not: First, I ain't planning to introduce world-changing, thought-provoking ideas here. It is all for the plain and simple reason of having some fun. What you need to be aware of if you need more details:- Yes, this is an isekai story. No, there are no 'cheats' or systems involved with gaining skills. He is just a guy reincarnating with a gene-modified brain, so it explains why he can remember things and be smart. That is it. Think of it as him having a perfect memory. If you perceive confidence as arrogance, you may very well dislike the MC right off the bat. He is not someone who will lay low and try to blend in when his territory is the most backward and abandoned place in a vast Empire. Where the throne is so far away, messages take months to go back and forth.- The story mostly focuses on kingdom-building stuff and slice-of-life elements, not on conquest or curb stomping others. The main conflict will be centered around wars, yes, but it won't be one guy vs. the world or something like that. Magic is going to play a big role in building up the territory, as I plan to branch out into magic technology later on. I am going to rely heavily on magic because I am mostly a fantasy writer and not an engineer.- The MC's main goal is to enjoy himself. This also means girls. So there will be a harem. Those who are familiar with my works, how I do groups, and how my characters act will know I don't like doing cardboard cutouts of characters. Most of my stories have more than one character accompanying the MC. The same will be true here, with the extra caveat that they will also be involved romantically with the MC. - The story plays out in a 1st person POV. There won't be jumping around multiple POVs; I don't like that. Only when the story requires it and the MC can’t be present by himself for some story parts.- Don't take this story seriously nor look for scientifically 100% real and codex-like solutions for problems. This is a fantasy world, a totally different culture, and with history, that is NOT OUR world! There is magic here, and the MC has a supercomputer for a brain. I think that says it all. - My main goal is to enjoy writing some whacky but real-sounding scenarios. They will be based upon feasible ideas, but I am not writing a damned textbook about thermodynamics. Laws will be bent and broken when the story needs it.- Regarding smut, there are some chapters with erotic scenes, but not every other chapter. So expect it when the mood is there in the story and not because I must cram as much snu-snu in as possible... That won't happen.- No guns. Why? Every similar story has guns. This doesn't. This has mechs and power swords. Why? Because I said so.

You say you know about pain? To feel this sort of hunger... for your body to never be satisfied... your mind crazed by endless thoughts of satisfaction. To gaze upon the stars and know that it’s not enough, That is pain. Now you stand before me and I truly question myself. are you enough.He sought a cure for his power. Now, he'll use it to consume a world.At six years old, Dax's life ended. His trait, [Insatiable Hunger], awakened—a curse that promised only madness and an empty stomach. After two years of torment, he found his answer: [Synthesis], the power to integrate anything he touched.Four centuries of research later, known across galaxies as the Black Researcher, he finally achieved his goal. And in that moment of triumph, he exploded.Reborn in a brutal realm of cults and crumbling gods, Dax finds himself weak, but free. His Hunger is quiet, his Synthesis intact. The local gods think him a pawn. The cults see him as a sacrifice.They are all gravely mistaken.Dax sees this world for what it is: a Petri dish. His new traits are the ultimate research tools. His goal is no longer mere survival, but the answer to a new, thrilling question: Can a man who was once devoured by his own power, now learn to devour divinity itself?