The Greatest Estate Developer - Chapter 19: All Roads Lead to Rome (2)

“All roads lead to Rome.”

It’s a saying most people have heard at least once.

It originates from the countless roads built during the Roman era.

‘The Roman Empire was truly obsessed with roads.’

Roads had to be as straight as possible.

They had to connect every corner of their vast territory.

To achieve that, they didn’t shy away from drilling through mountains or building bridges over valleys.

The Roman Empire was the one that most thoroughly adhered to that belief.

Thanks to this, they built roads that spanned a total length of 85,000 kilometers—enough to circle the earth more than twice along the equator.

“That’s how important roads are. Do you know what factor affects land prices the most?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Transportation. Transportation.”

“……”

Lloyd continued speaking into Javier’s silence.

“Let’s say you own a house. But the road from your house to the market is a nightmare. You have to climb mountains, cross rivers, maybe even bungee jump just to get there. Every time you step out, you feel like your mental state is screaming for an extreme sports team. Would you want to live in a house like that?”

“It sounds like excellent training to me.”

“……”

“If I climbed mountains and swam every day, I’d develop a solid foundation of stamina. As for bungee jumping… though I’m not sure what that is, if it’s an extreme experience, it would probably be useful for swordsmanship training.”

“Geez, let’s think in terms of normal people without a swordsmanship fetish like you.”

“Hmm, that could be challenging.”

“Right?”

“Yes.”

“See? Now you get me.”

Lloyd smirked with satisfaction.

“It’s not just houses—territories are the same. Do you know what the biggest problem in our territory is?”

“In the past, it was you, wasn’t it, Lord Lloyd?”

“……”

“I don’t know now.”

“Hmph. It’s the roads.”

“The roads?”

“Exactly. Have you ever seen a properly paved road in our territory?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Right? That’s the problem.”

It was the truth.

In Baron Frontera’s territory, not a single paved road existed.

The only paths were dirt roads, created naturally over time, where grass didn’t grow due to frequent traffic.

Lloyd decided it was time to change that.

Moreover, his goal wasn’t just building regular roads.

He had a more ambitious plan in mind.

“Anyway, you don’t need to know the details yet. Just step aside for now. I need to survey the area.”

There was no point in explaining everything. The results would speak for themselves in due time.

Lloyd gestured for Javier to move aside as he examined the terrain for road construction.

‘Asphalt would be ideal, but it’s impossible here. With the local technology, building a road similar to the Via Appia would be the most realistic option.’

Lloyd recalled the Via Appia, a topic he had once researched and presented for a group project during a class.

‘The Via Appia, one of the earliest Roman roads. It was the foundation and starting point for many of Rome’s roads. Thanks to it, the Roman Empire successfully conquered southern Italy. Incredibly, it still stands strong today, over 2,000 years later.’

It was a testament to the advanced engineering of ancient Rome.

Lloyd planned to build a similar road, starting from the estate’s main gate and extending in a straight line through the territory, all the way to the eastern mountains.

It would serve as the main artery for the future growth of his territory.

But before construction could begin, some crucial steps had to be taken—surveying and design.

‘First, I need to level up my skills.’

Lloyd opened his skill window.

*Ding-dong.*

[Retrieving the list of available skills.]

[Basic Surveying: Lv 2]
[Basic Design: Lv 2]
[Tool Mastery – (Shovel): Lv 1]

‘Hmm, I definitely need to invest more in surveying and design skills.’

Thanks to the measurements and designs he had completed for the Ondol rooms, both skills had increased by one level each.

However, it still wasn’t enough for road surveying and design.

‘At this level, I can only survey 121 square meters at a time, and my design skill allows for structures with a volume of 1,331 cubic meters. That’s way too inefficient.’

Lloyd frowned.

A few days ago, he had tested how many times he could use his skills in one go.

The result was disappointing.

Ten uses were his limit. After that, he experienced extreme fatigue and dizziness, causing the skills to deactivate.

It took almost a full day to recover before he could use them again.

With his current skill levels, he could only survey 1,210 square meters and design 13,310 cubic meters of volume per day.

‘That’s not going to cut it. The distance to those mountains isn’t short. I need to finish construction before the spring rains come.’

Time wasn’t on his side.

Fortunately, he had accumulated a decent amount of RP (Resource Points).

[Current RP: 659]

…Actually, he had accumulated a lot.

‘I should thank Sir Neumann for this.’

His duel with Sir Neumann had drastically improved his reputation.

He earned 20 reputation points each from the Baron and his wife, 2 from Javier, 1 from Lord Bayern, and 6 from the territory’s residents.

As a result, he gained a whopping 507 RP in a single day.

Despite this, he had been careful not to waste his RP.

He knew there would come a time when saving those points would prove useful.

And that time had finally arrived.

‘Alright, let’s start by leveling up my skills by one level each.’

Lloyd shifted his gaze toward the skill upgrade buttons in the window.

*Ding-dong.*

[Available Skills for Upgrade]

[Basic Surveying: Lv 2 → 3 (Cost: 10 RP)]
[Basic Design: Lv 2 → 3 (Cost: 10 RP)]
[Tool Mastery – (Shovel): Lv 1 → 2 (Cost: 15 RP)]

‘Let’s upgrade surveying and design first.’

He selected the two skills.

*Ding-dong.*

[Skills Upgraded!]

[Basic Surveying: Lv 3]
[Surveyable Area per Use: 144㎡]
[Next Level Upgrade Cost: 15 RP]

[Basic Design: Lv 3]
[Designable Structure Volume per Use: 1,728㎥]
[Next Level Upgrade Cost: 15 RP]

[Remaining RP: 639]

The improvements were noticeable, but not enough.

‘If I’m upgrading, I might as well go all in.’

Surveying and design were essential for his future plans.

There was no reason to hold back.

Lloyd poured his remaining RP into leveling up the two skills.

From level 3 to 4.

Then from 5 to 6.

Finally, both reached level 10.

And with one more upgrade, they each hit level 11—triggering a new message.

*Ding-dong!*

[Skill Tier Upgrade!]

[Surveying Skill has been upgraded to Intermediate Level.]

[New Skill Options Unlocked!]

[Intermediate Surveying: Lv 1]
[Surveyable Area per Use: 1,600㎡]
[Option 1: Land Appraisal – Provides the estimated price per unit area of surveyed land (±5% margin of error).]
[Option 2: Underground Scanning – Automatically scans the ground up to 5 meters deep, revealing soil composition, groundwater paths, and buried resources.]

[Design Skill has been upgraded to Intermediate Level.]

[New Skill Options Unlocked!]

[Intermediate Design: Lv 1]
[Designable Structure Volume per Use: 64,000㎥]
[Option 1: Blueprint Printing – Prints the designed structure onto designated paper.]
[Option 2: 2D Floor Plan Projection – Projects the design as a 2D floor plan visible only to the user.]

[Remaining RP: 119]

‘Holy… this is amazing.’

Lloyd’s eyes widened in disbelief at the incredible skill upgrades.

The surge of new abilities filled Lloyd with excitement.

‘The survey area and design capacity have grown exponentially. But the real jackpot lies in the skill options.’

His gaze landed on the new surveying skill options.

‘Land appraisal… I can literally assess the current market value of any land. This is like having a real estate app on me. And underground scanning? That’s priceless.’

Lloyd couldn’t resist trying it out immediately. He focused his gaze on a distant patch of land and activated the intermediate surveying skill.

*Surveying.*

*Tsutsutsutsu!*

A faint blue glow flickered in Lloyd’s eyes, and the landscape before him shifted.

The survey area expanded to a perfect 40-by-40-meter square. Additional information about the land came into view.

The first thing he noticed was the land’s estimated selling price.

‘What the… Our land is this cheap?’

The area he was surveying was the closest thing the territory had to a town center, with a tavern and a few clustered shops. It was supposed to be prime real estate.

Yet, the estimated price per unit area didn’t even reach 1 gold.

‘Tch. I guess we’ve got a lot of work ahead.’

The true desolation of the Frontera territory hit him once again. But this was only temporary—Lloyd was determined to raise the value.

He shifted his attention to the underground scan results.

‘Not bad… not bad at all.’

Just as the skill description promised, the scan revealed everything underground up to 5 meters deep.

He could see how tree roots intertwined, how groundwater flowed, and even the burrows carved out by rabbits.

Lloyd swallowed in amazement.

‘This is incredible.’

Until now, the information from his surveying skill had been limited to the surface. Anything underground had been a mystery until he dug into it with his own hands.

But that problem was now solved in an instant.

‘This will be a game-changer, especially when it comes to foundation work.’

Solid groundwork was essential, especially for large structures like bridges or dams. If the foundation was unstable or poorly built, the structure would tilt, crack, or collapse.

And if disaster struck, the entire structure might have to be demolished, wasting all the resources and money poured into it.

‘With underground scanning, we can prevent most of those disasters. We’ll save time and money on construction, too.’

He grinned at the possibilities. But it wasn’t just the surveying skill that excited him—his upgraded design skill held equally promising potential.

‘Blueprint printing and 2D floor plan projection…’

Lloyd’s eyes gleamed. He couldn’t wait to test them.

However, there was one issue.

Javier was standing right beside him. Printing a blueprint out of nowhere would probably raise some eyebrows—he might come across as a walking, talking printer.

‘I’ll test the design skill when I’m alone.’

For now, he focused on surveying.

*Tsutsutsutsutsu!*

From that day on, Lloyd spent his days locked in surveying the land. He calculated the dimensions and charted the route where the new road would go.

All the data he collected during the day was processed and fed into his design skill at night.

If surveying dominated the day, design took center stage at night.

But there was one problem—Javier.

To avoid raising suspicion, Lloyd had to make sure Javier fell asleep first.

So, every night, he brought out his most potent weapon.

“The plastic limit (PL) is defined as the moisture content at which soil begins to crumble when rolled into a 3.2mm (1/8 in.) thread… Just like when determining the liquid limit, you use a 240-gram cone to measure… blah blah blah…”

“…Zzzz.”

Without fail, Javier would pass out.

The moment Javier was sound asleep, Lloyd would activate his design skill and get to work. Using the data gathered from surveying, he plotted out the road’s route, cross-sections, and layout.

When the designs were complete, he tested the blueprint printing feature.

*Tsuzuzuzuz!*

A beautifully detailed blueprint appeared on paper, just as he had envisioned.

‘Oh wow, it works perfectly.’

Before this, Lloyd had to painstakingly transfer his designs by hand, which was both tedious and prone to errors. Now, with this skill, his work had become significantly easier and more precise.

But the most impressive feature was yet to come.

A few days later, Lloyd stood with Javier at the site where the road would be built.

He decided it was time to test the 2D floor plan projection.

“Hey, Javier. Do you see anything strange over there?” Lloyd asked, pointing toward the construction site.

Javier squinted and shook his head.

“I don’t see anything unusual. But… I am slightly concerned about your eye health. Or perhaps… your mental health.”

“You think I’m seeing things?”

“Precisely.”

“Heh. I see.”

“…?”

Lloyd chuckled mischievously.

Just as he had hoped, the 2D floor plan projection was visible only to him. The lines and markers that outlined the road’s layout were etched perfectly onto the ground, but they existed solely in his field of vision.

‘This is perfect. I’ve got this.’

The upgraded surveying and design skills had exceeded his expectations.

With everything in place, construction preparations progressed smoothly and efficiently.

Now, the only thing left was to move forward with the actual construction.