Webcomic / The Greatest Estate Developer

If he looks like he's about to scam you... he probably is.

When civil engineering student Suho Kim falls asleep reading a fantasy novel, he wakes up as a character in the book! Suho is now in the body of Lloyd Frontera, a lazy noble who loves to drink, and whose family is in a mountain of debt. Using his engineering knowledge, Suho designs inventions to avert the terrible future that lies in wait for him. With the help of a giant hamster, a knight, and the world’s magic, can Suho dig his new family out of debt and build a better future?

The Greatest Estate Developer is a webtoon adapted by Lee Hyunmin and illustrated by Kim Hyunsoo and original work by BK_Moon. The webcomic can be read in Webtoon and the novel in Naver. The novel does not come with an official translation yet.

The Greatest Estate Developer contains examples of:

• The Ace: Javier. As befitting of the original main character of that world, Javier is incredibly talented in everything he does, becoming a Sword Master in his twenties when most people only achieve that after years if not decades of training and is generally considered as a prodigy.
• Adaptational Attractiveness: Arosh and the Orcs in general in the webcomic. From the more typical appearance they have in the novel, to bodybuilders with pretty, long hair in the webcomic.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Javier and Silurian receive this in the webcomic, developing feelings for each other during the Namaraan arc, despite showing no such interest in the webnovel. It is mentioned in the Distant Sequel that they did end up marrying and having children so perhaps it's a case of early foreshadowing.
• Adapted Out: In the novel, there are five knights at the start of the story, instead of only three like in the webcomic. Sir Ulrich and Sir Conte are both adapted out and their roles are taken by Sir Neumann.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: The baron and baroness, especially when Lloyd gets involved in a dangerous situation. They will fuss and worry about him until he gets flustered. The baroness even made him a pink teddy bear for him to sleep with to scare away the nightmares, much to his dismay. He did take it though.
• Author Appeal: Serveral characters in the original web novel, especially Javier, aren't described as muscular. But Kim Hyunsoo, the artist of the webcomic adaptation, enjoys drawing muscles and makes them buff in the art. Some scenes are even changed to acommodate this (i.e. Javier going undercover as a barmaid has the men admiring him as an Amazonian Beauty rather than being a purely Attractive Bent-Gender).
• Big Brother Bully: OG!Lloyd, to the point where even the most basic human decency Lloyd showed to Julian was met with suspicion.
• Big Brother Instinct: At first Lloyd believes it'd be better if he doesn't intervene in Julian's situation at the Academy as he thinks that would just make it worse for him in the long run. That goes immediately out of the window when he notices the bruises on Julian's arm. He delivers a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown to Julian's bully to the point even Julian is worried he'll end up killing him.
• Big Damn Heroes: Javier and Lloyd tend to be this, thanks to Lloyd's knowledge of the future and Javier's talent with the sword. An example of this is when they arrived just in time to save everyone from the locust invasion.
• Bilingual Bonus: Lloyd's logo is a play on the Korean characters of his true name. Although his name is Suho (수호), the way he wrote it made so the o (ㅗ) and h (ㅎ) were only one letter making it Sohu (소후).
• Boring, but Practical: Most of Lloyd's skills are based on his knowledge of construction and more than one involves digging. Lloyd is perfectly content with this, to the point that when he develops a skill that could be used in combat his first thought is how useful it will be for shoveling.
• Brick Joke: When confronting Lupellan in episode 15, Javier makes a note of mocking Lloyd later for acting like a mole. It pays off almost thirty episodes later when the Queen comments Lloys looks like a mole cricket at the banquet, making Javier look extremely relieved that someone else noticed.
• Brutal Honesty: Javier is constantly telling Lloyd exactly what he thinks and he won't doubt for a second to call him out.
• Bullying a Dragon: Diego Lacona really didn't know who he was messing with when he started antagonizing Lloyd.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Lloyd is... quirky to work with, his methods aren't quite what most would expect and his personality definitely takes a bit to get used to. But he is extremely talented in construction and gets the job done at almost any cost.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You: The actual reason Lloyd didn't let Javier take Tordes to court in the webcomic. If he did, they would've sentenced him to death, and then who would've paid for everything Tordes stole from the Baron?
• Combat Pragmatist: Lloyd, he's not above using whatever advantage he may have in order to win a fight. He also prefers using a shovel to do it.
• Dark and Troubled Past: An interesting case with both of the main characters:
  • In the original story, Javier played this straight, beginning his journey by losing his home when the family he swore loyalty to fell apart completely, with the couple committing suicide and both sons dying soon after. However since Lloyd changed the fate of the world by avoiding these plot points, Javier didn't have to go through any of that. Downplayed in that he still lost his original family when he was a child, but he doesn't remember too much and seems to have made peace with that.
  • Lloyd in his original life as Suho went through extremely difficult circumstances, losing both of his parents to suicide, falling into extreme debt and poverty and suffering abuse from people of authority constantly, working two physically exhausting jobs to barely make ends meet. This shapes much of his actions and overall goals.
• Diegetic Interface:
  • Lloyd learns about his new skills from pop-up message screens that only he can see.
  • He also eventually gains the ability to create simulations for his construction projects in the form of three-dimensional blueprints.
• Disappointing Older Sibling: OG!Lloyd to Julian, he was physically, verbally and emotionally abusive making it so Julian absolutely despised his older brother. It gets better.
• Due to the Dead: Lloyd is always careful to be respectful to the dead.
  • When six of the White Lancers die trying to protect everyone from the mastodons, Lloyd gives them the recognition their bravery deserved by making a small memorial for them and writing letters to their families.
  • When unburying the skulls for the spell in Namaran, Lloyd was extremely careful with them and apologized for what they had gone through and told them to rest. It works in his favor when the skeletons remember this later on.
  • In hell, he made a small memorial for the demons that had died because of the lava monster, even though he had to hide it in order to not lose face with the rest of the demons.
• Extremely Protective Child: Lloyd ends up becoming this with the baron and baroness, beating up a knight for being disrespectful to the baron and being extremely distraught when witnessing their possible deaths.
• Giving Radio to the Romans: One reason Lloyd is successful is that he is able to give modern innovations such as an On-dol
• Good Is Not Soft: While there is no doubt Javier is a good guy in every possible level, he can also be absolutely ruthless to those he considers a danger to the Frontera family or innocent people in general. When confronted with the person who sunk the Frontera family in debt he threatens to cut off his legs and make him crawl to the courthouse. And he means it.
  • Lloyd also embodies this trope to a T. Although he leaves the fighting to Javier, he won't hesitate to get physical himself. He genuinely has a few moral scruples but he clearly revels in taking advantage of any situation or person within his control. Just ask Viscount Lacona.
• Happily Married: The baron and baroness clearly love each other very much and are happy with their marriage.
• Happy Flashback: When Lloyd remembers how happy his parents were when they moved to their new apartment.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Javier attempts one in the final confrontation with the King of Hell in an attempt to give Lloyd enough time to get to safety when it seems they will lose the battle. Lloyd saves him at the last moment with a heroic sacrifice of his own and sacrifices himself to stop the fate restoration.
• Heroic Suicide: In the final battle Lloyd chooses to impale himself so he can get close enough to drag the King of Hell with him to the reincarnation gate. He does this knowing it will mean his death but also saving everyone he holds dear. He thinks that makes it worth it.
• I Choose to Stay: When given the option to return to Seoul to collect the last material he needs for a construction project, Lloyd doesn't even consider the idea of staying there and is in fact very opposed to even going, only doing it for necesity's sake, being anxious to return back to the other world the entire time he's in Korea.
• Interactive Narrator: The message screen explaining Lloyd's new skills has shades of being a Lemony Narrator at times, and the two often bicker with each other.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Lloyd. Manipulative, stingy, oportunistic, ruthless and spiteful as he may be, it's eventually revealed his only wish is for him and his loved ones to live happily and comfortable. Everything he does is towards that goal.
• Kids Are Cruel: Seems to be also the case with OG!Lloyd who was shown to be cruel to Javier even when they were children, insulting him and breaking the sword the baron had given him for no apparent reason.
• Manipulative Bastard: Lloyd. Constantly. He is always looking for the best way to make the best profit and he manipulates everything and everyone around him to get it.
• Mundane Utility: Javier is a extremely talented Sword Master, achieving a status most people only geet after decades of training when he's only twenty years old and finally turning into a Grandmaster capable of going against an archangel and a knight of Hell all by himself. He works in the construction crew most of the time.
• Necro Non Sequitur: Lloyd's alterations to the story saves numerous lives. Then one day, the System's counter showing how many lives he has saved suddenly drops to zero. Lloyd's interference was contrary to Fate's original plan and Fate operates on the principle of Rubber-Band History. You can change the hows, whys, and whens, but Fate ensures that the final result will stay the same. The harder you push, the more abrupt it will be when Fate forcefully reasserts itself. Lloyd soon witnesses a new prophecy showing every single person he saved succumb to freak and contrived accidents, one after another, when possible doing so in a way resembling how they were originally supposed to die. Even the Demon King, the Dragon King, and the Messenger, the most powerful beings in the setting, do not have the power to Screw Destiny. The second part of the story focuses on Lloyd's attempts to find out how to do so.
• Not Hyperbole: Lloyd orders his men to dig up a straight path from the quarry he's planning to build in Viscount Lacona's estate to his own. When the Lacona residence stands in their path, they demolish it.
  NO CURVES!
• Obviously Not Fine: Lloyd when told the only way to avoid fate restoration is for either him or Javier to die or leave that world and he can't think of any alternative solutions. He tries to hide his despair, but the Countess gently calls him out on it and comments that the people closest to him have noticed it too.
• Only in It for the Money: Lloyd. His first thought is always how much money will he get for doing something. Or at least that's what he tells himself.
• Opportunistic Bastard: While he generally has a plan and works very hard in general to meet his goals, Lloyd has no qualms on taking advantage of any situation he finds himself in, even when it makes him seem greedy or selfish.
• Our Ghosts Are Different: OG!Lloyd gets stuck as a ghost after Suho takes over his body and ends up following him for a little while, unable to be seen or to communicate in any way, before eventually giving up and going to hell, where he finds he can't reincarnate because technically he is still alive as his body hasn't died. Lloyd then uses part of his payment from the King of Hell to give him the opportunity to reincarnate.
• Parents as People: In the webcomic, Samarkhan is well aware of his flaws as a parent and sheds a tear of genuine happiness while witnessing Serajard's marriage to Julian, relieved that she no longer has to be involved with their country's political infighting.
• Pet the Dog: While definitely greedy and opportunistic, Lloyd is a great boss, always making sure all of his workers follow the safety precautions, receive plenty of bonuses when working under harsh conditions and is typically always on site to make sure there isn't any danger.
  • More literally, Lloyd abandons his work in order to spend time with his summons, remembering how he wished he had played one more time with his dog before it died.
• Psychotic Smirk:
  • Lloyd again. It is present in the novel but definitely played up to eleven in the webcomic where there is hardly a chapter Lloyd doesn't scare someone with his expressions. Javier oftentimes calls him out on it himself.
  • Interestingly, the Baron pulls it at least once himself in the webcomic. It's genetic. It's just Lloyd is more prone to using it.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Quite a few of them.
  • The baron gives Lloyd the chance to start his ondol business despite having been previously disappointed by his son in the past and is willing to listen to him with all of his proposals. And as Lloyd keeps proving himself, the baron gives him more and more liberty to do as he wishes because he trusts him completely.
  • Count Cremo as well is shown to be very reasonable, helping Javier in the original novel, honoring his word on buying the jewels even when he thought he had no use for them anymore and being willing to listen to Lloyd during the disaster with the giant lobster.
  • Queen Alicia Magentano is a very fair person, willing to hear out before taking a decision and knowing when someone has a better chance at fixing an issue than her. When Lloyd causes a panic to quickly evacuate the garden she doesn't jump to conclusions and trusts that he has a good reason for it.
  • Even Lloyd himself is this to his workers, as he is very reasonable and doesn't expect more of them than what they can actually do and always makes sure to pay them fairly and on time.
• The Shameless: Lloyd is absolutely shameless when it comes to acquiring and spending money. He'll gladly beg Queen Alicia for funding while bowing in a Pose of Supplication and looking up at her with Puppy-Dog Eyes in front of the entire court. Later on, the sultan of Samarkhan attempts to humiliate Lloyd and the other members of the Magetano delegation by giving them the padashar, essentially an unlimited credit card, to force them to beg for amenities from the local shops. Lloyd instead goes on a ridiculous spending spree that empties a year's worth of the nation's savings in a single night.
• So Proud of You: Lloyd's parents constantly try to tell him so to the point Lloyd sometimes gets flustered by it. His father in particular has told him so several times.
• Someone Has to Die: The main conflict in the latter half of the plot. The world can only have one protagonist, otherwise everything that Lloyd has accomplished will be for nothing and fate will be restored, causing everyone and everything he saved to be doomed once again. And because all of his heroics, both Lloyd and Javier count as protagonists, so one of them has to die to save everyone else.
• Sour Supporter: Javier will follow Lloyd to the end of the world and face heaven and hell to protect him. He will complain about it though.
• Taking the Bullet: Both Javier and Lloyd do this for each other in the final battle against the King of Hell. Only Lloyd's ended up being fatal
• Taking You with Me: Lloyd's final plant against Helkaros. He knows he has no chance of winning the battle in a fair fight, so he impales himself with Helkaros in the latter's scythe and then drags them both to the reincarnation gate, which will both get rid of Helkaros and stop the fate restoration.
• Took a Level in Kindness: At least from the perspective of everyone around Lloyd after his sudden change of personality. From where they're standing, the hooligan Lloyd Frontera suddenly decided to become a completely different and better person overnight. Of course, they aren't aware how literal the change was.
• Trapped in Another World: The main premise. Suho, a civil engineering student from Korea, wakes up in the world of a novel he was reading the night before without knowledge of how or why it happened.
• Troubled Backstory Flashback: Typically how we get details on Lloyd's life as Suho back in Korea.
• Truth Serum: Alicia's inquisitors have a "Confession" spell that forces the target to respond truthfully to any questions they're asked. Lloyd purposefully gets himself arrested by accusing the nobility without evidence, as he knows Alicia will use the Confession spell on the nobles to prove their innocence. The nobles, now put on the spot, are forced to confess to all of their corrupt deeds and are subsequently tortured for it.
• Twist Ending: Suho Kim spends the entire story believing he's an imposter who's only pretending to be Lloyd. But in the epilogue we the audience find out that in actuality when OG!Lloyd got reincarnated he was sent to the past and was reborn as a baby in Korea...as Suho Kim. Suho Kim was actually the real Lloyd all along, just from a different lifetime and having lost all memory of his past life.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Lloyd and Javier once Javier lets go of his resentment and starts getting closer to Lloyd. They clearly care deeply for each other but that doesn't stop them from constantly annoying each other at any chance they get.
• Wham Episode: Episode 109-110. After finally resolving pretty much every long-standing crises or upset that's been threatening Lloyd's dream of being a successfully, beloved Idle Rich Upper-Class Twit, including making peace with the displaced soul of OG!Lloyd Frontera, allowing him to reincarnate and gaining Javier's acceptance as his master despite acknowledging he's not the original, Lloyd gets a system notification of all the people his actions have had a knock-on effect of saving suddenly dropping to zero out of nowhere. He immediately rushes off to use his Ending Spoiler power and sees himself alone in a darkened room, morosely speaking to him in the chance that he'd use the power to see this bad ending. Future Lloyd outlines how, over the course of three years, minor, seemingly innocuous accidents happened to those around the estate one by one that leads to their deaths or caused them to suffer similar fates to those they had in the original novel, including Alicia still succumbing to madness and losing her arm. As Future Lloyd asks his past self if he can change this Bad Future, he coughs Blood from the Mouth, the candlelight finally widening enough to show that he'd been drinking himself to death alone in a tavern, showing that Lloyd's greatest enemy isn't one individual, but destiny itself.