by MASKO
Korean civil engineer Kang Junho dies of a heart attack while working late on construction blueprints, only to wake up in the body of Lloyd Ashmore, the third son of a bankrupt baron in a fantasy world called Erdenmoor. He discovers he's inherited a failing barony with catastrophic problems: 2,400 gold in debt, a 90-day foreclosure notice, waterlogged fields that can't produce crops, and only 14 silver in funds. The territory has been mismanaged for years, and Lloyd's older brothers have already abandoned it. However, Junho finds he's gained a special ability called [Engineer's Eye] that allows him to assess structural and agricultural problems with technical precision. Using this skill, he identifies the core issue: poor drainage has destroyed the farmland's productivity. He also discovers a valuable but overlooked asset—an overgrown forest full of mature oak timber and a partially-built mill that collapsed due to poor construction. Meeting with Steward Pell, the barony's aging administrator, Junho begins to formulate a plan. Rather than trying to solve everything at once, he applies his engineering mindset: identify the critical path. If he can restore the mill and process the valuable timber into lumber, he might generate enough revenue to negotiate with his creditors and buy time to rehabilitate the land. The chapter ends with Junho accepting his first quest: restore the Ashmore Mill—the keystone that could unlock the barony's survival.
