A National Hero's Entitlement.

Henry hit the straw-covered stone floor of his holding cell as the two guards pushed him into the cell before shutting the door behind them. The cell had only one window that was opposite the door, a pile of straw which served as a bed, and a candle. The setting sun shone into the cell, turning everything its rays hit a shade of orange.

Moving towards the wall opposite the door, Henry took a seat on the dry straw bed with his back to the wall, taking a seat in a position where he would not face the glare of the sunset. Henry drew his standard-issue H&K P30 handgun from its holster, inspecting it. To his luck, it seemed that no one here recognised that it was a weapon, as they had not bothered to confiscate it.

Returning it to its holster, Henry took a long, deep sigh, fatigue written all over his face. Today was a long day. First, he had sacrificed himself in a naval battle against three destroyers in a frigate.

Then, he thought himself to have entered the afterlife, only to receive the memo moments later that he had, in actuality, received a second chance at life by being brought over from Earth to this world of magic to serve a Demon Lord as a summoned 'hero'.

Unfortunately for him though, it seems that he wasn't among the other 'heroes' who supposedly received magic power and skills to help them in their new life. And now because of this, Henry was sitting in a dusty cell in a Chinese palace, waiting for his fate.

"At least I'm not swimming with the fishes." he said to himself.

Just as he was about to get some rest with a well-deserved nap, a female voice suddenly rang out which caught his full attention.

{ User [National Hero], [Henry Li] of [Earth] has connected to the system. }

Henry looked around, trying to find the source of that robotic voice. "Hello? Is somebody there?"

Silence, then a message in the form of a translucent blue holographic panel appeared:

{ Greetings [Henry Li]. This is a premium system designed especially for transmigrated 'heroes' with great achievements. As a [National Hero] who sacrificed himself for his country and motivated his fellow men to do the same, you are thus entitled to a [National Hero] tier personalised system to fit your skills. Press 'Next' to continue.}

'So it seems that things aren't as different from the books then.' Henry thought, thinking back to the novels he had read as he pressed the 'Next' button on the panel, which to his surprise felt like touching an iPad. 

{ Since you are a [National Hero], you shall receive a starting sum of 10,000.00 Credits. As compensation for the wait time, a sum of 1,500.00 Credits has been transferred to your checking account from us as an apology gift. You may check your current balance at the top right corner of the panel. Press 'Next' to continue. }

Henry glanced at the top-right of the panel, where it showed that he currently had 11,500.00 of these 'Credits'.

{ Credits can be used to purchase and use various goods and services in your system. Alternatively, you may choose to save your Credits and receive interest at a rate of 1% per month. Credits may be earned by selling demanded goods on the system, or through receiving 'Investment' from the system by gaining achievements in your life as a transmigrated hero. Press 'Next' to finalise the personalisation of your system. }

"This doesn't seem that much like a game." Henry thought. After pressing 'Next', a loading icon appeared for a few seconds before disappearing and displaying the message:

{ Personalisation complete. Welcome to your new system [Henry Li]. If you ever want to bring up the system, use your will to make it appear. Have a nice day. }

The display then shifted to what appeared to look like the homepage of a browser with numerous tabs located on the side of the panel with labels such as 'Shop', 'Trading', and even one labelled 'Internet'. What caught his eye the most, however, were two tabs labelled 'Design and Manufacturing' and 'Avatar Creation'.

Upon entering these tabs, he was shocked to see what they were. 'Design and Manufacturing' was a function that allowed him to design anything through the power of engineering. Things from watches to assault rifles, to factory equipment, to even battleships, could be designed here, made easy through the use of various customisable modules, but with every module coming at a cost. The system also seemed to be able to manufacture his designs, but also at a considerable cost and was not immediate. 

The 'Personnel Creation' function allowed him to create individuals that he could customise with physical and mental traits, such as physical qualities and skills. In essence, it meant that he could create a custom, unique, living individual of various professions to serve his every need through the system. The individuals, known as 'Personnel', would then be summoned to their location from the system. However, the price of this was high. The cost of creating the personnel and equipping them for their relevant profession could easily be in the hundreds. 

Learning of all this, Henry took a second to gather his thoughts. He came to a conclusion. The reason he had not been granted any magic or special skills was because he had a much more unique ability built around the skills from his past life.

As a scholar, he had studied history, the sciences, and politics, and undergone years of military education as an officer of the armed forces. The fact that he had been bestowed this system curated solely to him was no coincidence.

"Right. Let's see what we can do with this," he muttered as he took a closer look at the design system.

He realised that all he really had to do was assemble the blueprints for various modules into the product he desired. For example, in order to build a car, he would need the design modules for the chassis, the engine, the wheels, and so on. 

In order to get these modules, he would have to purchase them from the 'Store'. The store not only sold these modules but even a number of finished products themselves, such as simple food products and ammunition which would be sent to him instantly, but he soon found that it would be more cost-effective to simply manufacture them himself with the 'Design and Manufacturing' function.

For now, though, he spent a few of his credits purchasing some 9mm ammunition for his handgun, and a new hip holster to hold the magazines. 

Just as he was scrolling through the store's catalogue, looking at the design modules offered and various products he could purchase, he heard loud crashing noises down the hall from his cell.

By listening more closely, he soon realised that it was the sound of terracotta being smashed to pieces.

...

Just a while ago, outside the Demon Lord's palace

Two ranks of terracotta warriors stood before the palace gates, their spears pointed forward to meet their enemy, a single man donned in shining white armour and a greatsword.

Alexander Davis, a Knight of the Kingdom of Eire, a summoned hero, and an ex-college student who liked anime too much, stood laughing in front of the Demon Lord Yang Meilin's terracotta warriors.

"Heh... Does Demon Lord Yang Meilin have nothing to offer me but some of her finest China?" he exclaimed, as his two companions, two female students from Eire's Mage College, used strength and speed-enhancing magics on him while cheering him on with words of praise with their shrill voices.

With a combination of a healthy dose of support magic and an unhealthy amount of praise, Sir Alex of Eire charged towards the warriors of terracotta, his greatsword drawn.

"Watch me as I destroy your pitiful resistance with ease Demon Lord Meilin! It's a good glimpse of what's to come once you're mine!"

SMASH SMASH SMASH 

The greatsword broke through the bodies of the terracotta warriors like a knife through butter, with an entire rank of them in pieces within a matter of seconds. Alex smirked as he thought to himself 'Heh, this is too easy! I really am the protagonist of this anime! Soon... I'll be adding a female Demon Lord to my harem of cute girls!' 

Inside the palace, Demon Lord Meilin had just received word of the arrival of the Kingdom of Eiru's summoned hero, causing her to drop her cup of wine and forget about Henry Li as she turned her attention towards the crisis at hand as her frustration was overtaken by a great unease, unaware that it would soon change the course of her life and the Shenwu domain forever.