The Giant Artificer (DxD AU/Essences CYOA)

YOU DIED

Such ominous text appeared before my eyes on a blue screen.

'I remember it all…'

It was during my vacation in Japan, I was having my breakfast at a local bakery shop in Tokyo, when an error occurred in the rails and the train flew away from its course and fell on where I was sitting…

No doubt my minced remains was something gruesome to spectate, but looking at the brighter side, it was a painless death.

There were definitely things I had yet and wanted to do, but now it was impossible to accomplish.

"And how did it go from Truck-kun to Train-kun? Explain to me, Japan!"

I screamed at the void that surrounded me, but it was unheard of by anyone, as besides me and this floating blue screen, there wasn't anyone else here.

"The truck companies were already complaining at anime studios about Truck-kun, now I see that the real culprit was the train companies all along!"

While I made my assumptions based on my delusions, I failed to notice that more text was appearing and the blue screen enlarged to fit more letters.

You are awarded 257 Credits due to positive karma accumulated in your last life.

Credits are the currency to buy powers, items or choose where and how you will reincarnate!

Additional Credits will be distributed as compensation for premature death than the foreseed one.

You got the opportunity to draw the number from 257 to 5000.

The drawn number will correspond to the additional Credits that will accumulate with the initial Credits.

To draw, just click the button for it to happen.

[Draw]

"This…reincarnation? I am going to get reincarnated like those fanfic protagonists?" I rubbed my non-existent beard as I contemplated. "Compensation for the premature death' I knew something was fishy!"

"At least they are giving at least double the amount of credits I have, but I don't even know if it is a lot or not…Fuck it, I will just click on [Draw] and see the rest, no use in overthinking without seeing it first!"

You got an additional 2341 Credits! Total Credits: 2598

"Now what can I buy with these?" I pondered as I tried to recall useful powers. "Can I ask some questions?"

Yes

"Which world will I reincarnate to?"

Highschool DxD

"Ah…"

It wasn't the best, but definitely wasn't the worst either. An acceptable outcome actually as long as I play my cards right.

"Will I retain my memories during reincarnation?"

No, unless you pay 50 Credits to have your last life's memory intact.

"I will pay for it then." I said and saw my total credits go down. "How much would it be to change race to, for example, devil?

To change race to [Devil], there are three options:

[100 Credits — Devil]: Reincarnate as a devil with random bloodline, for example, you could be from a common devil peasant to a Pure-Blooded High-Class devil.

[150 Credits — Noble Devil Mob]: Reincarnate as a Pure-Blooded High-Class devil from a random clan, but whether you have the Clan trait or not depends on your luck.

[150 Credits — Half Devil]: Reincarnate as devil halfling, you will get both traits of the two species, whether they are beneficial or detrimental traits. If both halves are compatible, the traits may fuse and a new one will appear. 

[200 Credits —Random Devil Noble]: Reincarnate as a Pure-Blooded High-Class devil of a random clan with clan trait.

[250 Credits — Devil Noble]: Reincarnate as Pure-Blooded High-Class devil of a clan of your choosing with clan trait.

"That's a lot of options with a lot of them relying on luck except the last one." I proceeded to check other races like human, angel, fallen angels, etc and they were similar to the devils, the lower the price the more it relied on luck.

Other races such as dragons or divine beings were more expensive, so I didn't even think of choosing them.

There was one thing I noticed however…

'For unknown reasons, humans have very high compatibility with other races. Like they can have children with almost every other race without causing deformations. And not only will they inherit the traits of the other half, but their weakness will be either nonexistent or severely reduced!'

With such an option in front of me, my decision was set.

[200 Credits — Half Human (+ Sacred Gear)]: Reincarnate as half human and other half from different races with a Sacred Gear. You will inherit all traits of your inhuman half, but their effects will be diminished.

2348 Credits left…

'Oh right, there were things used in fanfictions called Essences which were truly broken to be honest.' I remembered and quickly asked the screen. "How much does an Essence cost?"

Essences vary from 500 Credits to 10000 Credits

"Show me a list of Essences that cost between 500 and 1000."

Essence of the Blank — 500 Credits

Essence of the Harem Protagonist — 500 Credits 

Essence of the Crafter — 500 Credits

Essence of the Archmage — 500 Credits 

Essence of the Merchant — 500 Credits

…

Essence of the Artificer — 1000 Credits

Essence of the Dragonborn — 1000 Credits 

Essence of the Tarnished — 1000 Credits 

…

After minutes or even hours of self-reflection and contemplation, I finished my build which focused more on the magical aspect, mainly because magic didn't exist in my past life and I wanted to study in this one and possibly aim to be the best!

So in the end, I purchased Essences of the Blank, Archmage and Artificer.

Maybe I will become a magical engineer?

Thoughts for the future…

Now I have 348 Credits left, what can I get for that amount?

"How much does it cost to have a personal stats screen? Like it in the games where it displays our name, race, attributes, skills, etc?"

It will cost 20 Credits for a Status Interface. 

"Get one for me then."

Minus 20 points…

"How much does [Golden Rule] skill from FGO with the highest parameter costs?"

[Golden Rule EX] will cost you 300 Credits.

"Nice, I will buy it then." 

Since I will be crafting stuff, I figured out that I needed a lot of financial power to acquire the resources that I will use, that is why I decided to purchase this skill that is basically a magnet of riches and treasure.

"Now I still have some spare Credits, what is recommended to do with them?"

It is prudent to invest your Credits to increase your attributes, whether they are physical or conceptual. Each Credit will increase the aspect slightly.

"Does that include 'Luck'?"

Yes

"Good, then invest all my credits into luck." I said that and clicked 'Yes' when it asked for confirmation.

All Credits have been used

Now the conditions to conclude the 'Reincarnation' procedure have been met.

Enjoy your new life!

…

…

…

It was cold, so cold that my piss might freeze just from making contact with air. And yet I was fine with just a shirt and pants and the snow under me felt like the cold side of the pillow.

"This is my first time seeing snow." I got up from the ground as I watched snowflakes falling down from the sky.

"Status." I muttered.

[Name: — ]

[Race: Half Human Half Múspel]

[Age: 13]

[Affiliation: None]

[Essences: Blank, Archmage, Artificer]

[Attributes: Physical (Mid-Rank), Magical (High-Rank), Luck (Extraordinary)]

[Sacred Gear: Unawakened]

[Skills: Gigantification, Giant's Flames, Golden Rule EX]

(A/N: Múspel = Fire giant in Norse mythology)

"Color me surprised, I am half human and half giant. And my Sacred Gear is still unawakened huh…I guess I shouldn't expect it to be already awakened when I just woke up here, besides it shouldn't be difficult to do it."

On a side note, I was sort of glad that my status panel didn't spoil what my Sacred Gear was. And regardless if it was good or bad, I could just upgrade it or take it out of me in the future.

And given how broken essences were, I was sure that I could make it rival or surpass a Longinus.

And about me being half giant, if we are talking about giants from norse mythology, I am pretty sure they were almost never mentioned in the anime.

In fact, the only giant that appeared was Loki, but he was defeated by the protagonist and his crew so easily that he was laughably forgettable.

"Alright, enough of worrying about my origins, I need to know where I am and these damn trees aren't helping either."

I presume I am somewhere in a forest and if I assume my origins, I wouldn't be surprised that I was in one of the countries in northern Europe.

'Strange enough, I didn't receive any memories when I occupied this body nor did I have a name on my own.'

'Maybe I was a failed lab experiment and left in some random place to die? Or I was exiled as a child and was stripped off of everything?'

"Well, not that really matters now. What I need right now is to find some kind of civilization and set up my workshop."

And then an idea popped up in my head.

'I wonder how big will I be when using Gigantification?'

I was currently 13 physically, but I was roughly around 180 cm (5'9 ft), a height that I only reached at the end of my teenage years, and I am sure I would grow even taller with my half giant bloodline.

Then I focused on the feeling of activating the ability, which naturally I haven't used before but the knowledge was imprinted deep inside me.

Before I knew it, everything was small to me.

—— ??? POV ——

The world of the supernatural has long retreated its influence from the society of mundane humans and its reveal without the reasons disclosed under international pantheology law would result in serious crime.

However, that doesn't mean the supernatural stopped interacting with the mundane world. There were still trades, discussions and other things, but they were made behind the scenes so as to not expose to the common populace.

It was also up to us to keep order from both worlds and protect the humans from the external supernatural incidents and in extreme cases, from other human nations.

And that was why the academy sent us valkyrie trainees to patrol on designated areas around the territory of our norse pantheon, to gain experience for when the time comes.

*Achoo!*

"It's so coold!" I complained as I wiped my nose. Seriously, who designed such a revealing uniform!? I will have a good talk with whoever created this. 

I quickly casted a spell to warm up.

"Ah~this feels better. Now I only need to go one more round and call it a day!" I can't wait to return home and have dinner! Granny's cooking was always the best!

However, a series of faint noises from afar brought me back to reality and I quickly wiped the drool with my hand.

'Wait this sound, it sounds like a rumble. Was there an avalanche today? I wasn't told that information!' I curiously flew over to the source of sound and I couldn't help but widen my eyes when I spotted a fire giant jumping around and making the ground tremble and shaking violently the trees.

"Wait wait wait, what is a fire giant doing here!?" 

Its size was way smaller than what was described in the books, so I guess it still hasn't reached adulthood yet.

But, a fire giant was still a fire giant.

The damage done in the surrounding area would be quite devastating.

The snow near it was already melting and the grass burnt and worst of all, if someone notices this stunt it could end very badly.

Then the giant suddenly turned its body to a certain direction and started heading towards it.

"Where is it going? Wait, that direction…" I casted a simple clairvoyance spell and saw… " Don't tell me, it is heading towards the human city!?"

This was bad.

Very bad in fact.

I had to stop it before it reaches there, or else the consequences will be bad.

I quickly sent an energy signal and flew at full speed towards the giant.

"Halt in this instance, Múspel! I am a (apprentice) valkyrie Rossweisse and if you continue further that path, you will commit the grave crime of breaking the international treaty and risk the wrath of All-Father! I will guarantee your punishment will be light if you cease your actions now!"

I projected my voice through a spell in hope to make it focus on me and halt his progression before it reaches the city.

Fortunately, my plan worked and the giant stopped and turned its body to me, with its gaze that seemed to pierce my very being.

My body tensed and I was ready to shower it with spells at any moment.

'Shit.'

I hope I get my deserved compensation after solving this mess.