That's how you dig your own grave peeps.

MAGNUS

One two three. I counted the seconds I need to shower. Four five six. I counted the seconds I need to change into my Ranker uniform. I put on my black Lathiama pants and shirt. Beatified by the Rank Elder's blessing so it won't tear from any sharp blade. I fasten my leather corsage at the side, armors will only slow us down due to its weight. Leather is preferable. My knee and elbow protectors are secured after slipping my gloves and black leather shoes.

Seven, eight, nine. I counted the steps it needs to rush from my bedroom towards the hall of our base. The warning red light was flashed this late evening. All Rankers are summoned to report to their Rank Leaders.

Which means the attacks are getting worse.

I joined my team as we fall in a horizontal line at the empty space of our hall. The fireplace crackled to life, producing heat to the damp atmosphere, though it can't remove the repugnant smell of dismembered bodies. My other teammates who are dispatched this morning - I mean during lunch time lay sprawled before us. Some have lost their arms and legs, others are retrieved without their heads.

"Nasty business." My friend, Roland whispered in my ear. His copper brown hair kept on one side. Clearly he hasn't taken shower. Or if he has, didn't bother to comb it out. His droopy metallic eyes regard the dead bodies with unyielded grimace.

"How many was it this time?" I asked.

I studied the body of Cage, Page and Mage. Cage is unrecognizable underneath his Ranker uniform. His insides are gouged like butchered pig. Page and Mage, on the other hand, lost half of their bodies. Others are, well, just imagine visiting a slaughterhouse, seeing no skin but flesh and bones of incarcerated animals. Blood is spilled in the ground. Staining the tiled floor with liquid red. It's unimaginable to think the three best Rankers of our rank, the most voted to compete for the Rank Leader's position of our team, the Rank 12, are amputated beyond recognition.

"All twenty of them," Roland replied grimly.

"Oh, for the love of Thoteka when is this attacks gonna end?" Thomas complained to my right. That's the exact question our superior doesn't have an answer with, is what I wanted to say but restrained myself. The Rank Elder is here, with Rank Leader Tom.

Rank Elders are the advisers of the Rank Ruler. We Rankers, as you can guess, are like soldiers in this kingdom. We keep the peace between the Gifted people across kingdoms and guard the boundary separating us from the notorious other races, the 'Beasts' and 'Faeries'.

For years we lived in tranquility. All three races not breaking the thousand years old creed of never crossing territories. Yet everything changed when the prophesied 'Deity stone' came. A week ago, the sky split in half, the sun and moon were pinned together in our fiery sky. Between them, the blazing meteor purge through the atmosphere and landed at the stone circle of High Altar. That's when we knew the foretold battle between races has come. And we weren't ready.

The Rank Elders knew it. Heck, the Rank Ruler should have foreseen it. But the only thing they busied themselves with is to find the prophesied Seeker. Not thinking battle tactics that could stop these attacks of other races.

We Rankers are shoved right in the middle of a warzone. Just because we don't actually die, they think it's fun sending us to our deaths every freaking day. Yeah, you get it right, we don't die. That's the advantage of being a Ranker.

No matter how many arms, legs, head, or organs you lose, you'll get resurrected when the time struck midnight. That is, if your teammates were able to retrieve what's left of your insides back to the base. Most importantly, the heart.

"No, don't wish for the end. Think of when they find the Seeker among our rank. That should stop this pointless tradition of driving us to our death." I told Thomas.

"Yeah right. Find the Seeker and let those 'Beasts' chase him to the end of the world." Roland said with a frustrated sigh.

'Beasts'... As far as the attacks are concerned, only the Gray, Red, and White 'Beasts' have made their appearance. The Black, who's rumored to be the strongest has not yet appeared.

But that's the least of our worries.

Tonight, me and my teammates need to figure out how to defend our border from these monsters with our bows, spears, and swords. The orders of the Rank Ruler are absolute. Until they find who's the Seeker, we must do our best to hold off hundreds of 'Beasts' each day.

Though I can't help but think, how nice would it be, for this Ruler and his Elder advisers to lounge in their majestic thrones. To not worry about how many arms will they lose this time? Will their heads still be hanging in their necks when they are retrieved by the dispatched team?

Or worse...if their bodies will never be recovered from the 'Beasts' stomach. That would surely mark any Rankers death.

"Rankers!" My thoughts were interrupted by Rank Leader Tom's firm voice with authority.

"Tonight, we shall embark into the boundary that marks our territories as ours. To fulfill our duties as protectors of our kingdom. We must not let these 'Beasts' trespass our borders. Not let them steal what's ours -"

I shut his voice off. We've heard this prep speech for eight times already.

"For crying out loud, don't he get tired repeating this trash everyday?" Thomas hissed in my direction.

"Give him some slack, he's trying his best to encourage us," I said. Thomas scorned.

"If only he's creative enough to alter his words, that would have worked."

I guess my voice was a bit loud to be heard by my teammates in the assembly. All of them chuckled, some have turned their head sideways to hide their smiles.

"What's wrong with you?" Rank Leader Tom snapped. "Is something funny?"

"Your face."

That wasn't me. That was Roland being stupid for saying his thoughts out loud. Rank Leader Tom's face went purple. Which is strange to watch considering his chubby cheeks sagging in his face. He used to be a fatso in the past. Gray hair, grey eyes, bloated white chalked face, belly juggling first when he ran, my comrades joke if only they could stick a stake on his rounded body and put him over the fire, we would have a perfect pig's feast.

However, Rank Leader Tom's body flunk like hot air balloon in just a week. In fact, after the stone came, our lazy peaceful banging gambling table days disappeared. Like a impovirished drowned in debt, we suddenly transformed from sloth snobby soldiers into pawns for war slaves.

If you ask me, I would have preferred no 'Beasts' to pound for days peace. But the deities were not on our side. As Thomas put it, the powerful beings at the top got jealous of how we had our gambling and drinking fun everyday they want to send mischief after mischief to torture us for making them jealous.

Feel free to say this is our divine punishment. Because as far as I'm concern, we did nothing wrong. We enjoy every last minute of our shenanigans. Those 'Beings' above won't understand how satisfying it feels to beat every fraudster and trying hard bastards at poker.

"Well, aren't you too jolly on jokes tonight? Since you're all feeling high and energetic, no coming back until you give me twenty heads of 'Beasts' shall we?"

Groans of protests filtered throughout our team.

"Another sound and I'll make it thirty." Rank Leader Tom threatened. We instantly shut up. But our eyes are glaring and sending daggers at Roland. Which made him shudder.