The Dark Forest was the most forbidden place in the entire planet due to its dangerous beasts. Very few people dare to even come close to the forest and thus, it had remained untouched by civilizations. Nobody has ever gone deep into the forests so nobody knew the horrors that it contained. Mythical beasts reigned in the place, making it their kingdoms, with lesser beasts being their underlings.

Dragons had the most territory due to their overall high power. They were feared because of their relatively almost unending lives. They also had the most potential to reach Gold Level and they had a few old bones already at the peak of Gold Level, overall making sure the dragons will not become extinct. Phoenixes followed, their territories in the volcanoes. They had fewer surbodinates due to their pride but they were strong on their own accord. Having a few old bones in the Gold Level made them untouchable.

Other mythical beasts like the White Tiger, the Mountain Stone Monkeys, Nine Tailed Foxes, the Ragnarok Serpents and Titans had their own territories and even though they had fewer Gold Level existances protecting them, they were not a force to be reckoned with. Outside the Dark Forests were the humanoid races; Human Beings, Elves, Orcs, Goblins, Dwarves, Demons and Bestial Races. They were very much unwelcome in the Dark Forest but they always had the greed to see what was inside, maybe get a few rare treasures and strike it rich. This was what three humans were thinking, not knowing they were going to their deaths.

...

"What do you think we'll find?" a woman whispered to her two companions.

"Hopefully not an Iron Level beast," the leader of the three whispered back. They were wearing light armor to help them be silent or be fast when escaping.

"Yeah, an Iron Level beast would be the death of us right now,"vthe third member joined in. "The Dark Forest is a scary place with no one knowing what to expect."

"I heard the third elf prince lead a group of six Black Titanium Level experts but only one of them got out! This sure is a burial ground," the woman shivered while looking around vigilantly. Suddenly, they heard a frighteningly loud roar that shook them to the bones. They stopped moving, their eyes looking at the direction the roar came from.

"What was that?" the woman asked timidly. Before any of them could answer, a shockwave threw them to the ground, breaking a few of their bones. They coughed out blood, grimacing in pain.

"That shockwave was too strong!" the third member coughed out.

"It must be the shockwaves of two Titanium level beasts fighting. We have to get out of here!" the leader shouted. Suddenly, a wave of fire swept towards them, burning everything to ashes. The three did not even get a chance to cry out when they were reduced to ashes.

....

Six hundred miles away, a silver scaled western dragon was fighting against a silver furred manticore. The battle had ravaged the environment around them, turning plains into gorges and valleys into plains. This was two Silver Level beasts fighting and no beasts under their levels would survive the shockwaves if they were hit.

"What species are you, an invading species?" the dragon whimpered in pain, limping away from the manticore that was half its size. The manticore had a lion's head and body, the limbs and wings of a dragon, the tail of a scorpion connected to a heavily scaled backbone. It could breath out fire and lightning with its tail emitting a highly corrosive poison that the dragon could simply not subdue. Even if the dragon was heavily injured, the manticore was on its death stage. Dragons were not the most dominant race for no reason.

"You are strong, very strong in fact, but you will not live past this day," the manticore told the dragon in a feminine but rumbling voice that shook the ground.

"I can just get the antidote from the stinger once you are dead," the dragon laughed but the manticore laughed even louder.

"I am a manticore, the poison in me loses its effects immediately after I die while the one inside you will continue ravaging in your system. Soon, you will become a corpse and my offspring will consume us, gaining mine and your races' potential to integrate into his," she said, scaring the dragon so much his energy faltered. The poison that had been halted temporarily started spreading once again with a vengeance. The dragon panicked even more and tried to stop it but it was too late, it had reached its bloodstream and thus, it was accessible to all it's body parts.

"Nooo! This cannot be happening!" the dragon roared as its body turned from silvery to greyish. The corpse fell to the ground, two lifeless eyes staring hatefully at the manticore that was in its final moments too.

"It is all up to you, little one," the manticore softly said then breathed it's last. However at that same moment, she gave birth to a manticore cub that was as small as a housecat kitten. Its two wings were stuck to its body and its tail had not even sharpened. The cub looked around as if it was stunned before it looked at the two carcasses in front of it. As if already predetermined, the cub started eating the carcass of its mother in an unnatural speed. The silvery bones crushed with ease and the blood slurped with glee. In hours, the adult manticore was gone so the cub went to the dragon carcass.

The poison that killed the dragon was not even a deterrence, instead a tonic. Once it started feeding, the poison was actually refined in its body and stored in a gland connected to its tail. The poison had tenderized the carcass of the dragon making the cub that was now the size of a dog eat even faster. Couple of hours later, the carcass was gone and the manticore was the size of a six months old calf! Its wings were complete and the stinger was now deadly and ready to reap lives. The cub's eyes showed a glimmer of intelligence suddenly and it looked around in shock. This signified the start of Alex's second life.