A bounty posted outside the Jungle of Fools

An irradiated and overgrown swamp infested with the byproducts of a number of bio-engineering experiments on apex predators. Naturally, the impoverished denizens of Old-Tokyo knew to stay well away from this place, that is, until the great warrior Genta Fukuda emerged from its dense canopy bearing the carcass of a great beast, a massive red lizard. His village ate well for weeks, and the warrior fashioned the pelt into a cloak for his bride to be. As the warriors renown grew, the couple prospered. One day, as Mrs. Fukuda was doing her morning chores, she marveled at the sunrise illuminating the jungle on the horizon, and uttered, "There is it, the Jungle of Fortune.", and thus it was called.

From then on, young hunters and mutants came from all around the wastes of Japan hoping to win glory in the Jungle of Fortune. Of these hunters, few returned, even fewer in one piece, and certainly none with anything to show for it. Mrs. Fukuda remained undaunted by this, and raised her children singing praises of their fathers victory, and the riches that await the brave. Her seven sons grew up healthy and strong, and one by one, they challenged the Jungle. One by one, year by year, they were never seen again. One day, Mrs. Fukuda beheld the jungle, and uttered from cracked lips, "There it is, the Jungle of Fools".

Outside the Jungle of Fools, a notice has been posted by the servant of an eccentric collector within the dome, hoping to expand said collection:
-The matching tusks of the twin-headed boars -  50000¥
-The whiskers of the iron-hide saber tooth tiger - 50000¥
-A bulb from the atomic spitters - 100000¥
-The brain of a psychic ape - 150000¥
-The pelt of the elusive golden ferret - 1000000¥
-The hide of Fukuda's Dragon (PL 2) - 5000000¥, or a penthouse suite within the dome, with full citizen privileges.

And so the village beside the jungle begins to bustle with the business of a new throng of hunters, ready to answer the collectors challenge. The Jungle of Fools sits one morning, illuminated briefly by the morning sun, as good a time to challenge it as there will be.

A man in a gas mask and a thick jacket walks up to the notice board, then looks down at a piece of paper in his hand. "Well, this looks like the place that daft fool ran off to. Let's hope I can find him in one piece. It's easier to give to the family..." This man, a member of the Fumigators, does not usually do these sorts of activities, but a friend's son had ran off in search of some "Jungle of Fortune" to earn plenty of money to help the struggling families of the wastes. Now, two weeks past his expected return date, Markus offered to go into these dangerous woods and search for the son. His hopes were low to begin with for finding him. HE might be lucky if he can at least scrounge for a shred of identifiable clothing within these tangled masses of trees which house hideous beasts. Markus just shakes his head.
He walks over to the village and begins to knock on doors, asking if any of them remembered seeing a young, naive-looking kid with a short mop of blonde hair, with a double barrel shotgun, and if he had any specific quarry he said he was searching for.

Many of the townspeople respond with indifference, and some with words of condolence, as if it's no question as to the boys fate. Finally, Markus is approached by a withered old woman, keeping hers , and the weight of a large lizard-hide pelt on her back, up with an old ivory cane. As she approaches Markus, she slowly shakes her head. "Your kind are well-respected around here, so I shall not give you false hopes, fumigator. I met him, as I strive to meet all hunters who challenge this place. The child was not swayed by words, and went into the forest nearly two tendays ago. He is dead, and if you came looking to save him, I suggest leaving this place." says the old woman solemnly.

Markus shakes his head. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I haven't come here to be turned away. I fully intend to delve into this jungle, whether or not I'm given any useful information. So whether or not you're gonna tell me something useful-" he points to the jungle behind him- "I'm going in there." Markus looks back at the notice board and asks, "So, ma'am, do you remember which quarry he may have tracked down or any insight on which one he may have chosen to chase? Or at the very least, tell me some useful information pertaining the jungle."

She slowly shakes her head, and sighs. "The boy was from the dome, right? Either way, he looked well-fed, so I would hope he at had the sense to stay away from the dragon. If I had to guess, he would go after the ferret if he was just hoping to make money fast. Of course if your hunting the ferret, your going to run into the other bounties, and worse besides.. If you insist on going in there, keep your wits about you. If you have a way to resist acid, like some mutants, you can get a free nights rest in a man-eater, otherwise, you'll have to watch where you pitch your tents. And don't light any fires. Keep an eye on your Geiger meter." says the old woman before pursing her lips. "Good luck, fool."

Markus nods, "Thanks, ma'am." He sighs and walks towards the jungle's edge. "Damn it, kid. You're gonna get us both killed." Taking one last look at the morning sun, he draws a 10-shot revolver from his jacket, and replaces every other bullet with a black-tipped bullet, and the others with red-tipped bullets. Flicking the cylinder closed, he steps into the fray. Markus trudges through the brush carefully, using a large knife he bought to chop through the overgrowth, while scanning the surroundings for any signs of his search. Any smaller or less vicious creatures that get in his way, Markus uses his thumb to chamber a black bullet, then fires it to make a smoke screen to quickly escape the beasts. If anything larger or more intimidating rears its head, Markus will be ready to fight...

As Markus trudges through the jungle, a large ape watches his movements carefully, moving through the canopy silently with practiced ease. As he fires his smokescreen, it's nostrils flare, and it moves to higher ground. The vines below Markus tremble, and suddenly spring forward with surprising speed, attempting to wrap around him, and drag him into the ground.

More sensing the danger than his eyes perceiving it, Markus deftly rolls forward, out of the reach of the grasping vines, and turns to see his attacker. "Vines? This fucking jungle is going to be the death of me, indeed..." Markus pulls back the hammer for his left gun and fires. The bullet collides into the ground where the vines have emerged, exploding into a fiery plume that would quickly catch the vines- and any nearby foliage...- ablaze. Markus then begins to look around, searching for any more potential threats.

In the midst of the Jungle, a lone man is meditating with his hands lying serenely on his thighs. His eyes are closed firmly yet his hearing and smell give him an acute knowledge of his imminent surroundings. While his hands lie upon his legs he readies himself to raise his fists at any moments, should a creature dare to attack him.

Nearby the lone man, the iron-hide sabertooth tiger stalks. It picks up his scent, and watches him for some time, finally pouncing on him viciously.

As Markus dodges out of the way, he would notice a rusty piece of rebar flying towards him, throwing or propelled by an unknown assailant.

As the ironhide tiger descends upon the man he quickly inhales through his nose. Recognizing the putrid scent of the tiger's pelt he raises his fist in a swift jabbing motion aimed directly at the creature's diaphragm.

With reactions well honed and practiced, he brings up his left arm up just in time to deflect the rebar from hitting him. He then pulls out a four shot revolver from his jacket and wields it in his right hand. He loudly asks, "Who's there? I will shoot, and those I choose to shoot never live to tell the tale! I'm warning ya!" He scans his surroundings hastily, trying to find the assailant, his fingers ready to pull the hair triggers.

The deflected piece of rebar spins in the air as its deflected, and levitates a moment before propelling itself at Markus again. Hiding above him in the canopy, an ape with an indented forehead watches him closely.

Markus grunts, and aims his right gun at the rebar. Taking only a moment, he fires, and the bullet impacts the rebar and splits it into pieces. "Hmph. Damn psychics." He thinks back to the notice board and remembered something about a psychic monkey. He looks around and yells, "Hey! You better leave me alone, damn monkey! I have no qualms with setting this entire forest ablaze and leaving it a charred wasteland. I'm here for a simple purpose and wish to face as little hardship as I can." He looks around the trees, searching for the ape that he is sure must be nearby.

A telekinetic push attempts to drive Markus back into the writhing vines, nearby, from up above, an ape gleefully claps at its own "Master Plan".

As Markus feels himself being pushed towards the vines once more, he mutters "Screw this." Before reaching the vines, he fires four quick, successive shots: one towards the vines, and the other three 120 degrees from each other, aimed at the middles of the trees. As each bullet impacts, each explodes, sending fire and tree debris in all directions. The fire is quick to begin to consume any nearby fuel, which would be a plenty in a jungle. Markus holsters his left gun and grabs a nearby tree in one fluid motion, attempting to stop his pull towards the vines and now fire. He then takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, seemingly focusing.

The fire doesn't spread far, as numerous vines ooze and spray strange green liquids in response to the fires around them. But the vines attempting to grab Markus quickly retreat back into the muddy ground.

Meanwhile, the iron-hide sabertooth seems barely phased by the jab, as it's whole body is covered in a strange natural armor. It attempts to maul the strange man, trying to reach for his throat.

The man sighs as the tiger ferocious bites as his neck. With each attack made against him, he bends like a reed and flows like water, his body contorting in such a way as to avoid the attack. The man proceeds to move fluidly in and out of the beast's range in order to provoke it into attacking him.

The beast turns around, lashing out impatient. Finally, it opens it mouth in a defiant roar, and attempts to pounce him, mouth hanging open as it attempts to close it around his head.

As the beast attempts to bite down on his head he makes his body go limp and collapses to the ground. He swiftly returns to his feet and impatiently raises his fist. With great force, he brings his calloused palm down upon the tiger's head attempting to vibrate its metallic skull. As he lashes out with his strike he sharply inhales and adjusts his stance to bring more of his weight into the attack.

The tigers head shakes violently a moment, and it stumbles around confused. When it regains its senses, it attempts to flee into the canopy.

The man bows to the tiger with much reverence and rises with a serene look upon his face. "Many thanks, tora-sensei." the man calmly states. As he resumes his meditation in the clearing he notices beads of sweat rolling down the side of his face and his placid expression becomes one of frustration. "I still have not mastered the Crashing Wake technique. My body is still far too decadent and weak... weak!" he desperately cries. After wiping his face of sweat and slowly stretching himself he sits back down on the grassy clearing. As he closes his eyes his ears become far more acute and he waits for another challenger to train with.

In the distance, the man might here explosions and the muffled yelling of a man. He sounds to be cursing the forest, saying how he will set it on fire.

Very slowly, and very cautiously, a strange ferret golden ferret approaches the meditating man, watching him curiously with large black eyes.

Meanwhile, Markus, and likely the meditating man, hear a loud squeal. A large twin-headed boar stands in front of its litter, lowering its head to charge Markus.