Currently, Erik and the others were crouched on the fifth floor of a nearby building, next to a large hole in the wall that overlooked the institute.
Around them lay the corpses of several overgrown, first-rank dogs, which had claimed this part of the city as their territory. The aetherium seeping into the Earth had mutated them into walking balls of muscle and teeth, posing a serious danger to any first-rankers trying to survive without the Council's protection.
Of course, to Erik and his group, these creatures posed little obstacle.
They suspected there might be one or more second-ranker versions of these beasts nearby, but believed them to be further into the city, away from the Council-occupied institute.
Erik surveyed the surroundings of the building and noticed several patrols of first-rankers securing the perimeter.
