It has been only few minutes, maybe three or four since I ran into the protective circle of gold. I have calmed down to the extend of one can calm down after being chased by bloodthirsty beast of unholy terror, but calmed down nonetheless. The fact that it doesn't cross the line of gold no matter what helps with that, but the fact that it doesn't seem to be leaving anytime soon keeps me on my toes. Not that it looks that menacing when it's just lying there on its side, but anytime I even stretch my leg it hones its gaze into me.

Half an hour passes with no movement from the dogwolfthingie, it just lies there watching as I keep time with my phone. Deciding it is safe here I finally relax fully and start to realize how utterly boring it is. Never did I realize how intense boredom could be, I mean nothing to do, can't go anywhere. So I do the only thing there is to do to pass the time, my homework.

4 hours have passed since that decision and I'm quite sure I have done my math homework for the next six months. Couldn't even listen music from my phone to ease the tedious work for the fear of wasting my only way to tell time or contact anybody. I have begun to envy people who own a separate way to keep time and listen to music from ones cellphone. I decide to take a peek at the wolf, as I have come to conclusion that even if it acts like a dog, it looks more like a wolf so it is a wolf. A completely normal giant-eight-legged-six-eyed-wolf. Yes. It seems to be sleeping so I try to get up and.... it woke up, stares at me and licks it lips. So sensitive, probably likes old-time romance movies I think as I walk around the perimeter of the circle area I'm stuck in. It follows loyally like a shadow on my side.

5 hours have passed since my decision to do my homework and one hour from the perimeter check and I have moved on to history. Getting fed up with extra lessons and constant watch I'm fully committed to idea of escaping, but how? I'm sure that throwing my books or backpack at it does nothing, trying to run gets me killed and fighting is even faster way down that road. Next plan was to pry loose few of those gold plates to make a movable magic barrier, but as the gold was either poured down molten where it then hardened or magically fused with stone either of those plans would require me to dig through few inches of solid stone and scrape of the gold. Plus if the barrier needs to be a complete circle to work, the moment of my successful prying would also be the moment of my death. So that left the option of breaking one of those lanterns or torches that flank the altar and using it as a weapon.

Wooden spear, thicker than my thumb rising from the marble floor where it meets the black, iron rack that it is bolted into. Can't pry that either from the stone, so I decide to break the wooden shaft with force. Bending the torch by pulling with my weight isn't fast, but it does work after five minutes or so trying, it breaks from the bottom, near the rack and now I have a spear of sorts. I look at the torch head of the thing and see that the heart of the torch is surrounded by a similar rack, more curved, with six vertical spikes and three horizontal rings surrounding them. The heart sits in middle of the rack suspended from the middle ring with four bridges of iron. There is a problem though, the vertical spikes are curved so that they neither point to the top nor the sides, so using the torch as a spear or mace doesn't work as well as I'd like. They aren't even that sharp. So it is decided by designing choices that I stab at the wolf with the fractured wooden end that has at least some form of an edge.

It does absolutely nothing, the fur of the wolf that I now so closely see is clumped together in triangular clumps that look like scales and from the recoil feel like stone or metal. The demon dog is wearing scale armor, well demon wolf, but that is neither here or there, what matter is that unless I manage to hit it in the eye it doesn't do any damage. I originally didn't aim at the head for the fear of it catching my strike with its mouth and pulling me out of my protective sphere and I'm definitely not risking that now.

Well at least I know that the hellhou... hellwolf isn't an illusion made by the Ominous Orb of Obvious Evil, or the O-3 as I now call it, to make me touch it. But with nothing to eat, drink or keep me entertained I might have no choice. I mean I can't exactly fall asleep within the O-3's influence circle, as I've seen enough movies to know that it would just control my unconscious body to do its bidding.

This leaves only drastic measures, as I don't know whether the circle or the orb is responsible for keeping the beast away, I simply must try both of those things. So I grab the torchspear and try pry the orb in the rack for safe, no skin contact delivery system. As the iron rack touches the orb it bursts into fragments that look like drifting ash before slowly disappearing into thin air. Before I even have the time to confirm if the effect spreads I have already chucked the spear off my hands on instinct. It does spread, thankfully not onto the floor I observe as I get a brilliant idea so throw the rapidly degenerating spear towards the wolf. It avoids the spear that disintegrates to nothing before hitting the floor.

Armed with new knowledge and better plan I break loose the second torch, touch the orb with it and try to hit the wolf. As I mindlessly flail the spear trying to hit the wolf that moves much faster that its size should allow, I notice too late it has tricked me with diagonal movements to leave the protective barrier and the spear is too degenerated to last long enough for me to make it back there. I throw the spear towards the wolf to slow its movement as I turn and run, but it manages to tear my calf half open with its obsidian like claws. I stumble down on the rapidly reddening white floor and claw my way back to the circle. Inside I realize that the wolf hasn't moved an inch from the spot where it clawed me, purposely letting me crawl inside my safe room. It wants me here, it wants me to touch the orb and with the speed I'm bleeding it's either that or dying here.