Solomon awoke because of the cold.
The bitter chill of the metal floor seeped right through his clothes and permeated his body, making him extremely uncomfortable.
He sat up, groaning, while his hand went to the back of his head.
At the same time, twenty-five other applicants were doing the same thing.
They took their time getting to their feet after falling unconscious. Whatever had knocked them out had done the job exceptionally well, so much so that sensation had yet to return to most of their hands and faces.
To Solomon's surprise, most of the other cadets weren't panicking at the unexpected situation. Though a few of the younger ones were visibly shaken.
Solomon got to his feet and backed away to the most isolated corner he could find.
The first test had already begun. Just as he had anticipated.
What he couldn't figure out was how everyone had gotten knocked out at around the same time.
He hadn't drank anything. Neither had several of the other cadets.
The only other explanation he could think of was that something had been dispersed into the air. And since Solomon didn't exactly breathe anymore, that also could have explained why he wasn't affected like the others.
"Does anyone see a way out by chance..?"
"If we did, do you honestly believe that we would still be standing here, looking at each other like idiots?"
"Don't get snippy with me, runt, you don't look like much from where I'm sitting."
"Looks can be deceiving, human!"
In that moment, it finally clicked within Solomon's mind just what kind of situation he was in.
Over twenty people, stuck in a confined space with no way to escape or call for help from the outside. There was no food. No water either. This wasn't designed to be a long-term test.
And with tempers already beginning to flare, it seemed like violence was inevitable.
That had to be the goal all along.
Now, Solomon was beginning to understand why the death rate for the academy was so high.
If this was the kind of thing they were doing before they'd even spent their first night here, it had unfortunate tidings for the rest of their academy days.
If they even lived long enough to see them…
A silence suddenly fell over the room.
One by one, the cadets began staring at each other skeptically. They had seemingly all reached the same conclusion as Solomon.
Their muscles tensed. The air between them became heavy and full of electricity.
All the place needed was a single spark for it to go boom.
This spark came in the form of an elven girl who looked like one of the youngest here.
She had dark skin, with deep brown hair bound in precise ropes. Her bright golden eyes scanned the room quickly for an opponent.
Flattening her hand like a blade, she swiped it across the neck of an unsuspecting young man, and blood came spurting out across the floor.
There were a few screams and a few outcries of barbarism. But the cadets recognized that they absolutely did not want to be the next to die, and thus, they began a brutal, all-out war.
With no weapons in sight, everyone resorted to brutal bare handed mauling of one another.
Those with the smallest builds were killed first, either picked apart by the entire group or ambushed from behind before they could react.
The last thing anyone wanted was for a mage to one-sidedly sweep the floor with the rest of them. So attacking the cadets most likely to be mages was a simple strategy.
Solomon felt the wind shift at his back.
He turned around just as a high kick came flying into his midsection, making him wince and nearly double over.
Anger flashed on his face as he beheld the culprit.
"Ah... sorry about this, lad... Every man for himself and all that. But I will not forget the kindness you've shown me. You have my word."
Aloysius lept off the ground and twisted his body in the air.
His form was impeccable as he threw out his leg and hurled a kick towards Solomon's jaw.
Solomon tasted blood. And in that moment, he felt something within his spirit overtake him.
Before Aloysius had even gotten both feet back on the ground, Solomon had grabbed him by the back of the head.
Roaring like a beast, Solomon ran forward with all of his speed, and slammed Aloysius' face into the unyielding metal wall.
The first strike was enough to fracture the bone and render the noble unconscious.
The second crushed his head like a grape and stained the wall as well as Solomon.
The blood seemed to snap him out of his fury, if only for a moment.
Bad memories threatened to well up inside Solomon. His brain reflexively stuffed them down.
Slowly, he let Aloysius' headless body drop to the ground.
He turned around to find the room silent, with all of the remaining cadets still staring at him with looks of silent terror.
But it wasn't long before the anxiety in their eyes gave way to resolve, and Solomon was slowly encircled.
Solomon's eyes were tired. Unfocused. And yet they glowed with an unfathomable natural power
His voice might not have been the most threatening in that moment, but his words sent a chill down the spine of everyone's spine.
"None of you know me... and I don't know you. But I very strongly advise all of you to find something safer to do."
There wasn't a figure in the room that wasn't shivering.
Warnings aside, Solomon was the largest figure in confinement with them and thus constituted the biggest threat. The more seasoned warriors were already analyzing him and thinking up strategies.
If everyone worked together, they had the advantage. Solomon's size and height meant that hitting him fast and low was the surest way to throw him off balance.
They could do it.
They didn't have a choice.
"T-Take him!"