Single level no hesitation the dark side of storytelling. From the very beginning, the show immerses viewers in a world where Hunters receive fixed powers with no hope of becoming stronger. The main character, Jinwoo, is initially awakened as an E-rank Hunter and is known as the weakest of them all, with a power level similar to that of a commoner.
Later, while on the brink of death, Jinwoo discovers that he has the ability to level up after becoming a “Player”. This is something that no one has ever done before, except through a second awakening. However, these second awakenings follow the same rule of receiving a fixed level of power, meaning that Jinwoo experiences something completely different. On his journey to becoming a stronger Hunter, he encounters situations that he cannot escape from and is forced to follow certain paths due to a system that assigns him tasks and punishments for not following them.
10 Double Dungeon Events
The series begins with a dark and deadly turn.
The first episode of Solo Leveling ends with Jinwoo's guild entering a double dungeon after voting. Half of the team votes to enter while the other half votes to leave, let Jinwoo be the deciding voteThinking of his family and the potential financial gain, he decided that the whole gang should go to the dungeon.
However, the event took a major turn and what should have been a D-rank dungeon became instead it is a rare S-rank dungeon and trapped the Hunters inside. Unaware of the danger, a guild member attempted to leave, only to be hacked to death by the giant knights guarding the exit. At this point, the Hunters were faced with the reality that they were trapped and unable to fend for themselves, and Jinwoo was forced to quickly accept his own death and realize that they are all on the brink of death.
9 Jinwoo was basically forced to sacrifice himself
At the end of the trial, Jinwoo received an ultimatum.
After being trapped in an S-rank dungeon, Jinwoo's intelligence saved his teammates. He realized that they had to bow to the statue and then praise him through the use of statues playing musical instruments. Finally, the six Hunters were left and at their limit. When the door opened in the third trial, his two allies took the opportunity to flee. With four armed statues ready to advance, Jinwoo, Joohee, Song Chiyul, and Kim Sangshik were left to fend for themselves. However, the pressure became too much for Sangshik, who fled so that he could live and see his family again.
Song Chiyul had prepared to stay so that Joohee and Jinwoo could live, but Joohee's legs gave out at the last minute, and With Jinwoo's injuries, he was eventually left behind.. As Joohee and Chiyul escape, Jinwoo suffers a painful death, angry that he will not see his family again. But before he dies, he receives an ultimatum: become a player, or his heart will stop beating immediately. This scene exposes the weakness in human determination, proving that when pushed to the limit, there are some people who will choose themselves over anyone else.
8 Temporary Murders for Hire
And Society Becomes Aware of the Suspicious High Mortality Rate
After the double dungeon incident, Jinwoo began to learn about the system he was bound to and began to gain more power. Once he did, he began to take on more missions, joining a party of C-rank and D-rank members, along with a new Hunter, Yoo Jinho. While exploring the C-rank dungeon, Jinwoo began to have a bad feeling about the Hunters he was working with. Eventually, he found out that he was right and the society decided to let them die.
Worse yet, it seems that this is not unusual. While the three girls, who are members of large groups, are meeting, they talk about how they do not want to freelance. The reason behind this is the fact that there is a suspicious casualties. However, since this is not a major scandal in society, this shows that although there may be many suspicions, there is no evidence surrounding the incident, and therefore nothing can be done.
7 Jinwoo realizes he has to kill to survive
He was not given the choice and hid it afterwards.
Jinwoo's first C-rank dungeon took a darker turn after he defeated the boss and was confronted by Hwang Dongsuk and his group. Everyone assumed that it was Yoo Jinho who killed the beast and tried to betray Jinwoo, openly admitting that they originally wanted to kill both of them. With this admission and assault on Jinwoo, the system discovered the truth that he was being hunted and urge Jinwoo to kill The Hunters wanted to kill him.
At first, Jinwoo panicked inwardly and questioned the situation going on around him, constantly wondering why. Soon, he became numb, realizing that he had no choice but to play the system and complete his new mission. Dongsuk begged for his life, but his pleas fell on deaf ears as Jinwoo repeated the man's words to him: “What happens in the dungeon stays in the dungeon. Your words, not mine.”
6 Joohee's Call to Her Mom
The Gaslighting At The End Was So Real
Joohee's phone call to her mother may not be one of the darkest moments in Solo Leveling, but it still stands out as a profound and unsettling moment. Although this scene is not in the original manhwa, the anime has a call where Joohee's mother suggests she give up and go home. In response, Joohee loses patience and gets angry at her mother, telling her to stop trying to control her life.
Before Joohee hangs up, viewers can hear Joohee's mother acting innocent, asking why Joohee is upset for no reason. Joohee's mother's psychological manipulation shows the relationship between a person put others down while still appearing innocent. This brief moment was painful to watch as Joohee faced her trauma and fears without any real support from the people who were supposed to help her.
5 A father begs Kang Taeshik to bring criminals to justice
His daughter committed suicide after being attacked.
One of the most heartbreaking moments in Solo Leveling comes when a grieving father begs Kang Taeshik, a B-rank Hunter, bring his daughter's attackers to justice in exchange for a large sum of money. His daughter was attacked by three criminals, which drove her to suicide. When her father discovered that criminals were getting reduced sentences for participating in the raid, he criticized the justice system.
It serves as a stern reminder that Danger is not only found inside the dungeons but also out in the world. The father, due to the terrible actions of the criminals, not only lost his daughter but also had to take his wife to the hospital because of the shock she went through after losing her child so brutally. Finally, Taeshik, a killer hunter, agreed to kill the criminals for the father.
4 surviving members of The Double Dungeon were murdered
Taeshik spent time with them for his dirty entertainment
Taeshik planned to execute the criminal.prepared with a story about how goblins surrounded them and Taeshik could do nothing to save their lives. Instead, while he was killing the criminals, Kang Jeongho and Kim Sangshik, two members who survived the double dungeon incident, came across them. In another tunnel, Jinwoo and his group heard screams, but it was too late to save anyone.
Jinwoo noticed Kim and Kang's injuries and realized that Taeshik was joking with them. instead of giving them a quick death. As a B-rank Hunter with the Stealth skill, he was capable of more than that. Taeshik then revealed the dark truth, that he found killing people is more fun than killing monsters. Similar to the group of people who are willing to kill their comrades, Taeshik represents the darkest aspects of human society.
3 Jinwoo is like a ruthless assassin
Taeshik calls Jinwoo out for being too much like him
The battle between Taeshik and Jinwoo reveals many things to the rest of the group. Taeshik comes to the conclusion that Jinwoo is experiencing a second awakening when Song Chiyul and Joohee realize that Jinwoo has had to make many difficult decisions in a short period of time. Immediately after the battle between Taeshik and Jinwoo, Taeshik looks over at Jinwoo and claimed to recognize him as an accomplice to the murdera man just like me.
Jinwoo activated his newly learned Killing Intent skill and used it against Taeshik, piercing his heart and killing him. Before dying, Taeshik gave Jinwoo an ominous warning, telling him that darkness will follow him. Although Taeshik doesn't appear long in the story, he leaves an impression on Jinwoo and his words seem to foreshadow what's to come.
2 Jinwoo lost the teleportation stone when he reached his limit
His life was saved by a stroke of luck.
Jinwoo receives the key to the Job Change Quest, where he defeats Igris and is then forced to fight another wave of enemies. Jinwoo runs on fumes as he is forced to fight his way through a never-ending number of enemies. As he is pushed to his limits, he begins to see images of his past self, reminding him of how useless he once was in battle. Jinwoo may have come a long way, but his past still haunts him, serving as a constant reminder of why he wants to become stronger and retells his fear is not good enough.
Completely exhausted, Jinwoo was at the mercy of the army surrounding him. As a knight prepared to deal the finishing blow, Jinwoo was saved by the Penalty Zone for failing to complete his Daily Quest. This allowed Jinwoo hours to strategize and recover from his fatigue and injuries, only to saved his life by a hair's breadth.
1 Jinwoo Becomes a Spirit Summoning Mage with Strange Premonitions
Fans Get a Glimpse of Necromancy's Potential
When Jinwoo finally completed the Job Change Quest, he was given the opportunity to become a Soul Summoner. At first, he considered refusing, but when the system prompted him to confirm his decision since Soul Summoner was a hidden class. When he accepted, he wasinstantly upgraded to Shadow Monarch and can summon the shadows of fallen knights, including Igris. As the Shadows Monarch, Igris and the knights bow before Jinwoo, granting him greater power than ever before.
With this new power and class, Jinwoo is able to defeat enemies without having to participate himself. Igris alone has the power of a high-level Hunter, and with his command, along with the other fallen knights, Jinwoo becomes extremely powerful. Single levelHave time to kill or be killedand Jinwoo has proven that he will always fight to survive, even at the cost of his opponents' lives.
