Solo Leveling: Sung Jinwoo’s Story Is Brought Full Circle In a Bittersweet Way

SPOILERS: Solo Leveling Special Episode 12 by Chugong, DISCIPLES (REDICE STUDIO) and h-goon, available in English on Tappytoon and Tapas.

Ever since Solo Leveling burst onto the scene in early 2018, the series became synonymous with “epic.” The fight scenes, brought to life thanks to Dubu’s exceptional artwork, made the webcomic unforgettable and is part of the reason why Solo Leveling has become so popular and so loved. It was a story about a boy who started at the bottom and emerged as one of the most powerful Hunters in the world.

The side stories, which act as an homage to Dubu’s legacy as the artist passed away in July 2022, have had a very different tone compared to the main story. With the exception of one chapter, Solo Leveling had, in a way, ‘levelled’ down. The side stories traced the lives of various side characters and when it came to chapters spotlighting Jinwoo, it was more on him fitting back into society after being away for almost three decades. With Jinwoo starting a family, Special Episode 12 consequently serves as a fitting close to the story of what was once the world’s weakest E-Rank Hunter.

When Sung Jinwoo was called in by Woo Jinchul, who had been promoted to Chief of Police, Jinchul told him that Go Gunhee, the Chairman of the Korean Hunters Association in the first timeline, would be dying soon. Jinwoo had met the Chairman in the second timeline before, when he gave him a potion granting him a few more years to live. However, we never got to see the Chairman and Sung Jinwoo interact in that chapter. In this chapter, we see them talk for one last time.

Despite his offer to help extend his life, Go Gunhee refused, requesting only that Jinwoo show him their past in the first timeline. And despite Jinwoo’s hesitation and caution that his memories may not all be happy, the Chairman insisted. Jinwoo shouldn’t withhold them from him: Good or bad, those memories belonged to Go Gunhee.

From meeting Sung Jinwoo to dying in the Hunter’s arms, Go Gunhee, and consequently us as readers, lived through everything from the first timeline for the second time. And for the second time, Go Gunhee passed away in front of Sung Jinwoo. But compared to his first death, there’s more of a sense of calm in the former Chairman’s face. At the time, Go Gunhee wasn’t sure what would become of the world once he died. But now seeing Jinwoo again in the second timeline, aware of the enormous sacrifice the he must have made for such a world to exist, gave him the peace of mind he needed.

The side chapter also revealed Jinwoo and Cha Hae-In were now married and had a son named Suho. Jinwoo’s Shadow Monarch side of his life has integrated smoothly into his human life with Bellion and Igris fretting about Suho’s future with the former insisting that the toddler, who has yet to learn how to walk, learn the way of the sword while the latter had more of a sense of the reality of this world, saying grades were more important.

The last scene of Jinwoo is a simple one, but exudes a gentle warmth. The sun is setting, as Jinwoo walks away, dousing his surroundings in a golden autumn light. Though he now has a son who may have inherited some of his powers, thus throwing his life in further chaos, in this moment he looks like an ordinary man. After everything he’s been through, this is the life that he fought to have. And this is the life he now gets to live.