Solo Leveling, also alternatively translated as Only I Level Up () is a South Korean fantasy web novel written by Chugong. It was serialized in Kakao's digital comic and fiction platform KakaoPage beginning on July 25, 2016, and was later published by D&C Media under their Papyrus label since November 4, 2016. The novel has been licensed in English by Yen Press.
A webtoon adaptation of Solo Leveling was first serialized in KakaoPage on March 4, 2018; it was illustrated by Jang Sung-rak (Dubu) and the webtoon's first season concluded on March 19, 2020, followed by its second season, which was released from August 2020 to December 2021. The webtoon has been licensed in English by Yen Press. Its individual chapters have been collected and published in 15 volumes by D&C Media, as of October 2025.
An anime television series adaptation produced by A-1 Pictures aired from January to March 2024. A second season, subtitled Arise from the Shadow, aired from January to March 2025. A sequel anime film, subtitled Beyond the System, has been announced.
A Korean drama adaptation is currently in development, with actor Byeon Woo-seok playing the role of Sung Jin-woo, and Han So-hee as Cha Hae-in. Additionally, a spin-off webtoon Solo Leveling: Ragnarok premiered in July 2024. A role-playing video game titled Solo Leveling: Arise has been released by Netmarble.
Plot In a world where hunters, human warriors who possess supernatural abilities, battle deadly monsters to protect all mankind from certain annihilation, a notoriously weak E ranked hunter named Sung Jin-woo finds himself in a seemingly endless struggle for survival. One day, after narrowly surviving an overwhelmingly powerful and rare double dungeon that nearly wipes out his entire party, a mysterious program called The System chooses him as its sole player and in turn, gives him the unique ability to level up in strength which is something no other hunter is able to do, as a hunter's abilities are set and don't "level up" once they awaken. Jin-woo then sets out on a journey as he fights against all kinds of enemies, both man and monster, to discover the secrets of the dungeons and the true source of his powers. He soon discovers that he has been chosen to inherit the position of Shadow Monarch, essentially turning him into an immortal necromancer known as the "King of the Dead" who has absolute rule over the dead, created by a god while in the middle of the war between its two creations of light and dark, the Rulers and the Monarch. He is the only Monarch who fights to save humanity, as the other Monarchs, who are actually the leaders of all monsters, are trying to kill him and wipe out the humans.
Characters
Sung Family
Sung Jin-woo
Japanese name: Sung Jin-woo () is the protagonist of the series. Originally known as the weakest E-Rank South Korean Hunter, he gets the chance of a lifetime when he is selected as a Player by Mysterious System. Taking advantage of his new power, Jin-woo rises up to become far stronger than the National Level Hunters. Eventually, he learns that he became a Player because the Shadow Monarch Ashborn chose to train him as a successor to fight in the war between the Rulers and the Monarchs. He ultimately marries the S-Rank Hunter Cha Hae-in and has a son, Suho, who inherits some of his powers.
In the sequel series Ragnarok, Jin-woo leaves Earth to join forces with the Rulers in a new war against the Itarim, beings who seek to take over the universe, but not before sealing Suho's memories and powers so he can live a normal life. When the Itarim's invasions eventually reach Earth, he tasks Beru to unseal Suho's memories and powers and train him to defend Earth from the new war.
Sung Jin-ah
Japanese name: Sung Jinah () is Jin-woo's younger sister. Unlike her brother, she is a civilian and normal student in high school.
Park Kyung-hye
Japanese name: Park Kyung-hye () is Jin-woo and Jin-ah's mother. Four years before the events of the main storyline, she suddenly became ill with Eternal Slumber, an incurable and magically induced sleeping disorder, forcing Jin-woo to take over as the breadwinner of the family. Jin-woo is able to cure her condition using a rare potion he crafts while training with the System.
Sung Il-hwan
Japanese name: Sung Il-hwan () is a Korean S-Rank Hunter, Kyung-hye's husband, and Jin-woo and Jin-ah's father. Ten years before the events of the main storyline, he suddenly disappeared inside a dungeon and was presumed dead. He later returns to the human world to aid his son in the coming war against the Monarchs and is eventually revealed to be a Rulers' vessel, one of the seven humans chosen by the Rulers to serve as their hosts. Although Il-Hwan ultimately succeeds in his mission, he ends up exerting far more power than his body can handle and consequently dies in his son's arms. He is revived by Jin-woo when he uses the cup of reincarnation to create a new timeline. With his Ruler's authority, he is able to retain his previous memories from the previous timeline. However, he requests the Rulers erase his memories so he will not be a burden to Jin-woo and lives as a simple husband and father for his family. Il-Hwan also recognized as one of the strongest hunter in the world.
Yoo Jin-ho
Japanese name: Yoo Jin-ho (), a D-Rank Hunter, is Jin-woo's sworn brother and a righteous man. He hails from a wealthy family and eventually becomes the vice-chairman of Jin-woo's guild after he impresses Jin-woo with his loyalty and commitment. Jin-ho is estranged from his biological brother and tends to dress up in fancy and expensive armor, which serves as a running gag throughout the series. He has a crush on Jin-woo's sister Jin-ah and eventually marries her in the revised timeline epilogue. Becoming Jin-woo's younger brother-in-law.
Cha Hae-in
Japanese name: Cha Hae-in () is a Korean S-Rank Hunter who specializes in swordsmanship. She is the only female S-Rank in the country. She has a rare condition that causes other Hunters to smell foul to her. She eventually develops romantic feelings for Jin-woo after being saved by him three times, and also because he is the only Hunter who smells nice. Initially, Jin-woo does not reciprocate her feelings, but he eventually falls in love with her as well. Jin-woo marries her in the revised timeline and they have a son, Suho. In the sequel series Ragnarok, she mysteriously disappears at the same time Jin-woo departs to fight the Itarim, leading to Suho's quest to search for her.
Sung Suho Sung Suho () is the 16-year old son (21 in Ragnarok) of Sung Jin-woo and Cha Hae-in and the protagonist of the sequel series Solo Leveling: Ragnarok. He inherited some of his father's powers, but Jin-woo sealed them in hopes that Suho could live a normal life. When the Itarim's invasion reaches Earth, his memories and powers are unsealed by Beru and he is given the same System his father used to level up. He goes on a quest to defend Earth from the Itarim and search for his missing parents.
Shadow Army An immortal race of soldiers resurrected by the power of the Shadow Monarch. Unlike summons from other hunters, they are capable of growth and speech. There are multiple grades of shadow soldiers, including basic grade, normal grade, elite grade, knight grade, elite knight grade, commander/general grade, marshal/commander grade, and Grand Marshal grade. Only soldiers of commander/general grade can speak.
Ashborn Ashborn () is the King of the Dead and the Monarch of Shadows. He is also the strongest Ruler and the Greatest Fragment of Brilliant Light. After spending eons fighting in the ancient war between the Rulers and the Monarchs, Ashborn grew weary of the ceaseless violence, leading him to eventually choose Jin-woo as his host in hopes of ending the bloodshed once and for all. When Jin-woo is later killed by the Monarchs, Ashborn appears in the flesh to save him and gives Jin-woo a detailed explanation of his past. After transferring the rest of his powers to Jin-woo and bringing him back to life, Ashborn goes into eternal sleep and allows Jin-woo to take his place as the Shadow Monarch.
Igris Igris, the Blood-Red Commander, is a high-ranking knight with exceptional swordsmanship and loyalty, holding the position of marshal that rivals Beru but is overshadowed by Bellion. He kneels before his master after battles. Igris dislikes Iron's foolish behavior in battle. Despite being a battle lover, Igris values education and argues with Bellion about Suho's schooling. He is also one of the most powerful knights. Igris once served the Shadow Monarch Ashborn during his war with the Rulers eons ago. After Ashborn decided to retire and find a human successor, he tasked Igris with testing his successor in battle when the time was right.
Beru
Beru is an ant shadow that was extracted from the Ant King, a powerful S-Rank beast that killed Goto Ryuji and incapacitated Cha Hae-in before Jin-woo managed to kill it. Beru is one of the most powerful shadows, holding the position of General. He later becomes a Marshal that rivals Igris but is overshadowed by Bellion. He also has a fond streak for Jin-woo's son, Suho.
Kargalgan/Fang (Tusk)
A high orc shaman shadow, he is the boss of an A-Rank dungeon. As he nearly the defeated the Hunter Guild's strike team, he is also the first one to realize that Jin-woo is a Monarch. As an Elite Knight Grade shadow, his power is the same level of an S-Rank Hunter.
Kim Chul/Iron
Japanese name: Iron is the shadow of Kim Chul (). During Jin-woo's fight with Baruka, a crazed Kim Chul attempts to kill Jin-woo, only to be killed by Igris. Knowing that he would have a hard time defeating Baruka with only Igris' help, Jin-woo quickly extracts Kim Chul's shadow from his corpse and named him Iron. He is known for being an idiotic shadow. He copies Igris' habit of bringing a head to Jin-woo, much to the knight's annoyance.
Hwang Dong-soo/Greed
Japanese name: Hwang Dong-soo () is a Korean S-Rank Hunter based in America who attempts to kill Jin-woo after learning that the latter was responsible for the death of his older brother Dong-suk. He is eventually killed by Jin-woo after abducting and torturing Jin-ho for information about his brother's murder. Following his death, he becomes one of Jin-woo's shadow soldiers, nicknamed "Greed".
Tank Tank is the shadow of an ice bear that Jin-woo encounters during the Red Gate Incident. As a Knight Grade Shadow, Tank is about as powerful as an A-Rank Hunter. He is also strong enough to plow his way through a horde of demons like they were bowling pins and kill a Naga in one hit.
Kaisel Kaisel is the shadow of Kaisellin, a wyvern that Baran used as his battle mount. After Jin-woo kills Baran, he extracts the shadow from Kaisellin's corpse and names it Kaisel, as he did not remember the wyvern's original name. Due to the fact that Kaisel is only good for flying and not fighting, Jin-woo only summons the wyvern when he needs to travel somewhere by air and cannot use Shadow Exchange.
Bellion Bellion is a servant of Ashborn and the strongest shadow in existence, holding the position of Grand Marshal. Bellion was born eons ago from the fruit of the World Tree, a mystical tree so large that it could blanket the entire sky with its branches alone. Following this, he became Ashborn's lieutenant, a position that he retained after his death, and was the first shadow soldier to ever be created from Ashborn's power.
Hunters
National Level Hunters Thomas Andre Thomas Andre () is one of the strongest hunters in America and one of the five National Level Hunters, ranking 1st in the world. He is also a Rulers' vessel and is nicknamed the Goliath due to his large build and immense superhuman strength. He later befriends Jin-woo after the latter defeats him in a fight and gives him Kamish's Wrath, the strongest magical weapon in the world, as a gift. Liu Zhigang