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Table of contents

Highlights

  • Solo Leveling manga is a popular webtoon based on the novel, featuring striking characters and a solid plot. Talks of an anime adaptation are underway.
  • Sung Jin-woo is the protagonist who gains superhuman abilities and surpasses even S-Rank hunters. However, he faces powerful adversaries.
  • The series introduces various strong characters like Kamish, Go Gun-Hee, Christopher Reed, Liu Zhigang, and Thomas Andre. Each character possesses immense strength and unique powers.

Solo Leveling manga, authored by Chugong, is a thrilling webtoon based on the novel, "I Alone Level Up." Its popularity skyrocketed after the novel's manga adaptation in 2016, featuring striking character and story designs and a solid plot. There are even talks of this popular webtoon getting an anime adaptation.

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The plot of Solo Leveling revolves around Sung Jin-woo, who unknowingly obtains a power-up system that grants him powerful superhuman abilities after the completion of assigned missions. Sung Jin-woo, who was formerly a scorned E-Rank hunter, gained tremendous abilities and surpassed even S-Rank hunters. However, his unique power-up does not leave him unscathed, and soon he encounters powerful adversaries. There are many powerful characters in Solo Leveling, some strong enough to destroy worlds.

Updated January 15, 2024, by Emedo Destiny: The Solo Leveling series has got the anime community agog with excitement following its server-crashing debut, and rightly so. In many ways, Solo Leveling served as a precursor for what was to come in the manhwa world regarding plotlines, power systems, and protagonist tropes, among other things. The series' detailed depiction of power and strength is a particular trait that many manhwa have adopted after it, and for good reason. Within the series, there are more than a few characters with unimaginable strength and power, with the series' protagonist right above everyone else. However, this is not to say he is untouchable in the series. Now, with only a glimpse of animation so far in the anime, many such characters are yet to be introduced, so here is a look at the strongest characters the series boasts.

20 Kamish

Race: Monster (Magic Beast)

kamish solo leveling
  • Abilities: Immense strength, Immense durability, Dragon's Fear, Dragon's Breath

Regarded as humanity's greatest calamity, Kamish is the first S-Rank monster to be presented in the series following the emergence of the first-ever S-Rank gate. Singlehandedly responsible for laying waste to the entire American West Coast and the killing of multiple S-Rank hunters other than the final five that ultimately defeated it, Kamish was genuinely a calamity humanity was not prepared for.

Being an S-Rank magic beast, Kamish can speak as he possesses intelligence similar to humans and a rather fierce ego. Like all magical beasts, Kamish had an intense bloodlust and disdain for humanity due to the command from the Rulers. Originally a servant of Antares, the Monarch of Destruction, Kamish was captured by the Rulers after the first war and was sealed with an essence stone, which enabled him to emerge from the S-Rank portal thousands of years later.

19 Go Gun-Hee

Race: Human

go gun hee
  • Abilities: Ruler's Authority, Spiritual Body Manifestation, Immense Speed, Immense Durability, Immense Strength

Chairman of the Korean Association of Hunters, Chairman Go Gun-Hee, is a Korean S-Rank hunter who had to retire due to old age, as his body could no longer contain the amount of power he possessed. Easily once Korea's most powerful hunter, until the appearance of Jin-Woo, and potentially rivaled by Cha Hae-In, Chairman Gun-Hee is an immensely powerful individual.

However, the series never showcases the full extent of his powers, and the testament to his powers is that he is one of the four humans chosen to be Vessels for the Rulers. Capable of even using the Ruler's Authority and Spiritual Body Manifestation. The chairman ultimately dies at the hands of the Frost Monarch in an event that kickstarts the war against the monarchs.

18 Christopher Reed

Race: Human

christopher reed
  • Abilities: Ruler's Authority, Spiritual Body Manifestation, Immense Strength, Immense Durability.

America's strongest hunter and one of the five national-level hunters, Christopher Reed, was the third-ranked hunter in the world. He is depicted as somewhat conceited and arrogant due to his belief in his powers, and understandably so, as he is the only character who can use his Spiritual Body Manifestation and does so in his battle against the monarchs.

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Usually operating alone, Reed was not mindlessly arrogant enough to not know when to take caution. Reed is one of the four Vessels of the Rulers, and, like the chairman, he is capable of Ruler's Authority and Spiritual Body Manifestation. Despite his powers, however, his death was unavoidable at the hands of multiple monarchs, but not without putting up a fight.

17 Liu Zhigang

Race: Human

liu zhigang
  • Abilities: Spiritual Body Manifestation, Immense Speed, Immense Strength, Ruler's Authority

Once the strongest hunter in all of Asia, Liu Zhigang is a Chinese S-Rank hunter ranked second globally, with the one ahead of him being the human Goliath, Thomas Andre. As one of the five National Level Hunters, Liu Zhigang is also a Ruler's Vessel, which implies the magnitude of his strength. Depicted to be battle-hungry and somewhat brash, Liu does not sugarcoat his words, especially in conversations of power.

However, he is friendly towards people he has acknowledged, especially individuals more powerful than himself, a trait that showed when he admitted that the gap in power between himself and Jin-Woo was worlds apart. As a Ruler's Vessel, Zhigang can use the skill of the Ruler's Authority and theoretically Spiritual Body Manifestation, although he never gets to use the latter in the series.

16 Thomas Andre

Race: Human

thomas andre
  • Abilities: Immense Durability, Immense Strength, Ruler's Authority, Immense Speed, Reinforcement, Collapse, Capture, Spiritual Body Manifestation, Power Smash.

The strongest of the five National Level Hunters, Thomas Andre, officially ranks first in the world and is America's strongest hunter. Known as The Goliath, Thomas Andre boasts of a physique that makes other humans pale in comparison. Thomas is portrayed as aggressive and proud but also with a strong sense of comradeship, a trait evident in his treatment of Hwang Dongsoo, even after the latter disobeyed him and went after Jin-Woo.

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Typical of a National Level hunter, Thomas Andre is a Ruler's Vessel capable of using the two primary skills of Ruler's Authority and Spiritual Body Manifestation. Despite being immensely powerful as a human, he could only fight on level terms with Rakan, one of the Monarchs, for a fair amount of time and almost lost his life when the monarch decided to take him seriously and not hold back.

15 Monarch Of Plagues

Race: Monarch

monarch of plagues
  • Abilities: Venom Inducement, Spiritual Body Manifestation, Necromancy, Immense Strength, and Flight.

The Monarch of Plagues, also referred to as Querehsha, is the Queen of Insects and is one of the strongest characters in Solo Leveling; however, she is also one of the weakest monarchs. Querehsha's beauty does nothing to hide her bloodthirsty nature. In the Monarchs War Arc, where she, the Monarch of Frosts, and the Monarch of Beastly Fangs battled against Sung Jin-Woo, she morphed using Spiritual Body Manifestation.

Being able to use Spiritual Body Manifestation signifies her unquestionable strength. But unfortunately, it wasn't strong enough to conquer Sung Jin-Woo, who killed her.

14 Igris

Race: Monster ( Magic Beast )

igris from solo leveling
  • Abilities: Telekinesis, Immense Strength, and Regeneration.

Commander Igris is one of Sung Jin-Woo's strongest Shadows; however, before his rise to great power as Sung Jin-Woo's subject, he is among the knights in a dungeon. Sung Jin-Woo encountered this dungeon during one of his solo missions to "level up." In this dungeon, Sung Jin-Woo had to use his wits and drawn-out strength to defeat the monsters.

One of the major perks Sung Jin-woo obtained after conquering the dungeon was necromancy, an ability to resurrect the dead to become his minion. Using this power, Sung Jin-Woo revived Igris, who became his loyal Shadow Knight. Throughout the series, Igris's powers increased significantly, allowing him to reach the Marshal rank in Sung Jin-Woo's army.

13 Beru

Race: Monster ( Magic Beast )

beru fighting sung jin woo
  • Abilities: Immense Strength, Immense Speed, High Durability, Healing Magic, Regeneration, Skill Absorption, and Flight.

The Ant King Beru is an interesting character in the Solo Leveling series. First debuting in the Jeju Island Arc, Beru was the main product of an ant organism evolution, which triggered the world to take action. The phenomenon caused powerful hunters to team up and eliminate all the evolved ants on Jeju Island.

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At first, the raid went on without any hitches until Beru was born. The Ant King easily killed many powerful hunters until he was stopped by Sung Jin-Woo, who triumphed over him in a power clash. As usual, Sung Jin-Woo added him to his large army of soldiers. At the end of the series, Beru reached the position of Marshal in Sung Jin-Woo's army.

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12 Monarch Of White Flames

Race: Monarch

monarch of white flames
  • Abilities: Immense Strength, Lightning Creation, and Spiritual Body Manifestation.

Demon King Baran, also known as the Monarch of White Flames, was the final villain boss for Sung Jin-Woo to eliminate as he reached the 100th floor of his "solo mission." Although Baran was created by the Architect and not the Absolute Being, he wasn't in any way weak. In fact, he gave Sung Jin-Woo a hard time during their battle since he was stronger than Jin-Woo at the time.

Regardless, Sung Jin-Woo won the battle by leveraging on his battle wits. The moment Baran's concentration wavered a bit, Sung Jin-woo used the opportunity to kill Baran and claim his Wyvern ride, Kaisel, as his trophy.

11 Monarch Of The Iron Body

Race: Monarch

monarch of iron body appears to be planning
  • Abilities: Spiritual Body Manifestation, Telepathy, Superhuman strength, and Erasure.

The Monarch of the Iron Body, King of Monstrous Humanoids, is one of the strongest characters in Solo Leveling. In the Japan Crisis Arc, Solo Leveling introduced the Monarch to readers, where he and the Beast Monarch killed Chris, the 3rd strongest hunter in the United States, and mutilated his corpse. This Monarch is among the few characters that can use Erasure, an ability that wipes one’s very existence from the universe.

Despite possessing great strength, he tried dissuading the Frost Monarch from attacking Sung Jin-woo, the Shadow Monarch, due to his powerful abilities. In the manga, the Monarch of the Iron Body possessed the Spiritual Body Manifestation ability, which allows him to morph into a monstrous-looking golem. The Monarch of the Iron Body tried to use his manifestation ability to overpower Beru, Sung Jin-woo’s servant, Thomas, a renowned hunter, and Bellion; however, he failed and was defeated by the trio.

10 Monarch Of The Beginning

Race: Monarch

the monarch of the beginning is being restrained
  • Abilities: Immense Strength, Super Speed, and Pledge of Trust (a truth confession ability).

Monarch of the beginning, Legia, also referred to as the King of Giants, is another powerful character in Solo Leveling. One of this character's strong points is his immense physical strength. At some point in the manga, despite being restrained, the Monarch still managed to prove his extraordinary strength.

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The Monarch of the Beginning makes up for his lack of vital mana with his wind pressure ability, which allows him to create and manipulate wind pressure. The Monarch also possessed spell-casting abilities that granted him the power to obtain the truth from his adversaries; it wasn’t possible to lie to this powerful Monarch.

9 Bellion

Race: Monster (Magic Beast )

bellion is standing majestically
  • Abilities: Instant Regeneration, Colossal Strength, Superspeed, and High Durability.

Bellion is revered as the strongest shadow in existence that served Ashborn, the Shadow Monarch. He was also the Grand Marshal of Ashborn’s military might. Bellion proved that the title bestowed on him was not for a show during the Battle with Sung-Jin Woo against some of the Monarchs, who were powerful beings.

One of the reasons for Bellion's immense strength is that, similar to the Heavenly Beings, Bellion was born of the World Tree. Bellion also revealed his strength during his battle with Beru, where he tanked a blow that was intended to harm his head easily.

8 Sung II Hwan

Race: Human

sung II hwan is about to attack his opponent

Sung IL-Hwan is Sung Jin-Woo’s father, proving that fighting prowess runs in their family. With the full, long, and messy hair, and eyes that glow, whenever he uses his ability, Sung IL-Hwan is revealed to be a Ruler’s vessel. The Seven Rulers were responsible for killing the Ultimate One, the god of Solo Leveling's Universe, proving that they were a formidable group.

Consequently, Sung IL-Hwan being a vessel for one of these beings is a testament to his strength. Despite his powerful feats, Sung IL-Hwan has one fatal weakness: vulnerability to mana attacks. Regardless of this fatal weakness, he managed to battle the Monarch of Frost, keeping him at bay for Sung Jin-woo to recover.

Abilities:

Stealth (invisibility), Telekinesis, Immense Strength, and Spiritual Body Manifestation.

7 Monarch Of Beastly Fangs

Race: Monarch

monarch of beastly fangs in his human and beast form
  • Abilities: Colossal Strength, Spiritual Body Manifestation, Quick Regeneration, Immense Speed, and Telekinesis.

The Monarch of the Beastly Fangs, alternatively known as the King of Beasts, is among the strongest of the powerful Monarchs. His brute strength was revealed during his clash with Thomas Andre, the USA’s strongest hunter, where he managed to overpower him despite holding back.

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In the manhwa, his presence alone was enough to strike fear into the hearts of powerful hunters. His main abilities are centered on his strength, so he barely uses any mana-based attacks. However, despite his powerful strength, the Monarch is a coward that flees when he encounters a stronger adversary.

6 Monarch Of Frost

Race: Monarch

the frost monarch oozing a malevolent aura
  • Abilities: Ice Magic, Sleep Inducement, Spiritual Body Manifestation, Super Strength, Super Speed, and Gate Creation.

The Monarch of Frost is another powerful monarch among the upper echelons in terms of power. Alternatively known as the King of Snow Folk, the Monarch is an ice elf that uses ice-based abilities, relying on ice magic. Consequently, he creates and manipulates ice golems to do his bidding.

The Monarch’s abilities mostly rely on the creation of ice-based weapons, such as ice arrows and spears. Also, he possesses the ability to freeze other powerful beings, encasing them in solid ice, which is created at sub-zero temperatures.

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5 The Rulers

Race: Ruler

the rulers
  • Abilities: Immense Strength, Power Transfer, and Ruler’s Authority.

The Rulers are the first beings created by the Absolute Being. Consequently, they were his first subjects and his minions. For a long time, the Rulers waged war against the Monarchs, spearheaded by Ashborn, who was also a Ruler at the time. However, soon the Rulers discovered that the war, deaths, and suffering caused by their clashes only served as Entertainment for the Absolute Being.

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After discovering this, the Rulers ganged up on the Absolute Being and killed him successfully, proving their incredible power level. In the series, their powers were utilized by powerful humans like Thomas Andre, Go Gun Hee, and Sung Il Hwan. This category of humans were referred to as the “Ruler Vessels.”

Abilities:

4 Monarch Of Destruction

Race: Monarch

Antares firing his dragon's breath
  • Abilities: Dragon’s Fear, Breath of Destruction, Spatial Manipulation, Colossal Strength, Immense Speed, Telepathy, and Spiritual Body Manifestation.

This Monarch of Destruction, Antares, is true to his title; a harbinger of destruction and chaos. As the King of Dragons, his Spiritual Manifestation Ability allows him to transform into a monstrous red dragon that surpasses even Kamish. One of his unique abilities is Dragon's Fear, which incites fear into opponents that are not as powerful as him.

The Monarch of Destruction was Sung Jin-woo’s final opponent in Solo Leveling, and he managed to fight evenly with Jin-woo. Antares' Breath of Destruction is another powerful ability that completely erases his opponent.

3 Monarch Of Shadows

Race: Ruler / Monarch

 the monarch of shadow appearance in soli leveling
  • Abilities: Shadow Extraction, Immense Strength, Ruler’s Authority, Shadow Exchange, Monarch’s Domain, and Power Transfer.

The Monarch of Shadows, also known as Ashborn, has a very interesting story in Solo Leveling. Initially, he was among the Seven Rulers, known as the Greatest Fragment of Brilliant Light. However, he betrayed the rulers, and ironically, he became the Monarch of "Shadows.” Undoubtedly, the Monarch of Shadows is among the most powerful characters in the manga.

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Using his Ruler ability, he transfers his powers to others, which he does to Sung Jin-woo. However, his Monarch abilities mainly consist of Shadow extraction, and he can strengthen his shadow minions.

Abilities:

2 Sung Jin Woo

Race: Human

sung jin woo covered in shadows
  • Abilities: Shadow Exchange, Shadow Extraction, Acausality, Erasure, Ruler's Authority, Monarch's Domain, Stealth, Detoxification, Bloodlust, Immense Speed, Colossal Strength, Shadow Preservation, High Durability, Dominator's Touch (High-Grade Telekinesis), amongst others.

Sung Jin-woo is the protagonist of Solo Leveling. At the end of the manga, he was undoubtedly the strongest Monarch and hunter. With millions of soldiers at his command, Sung Jin-woo possesses limitless mana and a very powerful ability: damage reduction. Damage reduction reduces any attacks directed at Sung Jin-woo by 50 percent.

Sung Jin-woo possesses time acausality, meaning that he transcends the concept of time, making him immortal. Amongst his many other powerful abilities, his considerable attack power, speed, and regeneration easily rank him among the strongest characters in Solo Leveling.

1 The Absolute Being

Race: Unknown

the absolute being is sitting on his throne in one image and getting impaled in the other

On a cursory glance, you may think that Sung Jin-woo is the strongest character in Solo Leveling, but he’s not; the Absolute Being is. The Absolute Being is the creator of Solo Leveling's universe. Naturally, he possesses the ability to create life from nothing and is responsible for creating the Rulers and the Monarchs.

Despite his godly nature, he is depicted as cruel because he allows the Rulers to constantly fight the Monarchs for his entertainment. The Absolute Being is the apex being in Solo Leveling's universe, but he was killed by the Seven Rulers – proof of the fact that none of them had the power to stand against him without backup.

solo leveling
Solo Leveling
Action
Fantasy

Creator
Chugong
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll
Based On
Web Novel