Warning: This article contains spoilers for Solo Leveling's manhwa and Solo Leveling: Ragnarok's manhwa and light novel!!The National Level Hunters are undoubtedly some of the strongest characters in Solo Leveling, but they have always been surrounded by mystery. It has been stated that the National Level Hunters are above any other hunter in the world and can't even be controlled by their governments. Still, they protect their respective nations from the threat of the S-Rank gates that the regular S-Rank hunters can't handle. Sadly, the National Level Hunters didn't have much screen time to display the extent of their powers, making it hard to rank their strength.

Although it was mentioned in Solo Leveling's manhwa that an S-Rank hunter can rank up after clearing an S-Rank gate, according to Solo Leveling's light novel, the National Level Hunter's title belongs to the original five hunters who survived in the Kamish Raid. Also, it was later revealed that the incredible strength of the National Level Hunters in Solo Leveling was due to them being vessels of the rulers. Furthermore, even if each of them is a vessel, the National Level Hunter's strength depends on how much power they borrowed from the rulers, with some being clearly superior to others.

6 Antoine Martinez

French National Level Hunter

Antoine Martinez is the only National Level Hunter whose name wasn't mentioned in Solo Leveling's light novel and manhwa. However, there were several hints about him in the light novel, with his name and appearance being finally revealed in Hunter Origin: Thomas Andre's Story from Solo Leveling ARISE. Antoine Martinez is a French healer who also fought in the Kamish Raid, but contrary to the rest of the National Level Hunters, he isn't a ruler's vessel. This makes Antoine Martinez fairly weak when compared to the other National Level Hunters.

Antoine isn't a fighter type, his powers aren't augmented, and he can't use abilities like Ruler's authority. Because of this, Antoine was ranked 5th hunter in the world. Still, the fact that he survived the hellish dungeon break of Kamish speaks of his abilities. Yet, if it was revealed that a regular S-Rank hunter like Min Byung-gu could give a powerful buff to his allies and even grow extremities, the incredible range that Antoine possesses as the strongest healer in humanity is unknown. Furthermore, this highlights how useful Antoine Martinez was to defeat Kamish, considered the greatest calamity on Earth.

5 Siddharth Bachchan

Indian National Level Hunter

Even though Siddharth Bachchan was mentioned by Jinwoo in Solo Leveling's manhwa chapter 149, he never made an official appearance in the original series and is the only National Level Hunter whose design wasn't revealed, as he is only shown shadowed or facing away in Solo Leveling; ARISE. The information about Siddharth Bachchan in Solo Leveling's story is that he was a hunter from India who ranked 4th in the world, and he was also a fighter type, since it is stated that there were no mages among the national level hunters.

Nevertheless, as Siddharth Bachchan is also a ruler vessel, he also possesses incredible powers like Ruler's Authority, the possibility of using Spirit Body Manifestation and has also been seen as capable of flying in Solo Leveling: ARISE's spin-off webtoon. However, Siddharth Bachchan also appears in Solo Leveling: Ragnarok novel, where he is the master of the Asura Guild and is mentioned as having a savior complex, contrary to his original personality in the previous timeline. Additionally, Siddharth Bachchan appears as an antagonist and becomes Sung Suho's shadow soldier, Sita.

4 Christopher Reed

American National Level Hunter

Christopher Reed is an American National Level Hunter who is placed as the third strongest in the world. The reason why Reed is considered stronger than other ruler vessels like Siddharth may be due to him having received a power-up from Normal Selner like Hwan Dongsoo and Thomas Andre, giving him access to more power. This enhancement is the probable reason why Christopher Reed is seen using a partial Spirit Body Manifestation during the Kamish Raid in Solo Leveling Arise's webtoon.

Unfortunately, Reed doesn't get much credit, as he was killed off-screen by the monarchs Querehsha, Tarnak, and Rakan when surviving was an impossible task, given that Jinwoo struggled to fight only two. Still, Christopher Reed is the only National Level Hunter who used Spirit Body Manifestation in Solo Leveling's story in a suicide attempt to fight the monarchs. This ability allowed Christopher Reed to coat his body in an inextinguishable flame and reach a gigantic size.

3 Liu Zhigang

Chinese National Level Hunter

The Chinese National Level Hunter, Liu Zhigang, is a skilled swordsman who displayed his abilities in Solo Leveling's story, easily killing a swarm of monster ants that escaped from Jeju Island to China and the Giants that got away during the dungeon break in Japan. Although Zhigang doesn't appear as much in the story and his fights were off-screen, he is shown to be a very rational hunter who doesn't get his power got to his head, recognizing Jinwoo's strength right away and enjoying a good challenge.

Despite not having been seen using them, Zhigang also possesses the skills of Spiritual Body Manifestation and the Ruler's Authority, but it appears that he prefers to fight using his swords. Even in the sequel, Solo Leveling: Ragnarok, Liu Zhigang is considered the only hunter from China who has a 6-star rank, and he was confirmed to be the second strongest National Level hunter after Thomas Andre in the original series.

2 Thomas Andre

American National Level Hunter

Popularly known as Goliath due to his imposing presence and size, Thomas Andre was the strongest hunter in the world in Solo Leveling before the appearance of Sung Jinwoo. Thomas Andre is the master of the Scavenger Guild and capable of making an S-Rank like Hwan Dongsoo tremble. This absolute strength was due to Thomas being a ruler vessel that was also enhanced by Norma Selner, and he displayed his powers when fighting Jinwoo in the International Guild Arc.

Thomas is capable of using a unique skill called Reinforcement that covers his body in a sort of armor. He also makes full use of his powers as a ruler vessel, using capture, which is the ruler's authority enhanced by his reinforcement, which acts as a black hole capable of swallowing everything with an incredible gravitational pull. Still, Thomas Andre wasn't powerful enough to defeat either Jinwoo or Rakan, the Monarch of Fangs. However, Thomas Andre deserves recognition as the strongest ruler vessel of his time due to Go Gunhee being weakened due to his age and chronic illness.

1 Sung Suho

Korean National Level Hunter

Despite National Level Hunters being a title established for the original five hunters that fought Kamish, this changed in Solo Leveling: Ragnarok's timeline. As a result of the events after the appearance of the gates in Solo Leveling Ragnarok, Sung Suho is recognized as a National Level Hunter in chapter 342 of the novel. Moreover, it can be affirmed that he is currently on a level higher than the rest of the original National Level Hunters, as they awakened with less power in Ragnarok due to not becoming vessels of the rulers in the new timeline.

Due to Solo Leveling: Ragnarok's light novel and manhwa following different storylines, it is still unknown whether Sung Suho will achieve the title of National Level Hunter in the webtoon adaptation.

Additionally, he is the Guardian of the World Tree, and in chapter 348 Suho becomes the Monarch of Transcendence after having trained to become Antares' successor and mastering the breath of destruction. Because of this, Sung Suho is on the path of suring his father, Jinwoo, one day. Although he is still far from achieving that feat, he has plenty of power on his own and keeps getting stronger in both the Solo Leveling: Ragnarok light novel and manhwa and is currently the strongest National Level Hunter in the franchise.

Source: Hunter Origin: Thomas Andre's Story from Solo Leveling ARISE.