Warning: Major spoilers for the ending of Solo Leveling.

Solo Leveling's simple yet immersive story. That said, despite its popularity and loyal fanbase, the series' ending takes an unexpected path that left many fans shocked and even unsatisfied.

In the ending of Solo Leveling, Jinwoo learns the truth about why magic beasts and gates began appearing on Earth as well as about the existence of primal beings known as the Rulers and the Monarchs, the latter of whom intend to destroy the planet. After nearly dying fighting three of the Monarchs, Jinwoo inherits the Shadow Monarch's full power and decides to fight the Monarchs. Jinwoo then prepares to fight the strongest Monarch called Antares, the Monarch of Destruction who has an army of ten million Dragons.

Jinwoo Learns the Truth About the World and His Powers

Solo Leveling by Chu Gong, chapter #163

Jinwoo defeats Antares and the remaining Monarchs with help from the Rulers, but chooses to use a divine tool known as the Cup of Reincarnation to reverse time due to the destruction caused and the lives lost. Jinwoo thus reverts the world to a time before the gates began to spawn as he defeats the Monarchs in an alternate dimension, becoming the unsung hero who secretly saved the world.

In the final chapters of the series, Jinwoo finds out that Earth has been chosen as the battlefield for an apocalyptic battle between the Rulers and the Monarchs, who are beings created from light and darkness respectively. Both were created by an entity called the Absolute Being and the two groups have been at war with each other since the dawn of time.

Wanting to put an end to the conflict, seven of the eight Rulers who served the Absolute Being decided to rebel after finding out the war had dragged on solely for the Absolute Being's entertainment. They succeeded in killing the Absolute being and defeated Ashborn, the only remaining Ruler who'd stayed loyal to the Absolute Being. It was then that Ashborn discovered a power hidden inside him and transformed into the Shadow Monarch.

The Rulers and the Monarchs' battle on Earth would inevitably destroy the planet.

The Rulers used a tool created by the Absolute Being known as the Cup of Reincarnation to turn back time and try and prevent the tragedy. However, no matter how many times they tried, humanity perished in every single timeline. Left with no other choice, the Rulers decided to use the Cup again to turn back time to ten years before the current storyline. This time, the Rulers began to reinforce the Earth with mana by opening gates and made humans stronger by making them hunters.

Jinwoo then finds out he personally was chosen by the former Shadow Monarch, Ashborn, to be his vessel and his ability to level up was simply a way to get his body to adjust to Ashborn's powers. However, when Jinwoo returned to the Double Dungeon, Ashborn chose to on his powers instead, making Jinwoo the new Shadow Monarch.

Ashborn sided with the Monarchs to help maintain the balance of power after the Rulers killed the Absolute Being and vowed to end the war by wiping out the Monarchs once and for all. Ashborn was eventually betrayed by two of the Monarchs but did not re the Rulers even though they asked for his forgiveness.

After much contemplation, Jinwoo decides he must defeat the Monarchs as they exist solely to destroy and kill as beings created from darkness. Thus, he reunites with the Shadow Monarch's official army and prepares to fight Antares, the Monarch of Destruction also known as the King of Dragons and the strongest of all the Monarchs.

Jinwoo Fights Antares, the Monarch of Destruction

Solo Leveling, chapter #171 to chapter #177

Jinwoo's battle against Antares in the final arc kicks off as he finally enters the battlefield in Canada where Antares has been laying waste to the landscape with his army of ten million while waiting for Jinwoo to show up. It doesn't take too long for Antares to surround Jinwoo with his army, at which point Jinwoo recalls his shadow soldiers and uses Dragon's Fear (a skill he gained from Kamish's runestone) to temporarily incapacitate Antares' troops.

Antares too is taken aback, which gives Jinwoo the opportunity to use Shadow Exchange to teleport Antares and himself to a remote island across the world. Here, the two resume their battle in full swing. The Monarch of Destruction attempts to trick Jinwoo by claiming he will leave the planet alone if Jinwoo s him in defeating the Rulers but Jinwoo recognizes the bloodlust in Antares' eyes and does not fall for the trap.

Jinwoo then uses his father's blade to slice Antares in half down the middle, soon after which a crack appears in the sky and the Rulers' army appears. Antares then realizes that Jinwoo had planned to use their battle to distort space and bring the Rulers to Earth all along, which is why he had teleported them to the remote island. The Rulers' Army spares no time in finishing off Antares as Jinwoo simply states they will meet again soon enough, hinting at the rest of his plan.

Jinwoo Reverses Time Using the Cup of Reincarnation

Solo Leveling, chapter #177

As the Rulers thank Jinwoo for his help, Jinwoo asks to use to Cup of Reincarnation one last time claiming he has lost too many people in the battle and wishes to bring them back. Jinwoo's wish to turn back time reflects his desire to save not only those dear to him like Go Gunhee and his father but also the many lives that were lost around the world not only since the beginning of the war against the Monarchs but ever since the gates began to appear.

The Rulers warn Jinwoo that the Monarchs will be brought back to life with their memories of this life intact and that the Cup has been exhausted and cannot be used again if Jinwoo fails. Jinwoo sticks to his decision regardless and the Rulers use the Cup of Reincarnation one last time. Jinwoo then finds himself back in his younger self's body and enjoys a little taste of peace as a regular schoolboy before he heads to the dimensional gap to fight the Monarchs. Jinwoo spends 27 years fighting the Monarchs, leaving Antares for last.

Jinwoo loses two of his shadow soldiers, namely Iron and Greed, after using the Cup as they would not have existed in the past and would conflict with the new timeline.

With all the Monarchs defeated in the dimensional gap, Earth's crisis is quietly avoided and Jinwoo returns to a normal world that no longer has any need for gates, magic beasts, or hunters.

Meanwhile, two years have ed in the real world. Jinwoo comes back and continues living a normal life, albeit gradually altering his appearance to look like he is aging. As the story winds down, Jinwoo gradually re-encounters figures from the old timeline, like Go Gunhee, Jinho, Juhee, Jinchul, and most importantly, Cha Haein. Many characters who would have died had they become hunters live long fulfilling lives with only the Rulers' vessels aware of Jinwoo's sacrifice.

Overall, although the anticlimactic nature of the final battle against Antares left many fans unsatisfied, Solo Leveling's ending still manages to wrap up all of its loose threads surprisingly well with a wholesome ending to Jinwoo's story. Granted, the series does not show a lot of Jinwoo's battle in the dimensional gap either, but these are simply pacing issues that Solo Leveling's anime adaptation can hopefully improve upon.

What Happens in Solo Leveling's Sequel, Ragnarök

Solo Leveling: Ragnarök Follows Jinwoo's Son, Sung Suho

As of August 2024, the sequel to Solo Leveling titled Solo Leveling: Ragnarök has made its debut as a webtoon, with the English licensing yet to be announced. Based on the novel of the same name written by Daul, the sequel has also been produced by Redice Studio who are known for their exceptional art with Jin being the artist in charge of Solo Leveling: Ragnarök.

Having told Jinwoo's story to the fullest in the original manhwa, Ragnarök, the sequel, instead centers around Jinwoo's son, Sung Suho, who was first introduced in the epilogue. The story takes place three years after the epilogue, just as Suho finishes high school and takes off when Suho breaks the seal placed on his powers by Jinwoo when he was only a child. Both Suho's mother, Cha Hae-in, and Jinwoo are missing in the sequel, with the latter busy dealing with an even bigger threat to the world.

Solo Leveling: Ragnarök introduces new, bigger villains in the form of the Absolute Beings or the Itarim, who plan to invade the world of the franchise given the absence of its original creator, and take the powers of the Shadow Monarch for themselves. As such, Jinwoo is forced to deal with these invaders in outer space. In his absence, Jinwoo sends Beru to Suho, who is tasked with dealing with the Itarim's Apostles wreaking havoc back on Earth, all while looking for his mother, who has mysteriously gone missing.

With the gates having made an appearance once more, so have the hunters and Suho re-awakens his powers through a test of courage, much like Jinwoo. Suho's journey initially mirrors Jinwoo's in many ways, hitting many familiar and exciting story beats. That said, Solo Leveling: Ragnarök still manages to be its own distinct story, with a protagonist who has some of the same traits as Jinwoo while still having his unique quirks, not to mention his own distinct fighting style.

Much like Jinwoo, Suho is also guided by a System that helps him level up and get stronger, ensuring that the new story retains the RPG mechanics that made the original such an enjoyable page-turner. That said, while the Architect's System secretly had an ulterior motive, the new and improved System is much less malicious, slowly leading Suho towards achieving his goals and re-awakening the potential he displayed during Jinwoo's original test in the epilogue of Solo Leveling.

All in all, though Solo Leveling's sequel is still in its initial stages, the story already displays plenty of promise. Ragnarök is an absolute must-read for fans of the franchise looking for more of its vibrant world and exciting action, all with the same signature art style of the original and a protagonist just as compelling as Sung Jinwoo.

Solo Leveling is available to read from Pocket Comics, Tapas, and Tappytoon.