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The following contains spoilers for Solo Leveling.
So far inSolo Leveling,Sung Jinwoo has managed to mostly retain his good-hearted naturewhile he deals with the temptations of having ultimate power. However, Season 3 will test him in a new way when his heroic exploits become noticed by the United States of America and the psychic Norma Selner.
While he has stayed true to Korea and his friends so far during his hunting journey, the United States’ Federal Bureau of Hunters can tempt Jinwoo in a way few hunters in the past have been able to resist. Will Jinwoo agree to join them after hearing their offer, or will he remain steadfast in his desire to become stronger all on his own?
Jinwoo on the World Stage
Jeju Island Made Him Famous
At the end ofSolo LevelingSeason 2,Jinwoo made his hunting debut to the entire worldby clearing Jeju Island. Since the raid was livestreamed, the whole world saw Jinwoo’s monstrous power, which wasstronger than all of the Japanese and Korean S-Rank hunters combined. This event would catapult Jinwoo into the stratosphere of world affairs, gaining the attention of the illustrious Federal Bureau of Hunters.
Under the direction of the United States government, the Federal Bureau of Hunters aggressively recruits strong hunters from across the globe to join them, thereby strengthening the nation’s power on the world stage. Korean S-Rank Hwang Dongsoo was one of the previous recipients of their attention, who agreed to abandon Korea and join the United States after being presented with their irresistible offer. Dongsoo easily accepted the deal, eventually joining the National Rank Hunter Thomas Andre’s guild in America.
Season 3will offer Jinwoo an interesting opportunityto abandon Korea and his friends in exchange for greater power, something that Jinwoo is desperately seeking as he continues to level up and take on more powerful opponents.
A Tantalizing Offer
Jinwoo is Saved in a Unique Way
After scouting a potential recruit, the Federal Bureau of Hunters will meet with them and introduce them to the psychic Norma Selner. Norma is an awakened hunter with a power that appears wholly unique in theSolo Levelinguniverse: the ability to increase another hunter’s power. As is established early in the series, a hunter’s power is normally fixed in most circumstances. The only ways revealed so far for a hunter to gain more power are to become reawakened or be named Sung Jinwoo. Reawakening is thought to be extremely rare and typically only yields a slight increase in power.
However, Norma Selner’s ability can potentially increase any hunter’s power by 20% or 30% over several stages of using it on them. This is a tempting offer that is nearly impossible to resist for many hunters, since it is realistically the only way they can gain power. Thanks to Norma, the United States is incredibly strong in the world of hunters. They also possess two of the National Level Hunters, the most of any country. National Level Hunters are thought to be as powerful as an entire country’s military and are highly valued in the war against the dungeon gates appearing around the world.
In Season 3,Jinwoo will meet with Normaand be taken in at first with the offer put before him. Although he is unsure of her claims, he is willing to try the first phase of Norma’s upgrading power because it is said to come at no charge. However, this try-before-you-buy strategy is the way the Federal Bureau of Hunters hooks recruits. After experiencing a power boost firsthand, they will no doubt be tempted to follow through on completing the upgrade.
This plan will backfire for the Federal Bureau of Hunters, though, and not because Jinwoo successfully resisted the offer. When Norma tries to use her power on Jinwoo, she is instead left shaken and horrified as she stares at the depths of his abilities. Jinwoo turns out to be the one person her power doesn’t work on, and declares his abilities to be “limitless.”
“When I looked into him, he was also looking back at me. It wasn’t Hunter Sung Jinwoo, but rather, it was the endless darkness inside him…it was looking at me!! And… he… he does not have a limit.” -Normal Selner shaking in her seat while describing what it was like to look at Jinwoo’s aura in Chapter 109.
Solo Leveling
Cast
A-1 Pictures' Solo Leveling is an anime based on Chugong’s popular web novel. Set in an unforgiving fantasy world where hunters explore dungeons filled with monsters, the vulnerable Sung Jinwoo gains a significant power boost after he is picked to be a solo player by the System.
