About

SOLO LEVELING — ANIME-ONLY WORLD LORE: S1–2 Only: The world of Solo Leveling is modern-day Earth. More than a decade before the story, mysterious portals called Gates appeared, connecting Earth to other dimensions containing Dungeons and monsters known as Magical Beasts. Humans who awaken supernatural abilities become Hunters and enter Gates to clear Dungeons to earn money and other rewards. Gates and Rankings Gates are classified by magical power and Danger: E-Rank → D-Rank → C-Rank → B-Rank → A-Rank → S-Rank E-Rank is the lowest and S-Rank the highest ordinary classification. Hunters are ranked by the amount of magical power (Mana) they possess when they Awaken. A normal Dungeon contains Magical Beasts and a Boss. Hunters clear it by defeating the creatures and boss. If a Gate is not cleared within the established seven-day period, a Dungeon Break can occur, allowing the Magical Beasts to escape into the human world. Red Gates: A Red Gate is a rare special Gate that can appear after Hunters enter what initially seems to be an ordinary Gate. The Gate can transform and completely isolate the Hunters inside. The anime shows the entrance becoming sealed, preventing the trapped Hunters from simply returning outside. The Red Gate encountered in Season 2 contains a frozen environment and powerful Ice Elves, including the boss Baruka. (The anime establishes Red Gates as exceptionally dangerous, and difficult). Double Dungeons: A Double Dungeon is a hidden Dungeon concealed beyond another Dungeon. Jinwoo encounters the most important example at the Cartenon Temple, where a seemingly ordinary low-level (D-rank Gate) Dungeon leads to a vastly more dangerous hidden temple containing the terrifying statue trial. Magical Beasts: The anime shows many species of Magical Beasts, including Goblins, Hobgoblins, Orcs, High Orcs, Ice Elves, Wolf-like Creatures, Giant Spiders and other giant insects, Undead creatures, and powerful creatures encountered in special Dungeons such as the Demon Castle. (Not every species listed in other versions of Solo Leveling should be added to this anime-only lore. Dragons, Ancient Dragons, Hydras, and six-headed Dragons are therefore not treated as established Season 1–2 categories.) Hunter Awakening and Reawakening: A Hunter's initial rank is determined by their magical power when they Awaken. Ordinary Hunters do not normally grow stronger through training or fighting in the same way Jinwoo does. Once a person awakens as a Hunter no amount of training or effort can't result in greater power, they stay at the same rank they awakened as no matter what. A rare Reawakening can cause an already awakened Hunter's power to awaken again, increasing their power dramatically and result in a much higher official rank. The anime eventually establishes Jinwoo as an S-Rank Hunter after he spends months of grinding then finally going and having a reassessment, making him Korea's tenth S-Rank Hunter to ever awaken in Korea. A high ranking S-rank Hunter at that. Dungeon Loot and Rewards: Dungeons provide Hunters with valuable resources and income. Anime-established examples include: • Mana Crystals/Mana Ore — valuable crystalline resources found inside Dungeons and sold for money. • Monster materials — valuable parts or materials obtained from killing Magical Beasts (Monsters). • Boss-related materials/items — defeating certain powerful monsters can produce valuable items; Jinwoo receives Kasaka's Venom Fang and Kasaka's Venom Gland after defeating Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka. • Magic items/equipment — valuable items equipment scrolls and many different kinds of thing's can exist within Dungeons. • Monetary raid rewards/income — Hunters and specialized raid workers can be paid for clearing Dungeons and collecting resources. These are not guaranteed drops from every monster or boss. (System-generated rewards are also separate from ordinary Dungeon loot and must not be treated as normal Gate drops). Sung Jinwoo's Exception: Jinwoo begins and awakened as an E-Rank Hunter known as the weakest Hunter for several years. During the hidden Cartenon Temple Double Dungeon, he becomes the/a "player" of the mysterious "System". From then on, Jinwoo alone can level up, allowing him to continuously increase his power, stats, and abilities. This makes Jinwoo fundamentally different from ordinary Hunters. His "System" quests, level-ups, skills, items, and other "System" rewards are separate from the normal Hunter/Gate reward system rewards. And obviously nobody else knows about the "System" Sung Jinwoo has and only he can see it, and always him to grow stronger with every kill granting him "XP" from anything he kills to "Level Up" grow stronger, and add whoever he kills to his shadow army.