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The following contains minor spoilers from theSolo Levelingmanhwa.
At the end of Season 2 ofSolo Leveling, we see that Sung Jinwoo has become overwhelmingly strong.The Jeju Island raid was built upover two seasons as something that all of Korea’s S-ranks didn’t know they could emerge victorious even if they all teamed up together.
Thanks to Jinwoo’s shadow army, he made easy work of the ants built up on Jeju Island and even beat the Ant King in a one-on-one battle. Now, Jinwoo completely effortlessly outclasses nearly every hunter we have met in the anime, but what would happen if he had to fight the Korean hunters without the aid of his shadow army? Could he beat them if all the S-rank hunters attacked him at once with this limitation?
The Hunters Have a Chance
Sung Jinwoo Might Struggle Against Their Combined Might
Even without being able to rely on his shadow army, theSolo Levelingprotagonist Sung Jinwoo is still extremely formidable. He possesses a wide array of accumulated skills and equipment that complement his insane power, speed, and durability. However, we have seen Jinwoo be injured by other S-rank hunters before.
During the sparring match with Goto Ryuji, Jinwoo’s face was cut when he tried to stop his attack bare-handed. This proves that Jinwoo at this time was still in the same league as the other S-rank hunters. While Goto Ryuji is implied to be a step above other S-ranks, he wasimpressed by the power he felt from Cha Hae-In, suggesting she is at least close to him in strength.
This means in a hypothetical battle between a shadow army-less Jinwoo and all the Korean S-rank hunters combined, they will likely have at least some hunters capable of damaging Jinwoo. If Jinwoo can be damaged, that means there could exist some victory condition for the hunters to win, even if it only amounts to the slightest chance.
Later in the manhwa, we see thatChae Hae-In can back up her implied power. She effortlessly defeats Igris while the shadow is equipped with Baran’s Longsword, and does decently against a suppressed Beru shadow with a training weapon.
How Would it Go?
Jinwoo Would Still Come Out With a Win
Facing off against every Korean S-rank hunter inSolo Levelingwould not be an easy challenge forSung Jinwoo without his shadow army, but he would likely still emerge victorious. Thanks to his superior speed, he could compensate for his inability to take some of the stronger hitters' attacks directly. It seems probable that Choi Jong-In, with his fire magic, would be capable of harming Jinwoo from a distance. Cha Hae-In is also incredibly fast, meaning Jinwoo couldn’t let his guard down during the fight lest he get blitzed by her speed.
Another thing that complicates this fight for Jinwoo is the S-rank healer Min Byung-Gyu, who, if not dealt with, can keep the Korean S-ranks constantly fighting. Jinwoo’s path to victory would need to be to find a way to eliminate Byung-Gyu and the weaker S-ranks while keeping them down long enough to be able to deal with the stronger threats.
“Cute, a bug is talking.” -Sung Jinwoo
Although Jinwoo, even by himself, is vastly superior to any Korean S-rank physically, his skills without his shadow army are more tailored to fighting single opponents. He only has two hands, and the Korean S-ranks have shown they are capable of excellent teamwork. If every Korean S-rank attacked him at once at full strength, it would probably take him a bit to figure out the best way to beat them if he couldn’t use his shadow army.
Jinwoo is shown to be a master strategist in battle and an expert in using his environment to his advantage. These traits, along with her superior physical strength and speed, would ultimately allow him to win such a bout against the S-rank Korean hunters.At this point in the anime, Sung Jinwoo has not quite ascended high enough in power to completely crush every hunter effortlessly, but he will soon reach a point where a normal human opponent won’t be able to scratch him.
