This article contains spoilers from theSolo Levelinganime and manhwa.
Summary
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Without a doubt,Solo Leveling’s Sung Jin-Woo is one of the most overpowered characters in anime, commanding aformidable army of shadows, in addition to his monstrous strength and abilities. But before he becomes too powerful, a villain, rather than an ally, foreshadows his strength. Who is this villain, and how did he recognize Jin-Woo’s true strength before anyone else did?
At this point in the anime, Jin-Woo has defeated quite a lot of minor and major villains. AsSolo Levelingprogresses into Season 3, he is expected to fight more powerful and skillful enemies, especially as the powerful Monarchs begin to put their plans into motion. On top of that, hunters with evil intentions might also interfere with Jin-Woo’s goals, as not everyone is fond of his recent undertakings.
The One Villain Who Predicted Jin-Woo’s Strength Before Anyone Else
He Sensed Jin-Woo Would Be Unstoppable
In the first season ofSolo Leveling,Jin-Woo takes down corrupted hunterslike Hwang Dong-Suk and Kang Tae-Shik, who abuse their powers and abilities to exploit and oppress the weak and pathetic. Just because they were ranked higher, they treated low-level hunters with cruelty, betrayal, and disdain. However, their reign of terror in both the anime and manhwa was short-lived after crossing paths with an E-rank hunter.
To most hunters,Jin-Woo’s E-rank statusgave them the privilege to underestimate him, and Hwang Dong-Suk and Kang Tae-Shik were no exception. However, they never thought that an E-rank hunter like Jin-Woo, who should have been mankind’s weakest hunter, could defeat them in a solo fight. And between the two, it was Kang Tae-Shik who sensed something unusual about Jin-Woo. From the moment their eyes met, Tae-Shik could tell, just by Jin-Woo’s presence and aura, that he wasn’t an ordinary E-rank hunter.
“In order to live, you must kill your opponent , no matter who that may be”—Kang Tae-Shik
True enough,Kang Tae-Shik’s instincts were right, as Jin-Woo blocked his surprise attacks not just once but three times during the raid with the rehabilitators and some of the survivors of the Double Dungeon incident. If he were truly an E-rank hunter, he would not have been able to counter his attacks, let alone react and survive. But, if the raid had happened months ago, Kang Tae-Shik would have killed Jin-Woo without breaking a sweat.
At that point, Kang Tae-Shik began to speculate that Jin-Woo was either asecond awakener or a false ranker. He also assumed Jin-Woo would either be a B-rank or A-rank assassin hunter because their fighting styles were similar. They fight their opponent head-on, and they also use daggers to kill. He had a lot of questions in his mind, but he was certain that there was a blinding darkness hiding within Jin-Woo’s shadow that was dangerous and far too ordinary.
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Before Jin-Woo became so overpowered to the point that not even anS-rank or nation-level huntercould rival him, Kang Tae-Shik had already seen the signs coming in Solo Leveling season 1. In fact, he experienced the overwhelming darkness brought about by Jin-Woo’s power firsthand, making him fear for his life for the first time. Despite Jin-Woo’s Bloodlust skill still being at level 1 at the time, the darkness within him was enough to send chills down Tae-Shik’s spine.
In a heartbeat, Kang Tae-Shik found himself defeated, with multiple wounds on his body, while Jin-Woo stood before him, completely emotionless without any sense of remorse. As if his defeat wasn’t brutal enough, the effects of poison and paralysis activated in his body, causing more pain than ever. But the most chilling moment came not from the pain, but from Jin-Woo’s question: he asked Kang Tae-Shik how much stronger he thought he would become in the near future.
“Your shadow has become one with darkness. As deep as darkness, that’s how strong you’ll become."—Kang Tae-Shik to Sung Jin-Woo
That’s when Kang Tae-Shik coldly replied thatJin-Woo would become one with darkness. He added that Jin-Woo would one day match the deep, blinding darkness within him. After saying his final words, he died. But unlike other villains who struggle to accept defeat and cling to pride, he respected the outcome of the fight, as he firmly believed that the strong always triumph over the weak and that’s simply the natural order of things.
All in all,Kang Tae-Shik’s role inSolo Levelingmay have been limited, but it was undeniably meaningful and impactful on Jin-Woo’s rise to power. He may not be the strongest nor the flashiest opponent Jin-Woo has defeated, but his character saw what others missed about Jin-Woo—the makings of a king. Sadly, he remains a missed opportunity to this day, as his character could have been so much more if he had somehow survived.
