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The following contains minor spoilers for Solo Leveling.
One of the nice things aboutSolo Levelingis that it creates a myriad of categories that are meant to make it easy to compare the power levels of different characters. Hunters and Dungeons both exist on a letter-tier system that is calculated based on latent magical power. Because hunters generally can’t get stronger once awakened, this tier rating tends to be pretty accurate for them.
However,Beru seems to be an exceptionto many of the rules for ranking in power inSolo Leveling. He did not come from a dungeon and was a powerful monster born on Earth. Hunters estimated that the Jeju Island raid was equivalent to an S-Rank dungeon, but we see they severely overlooked the potential of the ants. If Beru somehow became a hunter, where would he rank on the world’s scale of power?
Hunter Beru Would Be Incredibly Powerful
But Where Would He Match Up With Other Power Houses?
Based on his performance at the end ofSolo LevelingSeason 2, Beru would already be among the strongest S-class hunters in the world if he became officially registered. He was able to effortlessly wipe out the Japanese S-Rank hunters, many of whom were shown to be superior to their Korean counterparts during an earlier sparring session. Notably,Beru was also able to one-shot Goto Ryuji, which Jinwoo himself declared was stronger than the other S-Rank hunters that he had encountered.
“Oh, yeah, he’s definitely a step above the other S-ranks. But I can still dodge him.” -Sung Jinwoo during his sparring match with Goto Ryuji in Episode 22.
Being able to effortlessly dispatch someone like Goto while managing to last for some amount of time against Jinwoo during the clashmeans that the Ant King outscales any hunterthat Jinwoo has met so far in the anime. After being resurrected as a shadow and joining Jinwoo’s army,Beru was also gifted an undying bodyon top of his impressive healing abilities and regeneration. Adding to his strengths, Beru has an ability called gluttony. This ability allows him to use the magic and abilities of anyone he devours, which is why he is one of the only non-humanoid monsters capable of speech in the show.
Beru’s Peak
Would Beru Be a National Level Hunter?
We know that Beru would be strongerthan any S-class hunter revealed in the anime so far, but what about bigger threats further along in the story? Above the regular S-Class hunters is another tier of humans called National Level Hunters. Though few in number, their individual strength is thought to be equivalent to an entire country’s military power. Most of these titans are so highly respected because they possess an immense power that secretly comes from beings called the Rulers. The Rulers, in an effort to help humanity and influence Earth, granted a portion of their power to most of the National Level Hunters we see in the series to aid them in the fight against the Monarchs.
While the National Level Hunters end up being mostly jobbers in the story for Jinwoo or his antagonists to beat, they are still capable of some impressive things. Thomas Andre took a direct dagger strike from Jinwoo and remained unscathed during their clash. Thomas also stood up to the base form of the Monarch of Fangs Rakan, impressing the Monarch with the amount of power he can wield. However, after Rakan started to transform, he made a complete fool of Thomas Andre, the #1 ranked National Level Hunter and supposed strongest in the world.
Although National Level Hunters are impressive for humans, Beru’s abilities surpass theirs as the series goes on. If Beru became a hunter, they would have to create a whole new tier of hunters above National Level Hunters just to rank him. In Chapter 159 of the manhwa, Beru is able to hold his own against multiple Monarchs, breaking free from the Frost Monarch’s ice and leaving the other Monarchs shocked at the former Ant King’s power.
Frost Monarch: A mere shadow soldier was able to break out of my binding spell? How could a commander-level entity be produced by a human?!
Fangs Monarch: Every single one of the Shadow Monarch’s commander-level soldiers is basically a God of destruction…!
The Monarchs after watching Beru break free in Chapter 159.
Essentially, Beru is in the realm of Monarch power at that point, as shown when he effortlessly evades and embarrasses the Plague Monarch to kneel in front of Jinwoo. Since the strongest National Level Hunter, Thomas Andre, could barely handle Rakan’s weakest form, this means that Beru is leagues stronger than him. If Beru were still alive and not receiving the benefits from being Jinwoo’s shadow, it’s possible he could be an even match for the National Level Hunters. However, after becoming a shadow, his newfound power would place him well above the National Level Hunter tier. Beru would be the strongest hunter the world had ever seenif it were not for the series' protagonist Sung Jinwoo.
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.
