Summary
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Mage hunters inSolo Levelinghave an unfortunately poor reputation. They are seen as the weakest type of combat hunters, and so far, we have not witnessed anything particularly impressive from them. Even S-Rank mage Choi Jong-In, nicknamed ‘The Ultimate Hunter’, has only been seen lighting a few fodder ants on fire in theSolo Levelingadaptation at this point.
As presumably the strongest mage hunter, howwould Choi Jong-In fare against Kargalgan, seen as one of the strongest magic-utilizing monsters in the series so far? Can this magic-type hunter redeem his class, or is he simply outmatched by this powerful high orc?
The Weakness of Mage Hunters
Choi Jong-In Is Outmatched
ThroughoutSolo Leveling, mage hunters’ powers are constantly asserted to be pretty lackluster. Song Chi-Yul awakened as a mage hunter despite his prowess with a sword, and because of that, he wasn’t able to do much in dungeons. His mage class is seen by him as a liability, which is why he was running low-ranked dungeons with Sung Jinwoo and Lee Joohee at the beginning of the series.
“A washed-up mage like is suddenly relying on strength instead? This is bound to go well.” Kang Tae Shik taunts Song Chi-Yul as he prepares to fight him with a sword instead of his magic in episode 9.
This perceived weakness of mage hunters also extends all the way up to the S-Ranks. During the sparring bouts between the Japanese and Korean hunters in Season 2, Jinwoo’s classification as a mage hunter caused him to be underestimated by the others. During the team battle, mages were specifically excluded from participating because their powers don’t match up well in combat with other hunters.
Chairman Go Gunhee: Well, I’m on board. Although, let’s exclude any mage types or noncombatants since it’s difficult for them to compete alone.
Baek Yoonho: All right, then we’re all agreed it’s combat types only.
-The hunters setting up the bout rules in Episode 21.
The reason even the strongest hunters view mages this way is that they lack defense and aren’t fast enough to protect themselves. In this way, mages require the full support of a team to reach their full combat potential. Even a mage with firepower output at the level of Choi Jong-In cannot stand alone in the same way a simple physical augmenting type hunter can. Mages are brought along for their ranged attacks and utility, often not relied on to carry the team on their own.
Choi Jong-In Versus Kargalgan
A Clear Difference in Power
These disadvantages that Choi Jong-In shares with other mage hunters put him at a huge disadvantage in a hypothetical battle against Kargalgan. Unlike Choi Jong-In, whose durability makes him extremely vulnerable,Kargalgan possesses the powerful body of a high orcin addition to his prowess with magic. Also, unlike Choi Jong-In, who seems only to be able to use fire magic,Kargalgan possesses more advanced magicslike gravitation and barrier, as well as his unique hymns that possess wide-ranging effects from intense bursts of dragon fire to inflicting blindness.
It appears that in every category,Choi Jong-In is most likely outclassed. It’s possible that Choi Jong-In might be stronger with his pure damage output, but that isn’t clearly established in the anime. Choi Jong-In lacks any impressive feats and was essentially one-shot by the Ant King. We do not know how strong his flames are on a single target, as we mostly see him attacking large swarms of weaker enemies.
Despite dwelling in an A-Rank gate,Kargalan and his high orcs surprised the initial partyand were clearly much stronger than the gate’s rank implied. S-Rank hunters as strong as Cha Hae-In are said to be able to clear A-Rank gates, but this same ability is probably not shared by Choi Jong-In, given the limitations of the mage class. Hunter Cha Hae-In was almost in disbelief at the strength Jinwoo used to defeat Kargalgan, implying that the high orc might have been a challenge for even her.
“He’s clearly a top-class combat hunter, but he uses summoning magic. That’s crazy. How is he that strong?” -Cha Hae-In admiring Jinwoo from afar after he defeats Kargalgan in Episode 18.
At the end of Episode 18, Choi Jong-In is given a debriefing of Jinwoo’s battle against Kargalgan, and asks his subordinate how he compares to the hunter. During this conversation, Choi Jong-In admits he would struggle replicating Jinwoo’s feat.
Choi Jong-In: In your honest, unbiased opinion, how does Hunter Sung compare to me?
Son Kihoon: …Do you think you could clear a higher-end A-rank dungeon by yourself? No tanks, no healers, just you.
Choi Jong-In: No, I couldn’t. Which frankly, is rather embarrassing considering all the talk of me being the “ultimate weapon.”
-Choi Jong-In and Son Kihoon conversing in Episode 18.
While this doesn’t quite answer the question of only facing Kargalgan one-on-one, the fact that Choi Jong-In doesn’t even consider the possibility of his success makes it clear that he considers what Jinwoo did far beyond his capabilities. Kargalgan, even while still alive, was likely much stronger than Choi Jong-In. In a battle between the two, the high orc’s superior magic prowess and strong body would easily overwhelm anything Choi Jong-In could hope to do against him based on what we have seen in the anime so far.
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.
