In the most recent episode of the anime Solo Leveling, main character Sung Jin-Woo joined a group of hunters to explore a dungeon filled with monsters. However, Jin-Woo was shocked when the group leader and other members suddenly abandoned him and another weaker hunter in the final boss room, leaving them seemingly dead.
However, in the next episode, Jin-Woo shockingly turns the tables on his traitorous former friends. Using his extraordinary abilities, he single-handedly defeated the powerful boss monster released in the dungeon.
Furthermore, Jin-Woo then killed the hunters who betrayed him, acting on instructions from the mysterious system that only he could access.
Although some may consider such a fatal punishment too harsh, in the context of the fantasy setting, it helps to right the wrong he has suffered.
Jin-Woo’s victory and betrayal at solo promotion
At the conclusion of episode 5 of Solo Leveling, Sung Jin-Woo boldly declared that he would single-handedly defeat the powerful boss monster lurking in the dungeon, despite only being accompanied by low-level hunter Yoo Jin. -Cough.
Jin-Ho tried to protect Jin-Woo, believing that he was also weak.
Episode 6 opens with Jin-Woo engaging in a fierce battle against a formidable dungeon boss. An extremely challenging enemy, Jin-Woo emerged victorious after a difficult battle, retrieving magical crystals from the creature’s remains.
Just then, traitorous party leader Hwang Dwang-Suk and his followers entered the room, shocked to see that Jin-Woo and Jin-Ho were somehow still alive even though the boss was killed.
Assuming Jin-Ho definitely killed it himself, they offered to introduce him to their group if he killed Jin-Woo on the spot.
However, Jin-Ho decided to stand in solidarity with Jin-Woo instead of betraying him to the others, realizing that Jin-Woo had just saved his life. Jin-Ho defiantly raised his sword against the former members of his raiding party.
Not wanting to prolong the confrontation, impatient leader Hwang Dwang-Suk ordered his followers to kill both Jin-Ho and Jin-Woo.
But at that moment, Jin-Woo received a sudden notification from a mysterious system that only he could perceive. To his shock, it created an emergency quest that required that to ensure his survival, he must pre-empt the hostile hunters in the room intent on killing him.
The system also ominously warned Jin-Woo that failure to complete this urgent task would result in a fatal punishment – giving him a heart attack.
Immediately after receiving the ominous quest, one of the magic-using raiders attacked Jin-Woo with an attack that sent him flying into the ruins, seemingly wanting to kill him.
When everyone else thought Jin-Woo was dead, he lay there remembering the times he persevered through his injuries while exploring dungeon after dungeon.
He now realizes that although he previously considered them a refuge, the dungeons are actually ruthless battlefields ruled by survival of the fittest.
Faced with no other choice but to follow the System’s directives, Jin-Woo trains himself to complete his mission’s goal – seizing the second chance at life the System bestows. him, even if it means killing others mercilessly in order to live.
Before seeing the dungeon as a refuge, Jin-Woo realized it was a cruel crucible for the strongest. And so, to survive when the System forced him to, he prepared to kill his former comrades, people he had never killed before.
The system wants Jin-Woo to give up his morality
Jin-Woo realizes the System is asking him to become a cruel version of himself, forcing him to abandon the morals and beliefs that made him an upright person.
Even though he had never faced off against other hunters before, Jin-Woo showed no mercy. He systematically killed all members of the raiding party in cold blood, save for traitorous leader Dong-Suk for last.
When Dong-Suk pathetically begged for his life, Jin-Woo ignored his pleas and decisively beheaded him.
Notably, Jin-Woo did not appear worried or remorseful about the murder, instead appearing calm and collected.
This may be because it is often said that what happens inside a dungeon stays inside, with no impact on the outside world.