Highlights
- Only a few humans awaken abilities to fight monsters in the Solo Leveling series, facing deadly gates and beasts with diverse powers.
- From transformation to necromancy, hunters like Baek Yoonho and Sung Jin-Woo possess powerful abilities that intimidate weaker foes.
- Sung Jin-Woo’s skills like Ruler’s Authority and Dimensional Travel set him apart, showcasing his strength and versatility as a top-tier hunter.
The Solo Leveling anime and manga series portrays a world in which humans have evolved to develop abilities that allow them to combat the monsters that appear in gates. While humans have indeed evolved, only relatively few humans have awakened abilities that enable them to be hunters.
As hunters, these sets of humans are stronger than most, but their power comes with the responsibility of facing monsters and gates that could easily get them killed. Among the various classes of hunters, various abilities exist. While some abilities are the bare minimum that a hunter must have, such as faster reflexes and increased durability, some hunter abilities portrayed in Solo Leveling are downright overpowered.
8 Transformation
Baek Yoonho
As a S-rank hunter, Baek Yoonho’s signature ability is his transformation. Without transforming into a beast, Baek Yoonho is already capable of extraordinary feats relative to weaker-level hunters; however, when he goes all out, he transforms into a humanoid white tiger-like beast.
In his beast form, Baek Yoonho’s strength and speed are significantly increased, granting him far more strength and durability. Despite gaining way more power, Baek Yoonho doesn’t readily transform into his beast form unless the situation calls for it. Moreover, baek Yoonho can choose to only transform specific parts of his body. As his transformation also grants him claws and fangs, many weaker hunters find themselves intimidated in his presence.
7 Barrier Magic
Yuri Orloff
Not all S-rank hunters are skilled fighters. As there are S-rank healers, there are also S-rank hunters who specialize in support magic. Yuri Orloff was one such hunter, and he specialized in magic barriers.
While his offensive prowess was subpar for a S-rank hunter, his defensive prowess was not to be underestimated. With his magical barriers, Orloff was able to restrain even S-rank hunters. Furthermore, he succeeded in making his barriers self-sufficient to block off an S-rank gate. Although the giants that came through the gate eventually shattered the barrier, very few hunters had the ability to break through it.
6 Ruler’s Authority/Capture
Sung Jin-Woo, Thomas Andre, All Vessels Of The Rulers
The ability Ruler’s Authority (also known as Capture) serves as a simple telekinetic ability that allows Sung Jin-Woo to control objects or bring them closer to himself. While a simple ability to use, Ruler’s Authority’s versatility and strength in battle make it one of Sung Jin-Woo’s most used abilities.
Apart from Sung Jin-Woo, the Rulers and their vessels also possess this ability. When Thomas Andre activated Capture, Sung Jin-Woo likened the ability to a black hole that sucked everything in. Thankfully, with Ruler’s Authority, Sung Jin-Woo was able to stop himself from getting sucked in. Interestingly, Ruler’s Authority is a skill exclusive only to the Rulers and their vessels; however, as Ashborn was a former Ruler, Sung Jin-Woo was granted the ability.
5 Bloodlust
Sung Jin-Woo
Different characters have been seen using Bloodlust or Murderous Intent in the Solo Leveling series. Oftentimes, hunters using bloodlust or letting out their murderous intent is what prompts the system’s activation, making Sung Jin-Woo compulsorily eliminate all threats.
While some hunters have bloodlust, Sung Jin-Woo’s bloodlust manifests as a skill that allows him to intimidate an opponent, making them paralyzed to the point of submission through fear alone. While this ability doesn’t work on stronger opponents, it shines when used against many weaker enemies, sparing the user the haggle of having to eliminate thousands of weaker beings one at a time.
4 Reinforcement
Thomas Andre
Before Sung Jin-Woo’s rise to fame, Thomas Andre held the seat of the most powerful hunter and ranked first in the world. Apart from his already overpowering physical prowess and abilities, Thomas’ ability, Reinforcement, made him a hunter that few could even consider taking on. With Reinforcement, Thomas’ body is covered from head to toe with golden scales, drastically improving his defensive prowess.
As an already bulky hunter, Thomas covering himself with golden scales makes him look like a war god with the skills to match. During Sung Jin-Woo’s and Thomas’ fight, Sung Jin-Woo bruised his hands from punching Thomas’ reinforced body, showing how tough Reinforcement is.
3 Detoxification & Regeneration
Sung Jin-Woo
Due to the system’s interference and his player-like status, Sung Jin-Woo gained the passive ability to regenerate his injuries and be free from all poisons. As a passive ability, Sung Jin-Woo’s detoxification prevents him from even getting drunk, breaking down the intoxicating agents found in alcohol.
While all hunters typically heal faster than normal humans, after Sung Jin-Woo completed the secret quest: “Courage of the Weak,” he was granted immunity from toxic and abnormal conditions, and his regenerative capacity increased. As one of the rewards from the Double Dungeon incident, this skill was also what healed Sung Jin-Woo’s leg after he lost it against the Statue of God.
2 Dimensional Travel
Sung Jin-Woo
Whether it be in real-life scenarios or multi-dimensional fictional stories, transportation is always a matter of concern, more so, if characters want to cross dimensions. Thankfully, what started as a pipe dream for Sung Jin-Woo ended up becoming a reality as Sung Jin-Woo gained the ability to cross dimensions at a whim.
Initially, Sung Jin-Woo’s teleportation was limited to shadow exchange; an ability that let him swap places with his shadows regardless of where they were. However, after fully tapping into his monarchic powers, Sung Jin-Woo became able to transverse dimensions. Apart from the protagonist of the series, all monarchs have been shown to be able to cross dimensions when they wish, but as a hunter with this ability, Sung Jin-Woo has set himself apart.
1 Necromancy
Sung Jin-Woo
Of all the abilities portrayed in the Solo Leveling series, Sung Jin-Woo’s necromancy is without a doubt one of the deadliest. Even before getting into contact with the Shadow Monarch, Sung Jin-Woo was granted the necromancy class and could revive his past adversaries as his minions.
While the minions would be weaker, they could infinitely regenerate as long as Sung Jin-Woo had enough mana. With his shadow minions, Sung Jin-Woo became a one-man army, making him induce fear and awe even in his fellow S-class hunters. As a mage-type hunter, many hunters have recognized Sung Jin-Woo’s necromancy as a top-tier ability.
Leave a Reply