Highlights
- Jinwoo’s evolution into the Shadow Monarch marks a significant turning point in the Solo Leveling series, revealing hidden powers and new abilities.
- The Shadow Monarch title enables Jinwoo to communicate with the dead and extract them as Shadow Soldiers to fight under his command.
- The mechanics of Shadow Extraction require Mana and have limitations, with the activation phrase “Arise” being a pivotal moment in the story’s development.
The following contains spoilers for Solo Leveling, Episode 12, “Arise”, available on Crunchyroll. It also contains heavy spoilers for the overall Solo Leveling story, which can be read on Tapas.
One of the most anticipated elements of the Solo Leveling series has to be Sung Jinwoo’s evolution into the Shadow Monarch; a reincarnation of an ancient entity that existed in the very beginning of the universe after beings were formed from light, and from darkness.
After the Job-Change Quest of episodes 11 and 12, Sung Jinwoo gained the secret Hunter class of Necromancer, which forces him into the Mage main class; however, because of his performance in that Dungeon, Jinwoo earned points that went beyond the class threshold, which allowed him to leapfrog being a basic Necromancer into becoming the Shadow Monarch. This new class granted him a number of unique Skills, the most important of which is Shadow Extraction. What is it, and why have fans been waiting for this development in particular?
Who is the Shadow Monarch?
An Ancient Conspiracy
In a nutshell, Jinwoo’s new title as Shadow Monarch has granted him the ability to hear the voices of the fallen. After assigning the activation phrase “Arise” to his new Shadow Extraction Skill, he puts it to use. It enables him to draw out the souls of the dead as Shadow Soldiers who fight under his command. That ability to interact with the dead is regular necromancy; however, what makes the Shadow Extraction technique so important to the Solo Leveling story is that Jinwoo’s completion of the Job-Change Quest and new title are aspects that will open up the story and reveal the true plot, which goes beyond Jinwoo’s desire to gain strength and protect his family.
The title, “Shadow Monarch” refers directly to an ancient being known as Ashborn, who was once a Ruler; beings of light created by the Absolute Being. The Statue of God seen during the Double Dungeon incident was actually created in the likeness of this Absolute Being, complete with his sadistic personality and love of violence. The Rulers were locked in an aeons-long conflict against their dark counterparts, the Monarchs. They asked the Absolute Being for help, but soon realized that he was, in fact, enjoying the war as a form of entertainment. Seven of the eight Rulers conspired to kill the Absolute Being, with Ashborn, the strongest of the Rulers, being the only one who stood to defend the Absolute Being. Gravely injured, Ashborn became an entity known as the Shadow Monarch, and came together with a being known as the Architect to construct a means of developing a candidate worthy of becoming his reincarnation. This human would turn out to be Sung Jinwoo.
Bring Out Your Dead
The Mechanics of Shadow Extraction
“Cutting down foes with that sword should be your purpose in life. Do you really intend to let it rust in this dank and decrepit place?
If you need someone to whom you can dedicate your sword, serve me.
Instead of defending the throne of one long gone, defend the man who stands before you.
Arise.”
– Sung Jinwoo
Sung Jinwoo’s ascension to the class designated [Shadow Monarch] came with a number of Skills, with Shadow Extraction and Shadow Storage as two parts of the same idea, and are self-explanatory. Shadow Extraction uses Mana to create Shadow Soldiers; however, he only has three chances to call forth the Shadow of the recently deceased from the void. Higher-ranked shadows require much more persuasion than the average, so Knight Commander Igris the Bloodred served as a challenge for Jinwoo to extract because of his immense fealty towards the former Shadow Monarch, Ashborn – the one who would sit upon the empty throne. After two failed attempts, Jinwoo’s speech about serving a new king and not one long gone serves as the catalyst that enables him to extract the S-Rank Shadow Soldier now known simply as Igris. There is also a time limit, so targets who have died too long ago are no longer viable for Shadow Extraction. As seen with Igris’s stubbornness, higher-ranked Shadow Soldiers may retain core aspects of their personalities and their strength, and in the case of Igris, his unwavering loyalty remains.
There are limitations to the storage aspect too, and Jinwoo first has to release a number of the Shadow Soldiers he extracted from the remains of the various Knights he was locked in combat with before being able to extract and store Igris. The activation phrase of the Shadow Extraction Skill is perhaps the most-quoted one-liner from the Solo Leveling franchise, and those who are familiar with the story have been waiting all of Winter 2024 just to hear Sung Jinwoo say the word, which is a testament to the hype generated by the show, but also by the developments that have taken place therein over the course of the season. A second season of the series titled Solo Leveling – Arise From the Shadow – has been announced, and even the upcoming Solo Leveling game features the word in its title.
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