Sung Jinwoo

**Sung Jinwoo** (성진우) is the main protagonist of Solo Leveling. Originally an infamously weak E-Rank Hunter, he got the chance of a lifetime when he was selected as the Player of the System, giving him the unique ability to grow in strength without restraint. As a result, by taking advantage of the opportunities offered to him by the System, Jinwoo eventually rose to power as humanity's greatest hunter and the second Shadow Monarch.

## Appearance

Jinwoo is a handsome and muscular young man with gray eyes, black hair, and sharp facial features. When using his powers or agitated, his eyes glow bright purple. He is almost always seen wearing dark colors, particularly black, and after slaughtering the Monarchs for a second time, takes to wearing a black glove on his left hand, which was severely scarred in his battle with Antares.

Back when he was weak, Jinwoo was a short, scrawny young man with hair long enough to completely cover his ears. His face was also very boyish, which made him look even younger than his sister Jinah, and he tended to dress in a simple blue hoodie and jeans.

## Personality

Jinwoo is a humble and benevolent individual who cares deeply for his family and has a strong thirst for power. As a result, he is very close to both his sister and his mother, and rarely wastes an opportunity to grow stronger.

It should be noted that despite being the strongest hunter in the world, Jinwoo is not particularly arrogant and is both polite and easygoing in-person. He is also mostly indifferent to materialistic desires and can be very selfless, as displayed when he teleported to Jeju Island without a second thought to save the other Korean S-Rank Hunters from certain death. In battle, however, he is ruthless, slaughtering his enemies indiscriminately, and even somewhat disdainful, as displayed when he taunted the Ant King by calling him a "mere insect" to his face and mocked the Architect for the flaws he made in his design of the System.

In contrast, back when he was weak, Jinwoo was very timid and insecure due to his incompetence as a hunter and his troubled family situation. Although he cared deeply for his family and spent years risking his life going on raids for their sake, he was secretly ashamed of his circumstances, as displayed when he lied to Joohee about why he had picked up hunting as his job.

## Abilities

As the vessel of the Shadow Monarch, Jinwoo is the strongest hunter in the world and one of the most powerful individuals in existence.

* **Immense Strength:** As the second Shadow Monarch, Jinwoo possesses tremendous physical strength. Even before obtaining his true power, he was strong enough to punch a large hole through the Statue of God's face and beat Thomas Andre, one of the five National Level Hunters, to the brink of death while still holding back. Upon being revived by Ashborn and receiving the full extent of the former's power, Jinwoo's strength was buffed to the point that he was able to effortlessly repel the Frost Monarch's attacks with one hand, kill the Beast Monarch in four hits, and fight on even footing with Antares, the most powerful of the nine Monarchs.
* **Immense Durability:** Jinwoo is incredibly resilient to physical damage. He was virtually unharmed when the Ant King punched him in the face, only sustaining a small cut on his lip, and was able to keep fighting back at full strength even after suffering severe wounds in his battle with the Architect.
* **Immense Speed:** Jinwoo is incredibly fast and can move at speeds so great that most opponents are unable to track his movements. He was agile enough to keep up with the Frost Monarch's attacks during their confrontation and upon obtaining his true power, was able to strike at the Beast Monarch with such speed that the latter didn't even realize that he'd been attacked until one of legs went flying off.
* **Regenerative Healing Factor:** Jinwoo is able to heal his injuries at far greater speeds than normal humans can. His healing abilities also accelerate exponentially when he sleeps.
* **Accelerated Development:** Jinwoo's most astonishing ability is his explosive growth rate, a power unlike any other in the world. Not only does he grow stronger with every battle, but the boost in strength he receives with each victory is tremendous. As a result of this, it only took him a few months of training to become the strongest hunter in Asia.
* **Armor Creation:** By concentrating his powers around himself, Jinwoo can generate jet-black armor onto his body.
* **Stealth:** Jinwoo is able to camouflage with his surroundings and hide all traces of presence, essentially turning himself both physically and magically invisible.
* **Bloodlust:** Jinwoo is able to magically intimidate a target into submission.
* **Quicksilver:** Jinwoo is able to increase his speed by 30% for a short burst.
* **Mutilation:** Jinwoo rips a target to shreds with his daggers.
* **Dagger Rush:** Jinwoo barrages a target with his daggers from all directions.
* **Ruler's Authority:** Jinwoo is able to move and control objects via telekinesis.
* **Dragon's Fear:** Jinwoo is able to release a mana-infused shout from his soul that drives anyone weaker than him into a state of intense despair and panic.
* **Shadow Extraction:** Jinwoo is able to extract shadows from the corpses of his enemies and add them to his army.
* **Shadow Preservation:** Jinwoo is able to preserve his shadows in storage and monitor them by perceiving their senses.
* **Shadow Exchange:** Jinwoo is able to use shadows as portals to travel vast distances in an instant.
* **Monarch's Domain:** Jinwoo is able to buff the strength of all of his active shadows by 50% in battle.

## References

1. ↑ Solo Leveling Novel: Chapter 177 - A disdainful nickname given by Christopher Reed.
2. ↑ Solo Leveling Webtoon: Chapter 181
3. ↑ Solo Leveling Webtoon: Chapter 175
4. ↑ Solo Leveling Webtoon: Chapter 103
5. ↑ Solo Leveling Webtoon: Chapter 151
6. ↑ Solo Leveling Webtoon: Chapter 126
7. ↑ Solo Leveling Webtoon: Chapter 173
8. ↑ Solo Leveling Webtoon: Chapter 45
9. ↑ Solo Leveling Webtoon: Chapter 123
10. ↑ Solo Leveling Webtoon: Chapter 88
11. ↑ Solo Leveling Webtoon: Chapter 73