After the harrowing events that took place inside the C-rank dungeon in the sixth episode of Solo Leveling, it became quite clear that Sung Jinwoo’s secret would come to be known to the world of hunters sooner or later. As the latest episode indicates, that might come to pass sooner than expected, as two parties turn out to be already suspicious about Jinwoo’s recent activities. In the previous episode, Jinwoo was able to defeat the giant spider boss of the C rank dungeon and eventually found his raid partners, Dongsuk and his core team, to be their adversaries, who had previously deliberately abandoned him and Yoo Jinho to take the loot for themselves. Finding himself in a life-or-death situation, an enraged Jinwoo clashed with Dongsuk’s team and mercilessly butchered every one of them while a shocked, frightened Jinho watched the events unfold. Clearing up the dungeon, E-ranked Jinwoo and D-ranked Jinho return to the physical realm as the only remaining survivors, which expectedly starts raising questions as the seventh episode titled “Let’s see how far I can go” highlights. Additionally, Jinwoo continues his pursuit of getting stronger, as he aims to reach the top spot and go even beyond.
Spoilers Ahead
Who Else Learned About The Dungeon Massacre?
The Hunter Association of the Nation is assigned to oversee the entire portal-dungeon-hunter affair, and their extensive involvement in related situations was shown previously through the interaction between the agency’s surveillance team and Jinwoo after the double dungeon incident. At the beginning of the seventh episode, the chief of the surveillance unit, Woo Jinchul, is informed about the C-rank dungeon disaster and Jinwoo’s survival. What surprises Woo the most is that not only did the two relatively lower-ranked Hunters escape from the dungeon, but they also seemingly managed to kill the dungeon boss on their own. The situation is muddled even more after Woo learns that Hwang Dongsuk, the elder brother of Hwang Dongsoo (whom Dongsuk had mentioned during the last episode in his final moments), who is one of the seven S-ranked hunters of the country, has died inside the dungeon. The double dungeon incident had already marked Jinwoo as an interesting figure, and being involved in yet another troubling dungeon crisis, the authorities can no longer let it slide as a co-incidental occurrence.
The news of his brother’s death reaches Hwang Dongsoo, and after learning the case details briefly, he immediately seems to be quite certain about Dongsuk being murdered inside the dungeon. Although whether it was his heightened intuition or just a vengeful assumption remains to be seen. Consulting with his secretary, Laura, the S-ranked Hunter shares his plan of killing both Jinwoo and Jinho and queries about possible legal ramifications he might have to face for it. However, being a valuable member of the Hunter’s guild he is involved with, Dongsoo’s schedule is packed, which is why he cannot go after the Hunter duo just yet. Dongsoo swears revenge on the supposed killers in a crazed fury, and it goes without saying that Jinwoo has unknowingly gotten himself into deep trouble.
What Did Jinho Offer Jinwoo?
The next scene shifts to the Sung household, where Jinwoo has returned home after the big payday, thanks to the massive loot accumulated from the C-rank dungeon. His sister Jinah is a bit surprised to see her penny-pincher brother spending a hefty amount on drinks and snacks for a change and even stating that he can take care of most of the expenditures for the time being.
Jinwoo’s mind drifts back to the dungeon incident time and time again, and he wonders whether, in his former, weakened self, he could have even considered doing something like this. He knows that he might have tried to flee the scene, which wasn’t an option in this case due to the virtual log coming up with strange stipulations to end the human adversaries as well. But at the same time, he can’t help but acknowledge that leveling up significantly has changed his perspective drastically as well, as initially he had felt anger and disgust at the Hunters who dared to challenge him in combat. Jinwoo reassures himself, considering that his utmost priority is to protect his family, and to do that, he won’t hesitate to repeat such actions if the necessity arises. Jinwoo later realizes that some of the perks he has gained by leveling up sometimes act in subtle ways; for example, with a strong regeneration factor, he can’t get drunk anymore.
Later, he meets with Yoo Jinho, who proposes to him the idea of joining a strike team he is trying to put together, as his father, the owner of Yoojin Constructions, wants to create a Hunter guild of their own. A total of twenty raids experience grants a Hunter the chance to become a guild master, and Jinho, who lacks combat skills, wants Jinwoo to help him out by assisting him in clearing those raids. Without having any available S-rank Hunters at their disposal, Jinho has considered Jinwoo to be his last resort, as he is already aware of the heightened strength he possesses. Initially, Jinwoo doesn’t warm up to the idea, but Jinho (who by now has assumed Jinwoo to be one of the false rankers) states that in this way he can hide his true potential from unwanted attention, implying it’ll be a win-win situation for both of them. A desperate Jinho offers thirty billion credits to Jinwoo in exchange, but a pragmatic Jinwoo believes he’s worth more and leaves. However, it is indicated that he will accept Jinho’s proposal eventually, as later he discusses the lucrative amount with his sister Jinah.
Did Jinwoo Obtain The Elixir Of Life?
While training for his daily quest, Jinwoo overexerts himself and works out double the number of sets compared to his usual goal, which unlocks a number of rewards. Among them, a blessed loot box unveils a key to the S-ranked Demon’s Castle dungeon, where he can find the mysterious ‘Elixir of Life’ – which can apparently cure any form of illness. Going back to Jinwoo’s past, the sole reason he had taken the risky profession of working as a Hunter, despite initially being the weakest of them all, was to provide for his family and take care of his comatose mother, who was afflicted by a mysterious Eternal Slumber after the arrival of the magic beasts. This ‘Elixir of Life’ reignites Jinwoo’s hope for treating his mother back to normalcy, and therefore, despite knowing how tremendously dangerous an ordeal it is to venture into a S-ranked dungeon, Jinwoo proceeds to use the key to open the designated portal. A bit afraid still, Jinwoo holds the teleportation stone (which he obtained from the instance dungeon) tightly to make a safe exit if things go awry.
Inside the fiery hellscape of the dungeon, Jinwoo faced a vicious, menacing adversary in the form of Hell’s Gatekeeper, Cerberus. A determined Jinwoo wastes no time in launching a flurry of attacks, but to no avail, as the beast doesn’t even flinch. Jinwoo soon realizes that he is in a different ball game altogether as the creature starts viciously biting, manhandling him across the burning terrain of the dungeon, throwing him everywhere like a lifeless ragdoll. Rapidly losing his health, Jinwoo opts for full recovery, but that provides only momentary relief as immediately the creature starts charging and tossing him in murderous rage mode. Jinwoo’s health eventually reaches critical lows, and the chances of his survival prove to be slim to none when he finds out several potions he had stacked in his inventory and uses them to recover and boost his attack. Facing great odds, Jinwoo manages to outlast the rage mode of the Cerberus, and finally getting his chance, he maniacally attacks the creature while getting himself chewed up at the same time. Finally, a bloody rain indicates the death of the Cerberus, and a battered Jinwoo recovers from his ghastly wounds by getting a significant amount of experience for slaying Cerberus.
As a result, alongside some loot, Jinwoo gets the key to the door of the castle, which the Cerberus was protecting all the while. The virtual log also provides him with a recipe to create the Elixir of Life, and the necessary ingredients are listed to be found inside the castle. In his current state, entering the castle will be suicidal; therefore, Jinwoo considers leveling up some more before taking on the challenge and finding the Elixir. As the episode ends, it seems Jinwoo is on his way to becoming equal to or even better than the S-ranked Hunters, which might give him a leg up against adversaries like Hwang Dongsoo, whose malevolent intent has already been revealed in this episode. Gaining the Elixir will help Jinwoo save his mother’s life as well, and getting stronger to obtain it will be his sole focus in upcoming episodes.
