Solo Leveling

Description

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10 years ago, after “the Gate” that connected the real world with the monster world opened, some of the ordinary, everyday people received the power to hunt monsters within the Gate. They are known as “Hunters”.

However, not all Hunters are powerful. My name is Sung Jin-Woo, an E-rank Hunter. I’m someone who has to risk his life in the lowliest of catacombs, the “World’s Weakest”.

Having no skills whatsoever to display, I barely earned the required money by fighting in low-leveled catacombs… at least until I found a hidden catacomb with the hardest difficulty within the D-rank catacombs!

In the end, as I was accepting death, I suddenly received a strange power, a quest log that only I could see, a secret to leveling up that only I know about! If I trained in accordance with my quests and hunted monsters, my level would rise.

Changing from the weakest Hunter to the strongest S-rank Hunter!

Associated Names
One entry per line
I Level Up Alone
Only I Level Up
Ore Dake Level Up na Ken
俺だけレベルアップな件
我独自升级
我獨自升級
나 혼자만 레벨업
Related Series
Solo Leveling: Ragnarok (Sequel)
Recommendations
Everyone Else is a Returnee (13)
The Second Coming of Gluttony (11)
SSS-Class Sui**de Hunter (9)
Boundless Necromancer (9)
Seoul Station’s Necromancer (8)
Second Life Ranker (6)
Recommendation Lists
  1. TOP of the toppers, BEST of the bestest
  2. My favorite novels
  3. Damn good novels
  4. Hunter/Player/Awakener-Gate/Tower/Dungeon/etc.
  5. My next 5 out of 5 !!!

Latest Release

Date Group Release
02/17/19 Webnovel c17
02/17/19 Webnovel c16
02/17/19 Webnovel c15
02/17/19 Webnovel c14
02/17/19 Webnovel c13
02/17/19 Webnovel c12
02/17/19 Webnovel c11
02/17/19 Webnovel c10
02/17/19 Webnovel c9
02/17/19 Webnovel c8
02/17/19 Webnovel c7
02/17/19 Webnovel c6
02/17/19 Webnovel c5
02/17/19 Webnovel c4
02/17/19 Webnovel c3
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252 Reviews sorted by


neuramine
neuramine rated it
August 24, 2022
Status: Completed
For anyone coming from the webcomic, Jinwoo has a very different characterization in the novel. I would say I actually prefer the novel's portrayal because it makes him less of a one dimensional character and gives more insight into what he is thinking and feeling.
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dramamonster
dramamonster rated it
July 2, 2022
Status: Completed
I binged the entire webcomic in a few days, then read the novel to complement the story. The novel explained more about the MC's thoughts and decisions, and had many epilogue/side chapters to explain everyone's ... more>>
Spoiler

happy endings (in contrast, the webcomic had a very abrupt ending that I found confusingly short). By the way, there is no regression. The MC just gets stronger and stronger. Make sure you read all the epilogue/side stories, it's a happy ending. Some people recover their memories, good people live well, invaders get punished, and the MC is totally OP at the end. And his son....

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There is some Korean nationalism, overly simple depictions of other countries, some very confusing otherworldly history, and the characters can be bland, but as a complement to the webcomic, I enjoyed the novel. <<less
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somerandomreadingenthusiast
somerandomreadingenthusiast rated it
May 24, 2022
Status: Completed
Pretty much wish fullfillment+a few setbacks, MC is pretty much overpowered from the start (after he awakened), even if he meets stronger opponents he will have grown strong enough to deal with them. Personally, I don't like where the MC regresses at the end therefore I'm not a fan of the ending of this novel, the writer didn't even explain what happened after he regresses but he did clear it up in the side stories, so yeah that's pretty much what this novel is, you might think the MC is... more>> sweating it but its just an illusion created by the author, most fights take around or lesser than half a chapter and the MC always wins, this novel is wish fulfillment + the illusion of a few setbacks, good timepass tho. <<less
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Shaze
Shaze rated it
February 15, 2022
Status: Completed
The first light novel I read, and it basically ruined me for all other book types. The manga is epic too, and worth reading.

Words cannot convey how much I loved this series, and I is one of the few I will go back and read when I need a pick me up. Anyone who has read the ant island scene where he takes the punch of the ant king face on, and doesn't so much as flinch, despite all the others having been played around with, will understand how heart... more>> stoppingly good this is. The scene is even better in the manga, to which I was speechless at how awesome the scene was portrayed.

The ending is also so heartwarmingly perfect, as despite the MC being basically a god that can solo all other gods, the humbleness is constantly felt. The powers of the Shadow Monarch has also etched itself into my mind as an unforgettable power, and extremely noble depiction of a necromancer.

If you do not love this, there is something wrong with you. <<less
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Amateur.artist
Amateur.artist rated it
January 19, 2022
Status: Completed
Okay honestly... I can see why people dislike this... but just no sorry. I really quite like this novel. Though it is regretful that there are low chances of it getting an anime I just found the process of reading this quite entertaining. The MC is a pretty interesting guy who is quite frankly hilarious and someone who I perfer compared to your standard harem protagonist. So Idk about y’all but I can actually remember the protagonist because of how naive he can be sometimes. I never get the vibe... more>> that he was a clever person... so why the hate... did the book even ever state that?
anyhow... yes the Japan arc was a bit annoying in terms of country representation but I’m reading this with the perspective of a fictional world where the MC is underestimated cuz tbh he did have a weak reputation at the time... so yea. It’s a good read though, please give this one a chance and finish it through to actually get a sense of it before just dropping it midway because it doesn’t seem to have potential. I mean... do what you want it’s just my friendly suggestion. Happy reading! <<less
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Passionate_Reader
Passionate_Reader rated it
December 11, 2021
Status: Completed
It was heck of a ride. Although if relationships would have been executed better, I would have been much more happy.

Regardless, everything else was good. Give it a shot !!!
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Betrayer
Betrayer rated it
July 17, 2021
Status: Completed
Another Korean novel with an MC OP without personality among many others.
I like cold, calculating MCs, but it's too "dark and mysterious" for me.

The start was certainly very promising but the sequel deteriorates quickly and the hype around the manwha did not work in its favor and almost disgusted me with the work.

Objectively, it's neither good nor bad, it's just average, the lore can be interesting but the way of telling it is not the right one for my taste and the secondary characters lack development and quickly become... more>> useless. These are just NPCs cheering on the MC and The Great Korea.

The world itself is standard, the skill system, real world dungeons, and a weak to strong MC because there are dozens of them.

And the end... It's an end, I guess.

This is of course my opinion, and I find that it lacks a lot to make it into something good and the more I read, the more I was disappointed. The novel itself is empty, you don't learn anything, there is no morale, the development is bad and the only thing you remember is that the MC is too cool and too strong.

But if you still want to read it, make up your own mind and enjoy reading! <<less
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Amanjha4753
Amanjha4753 rated it
July 5, 2021
Status: --
One of the best weak to strong novels. Liked the flow and story line of this novel. Still reading it and can't stop myself from doing this.
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Luminescent
Luminescent rated it
May 13, 2021
Status: c243
I have completed the novel (not the side stories), and I think it is a pretty good novel. The novel is pretty consistent throughout, but towards the end the quality went down quite a bit. The ending itself though was pretty good, but there are a couple of things that could have made it better. Anyways I am giving it a 4 because it is interesting and a short, good read, but it isn't anything that blew my mind,
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Kyaaaaaaaaa
Kyaaaaaaaaa rated it
May 6, 2021
Status: --
Didn't quite like the ending, but the novel was still enjoyable (perhaps because I came from the manhwa?). It's a good time pass read, with adequate plot and characters for the cliche troupe of dungeons and what not.
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descoded
descoded
March 15, 2021
Status: Completed
Honestly, the only way I can describe "Solo Leveling" is as ok.

There's really no much to say. Typical korean fantasy, an entertaining enough read. If you're looking for something that'll stuck with you, this ain't it. Forgetable.
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bellasantaella
bellasantaella rated it
February 22, 2021
Status: Completed
The manhwa brought me here. I simply couldn't wait for updates. This is where my obsession with reading Asian novels began. Actually, I finished this maybe a year ago, but I came back to read it again, and give this a review as I absolutely love it.

  • Character development is very well done compared to a lot of novels, even if the side characters didn't get that much of it. But it isn't a problem, as the main focus was never on them. They didn't contribute much to the story at all. 99% of the character development went into the MC.
  • The fights are really exciting and so badass. I especially love scenarios where the MC arrives at the last second and saves the day. There are quite a lot of those in this.
  • The storyline is mysterious, while reading, I have been trying to find out exactly what caused our MC to get his powers and be this powerful, as korean novels often have similar story lines, but despite all of my ideas, I was quite far away from the truth. So it's definitely a plus that it wasn't written like the rest.
  • As for the MC, we have a clever and cool one. And he is really handsome *manhwa proof*.
  • For those who want to read about romance or who are fond of friendship-building and side characters, this novel is not really for you. But for those of you who like it when the MC is mainly alone, extremely overpowered, with almost no one capable of contending with him, this is for you. The thing is, our MC does have friends, family, allies, and a love interest, but they only get an insignificant amount of 'novel-time'. The whole book mainly focuses on the plot. And of course, there is no harem in this, and that is a plus.
Compared to Wuxia novels and others... more>> of it's kind, it only has 200 or so chapters, so it's kind of a quick read, but in exchange, it never gets to a boring arc. There aren't arrogant young masters or anything, no filler chapters. Every chapter is essential to the plot. My favorite Korean novel, that's for sure. I can only recommend it!

Spoiler

I can't help crying at the end. Never.

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Pokemini
Pokemini rated it
November 8, 2020
Status: Completed
Personally I enjoyed reading this novel (probably helped that I read the really well drawn manhwa before I read the novel so at that point I was already somewhat attached to the characters).

Positive points:

-No harem so nothing detracting the story from the main plot

- The story is overall well written and the lore is quite interesting (though not groundbreaking)

- MC is not exactly groundbreaking but he's still an awesome badass

- ... more>>
Spoiler

My favorite aspect is probably MC's relationship with his "minions". Beru is funny lol. The main "minions" characters are well developed so you get attached to them as well

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- The action scenes are quite well written

-
Spoiler

As for the human characters, most of them are not that developed primarily because the main spotlight is obviously on MC who is soloing (I mean the title is "solo" levelling, what do you expect). I do think some of the characters like the chairman are still pretty likeable though

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Negative aspects:

- The romance came out of nowhere but at least the novel barely covered it so it didn't detract much from the main plot (it's like ok they're together now let's move on). More like an afterthought?

Spoiler

Also, I mean I can understand why the girl fell in love with him but I can't understand why he fell in love with her? Like when?? But at least they didn't make her a damsel in distress

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- The ending was meh but the epilogues somewhat made up for it I think. <<less
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Galilio
Galilio
September 1, 2020
Status: Completed
The author is a master of hype and pacing, which makes this novel incredibly enjoyable. When I first read it, the translation was not that great, but now the quality has improved drastically. I would definitely recommend it to any fans of the action genre.
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Bohoto
Bohoto rated it
July 23, 2020
Status: Completed
It all comes to this: do you buy it?? Do you believe the story?

I had and I thought it was awesome, with the cold-blooded protagonist, great fights and shadow warriors and imo good humor (mostly Beru). It has stats and RPG elements but afterwards they are not in first place, but slowly fade and eventually mostly disappear with an explanation which I totally bought and had no problems with. Although MC stats redistribution were s*upid, but if you think of the lore and why the system exists you figure it... more>> doesn't matter.

Pacing is relatively fast, mostly untroubled although few times felt as if the author placed a few fillers in it. Beware if you read ending you might feel disappointed as was I, but remember to read side stories because it continues the story and gives you feel of finality and the true end to a story. <<less
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et Celestosapien
et Celestosapien
June 25, 2020
Status: Completed
Small, compact and unique perspective.

Spoiler
  • Only if it had a strong romantic subplot.
  • Ending was not that satisfying.
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Danigurl
Danigurl rated it
June 5, 2020
Status: Completed
So far Solo Leveling is one of the best and my favorite Manhwa and I even recommended it to my friends.

I love MC's that are cool headed and not rowdy.

I can't wait for S2 ?
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Jezvee
Jezvee
May 10, 2020
Status: Completed
Solid writing, story, and characters.

I like that the MC didn't turn into a ruthless loner like a lot of Korean Novel MCs.

The ending was a bit lackluster.

It gave the same level of disappointment that you would get if the ending is the MC waking up to discover everything was just a dream.
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Mahesvara_
Mahesvara_
April 5, 2020
Status: Completed
Well the novel is fine on the get-go tho nothing really special, but it became really interesting around chapter 50.

Tbh for me SSN (Seoul Station Necromancer) is more humorous, tho SSN ripped so many parts on this novel. I felt regret that I read the SSN before this, I could've enjoyed this more.

The start is quite boring but the good thing on Solo-Leveling is the deus-ex-machina isn't too obvious and actually making a sense on power logic, unlike some other novels where MC gets alot of unreasonable power-ups.

Chapter 39 !!
The author tried hard to make the White Tiger 2nd Division Chief to look smart but for me the 2nd-D... more>> Chief looked more of a shallow-thinker.
Spoiler

The 2nd-D Chief didn't know that Jin-woo and Jin-ho entered the Gate by themselves, they have 8 more members but somehow he ignored those people and jumped to suspect Jin-woo immediately. He even arrived on the thought that Jin-woo fought Kahng Tae-sik by himself. But why? It's too perfect to guess everything correctly! Shouldn't it be more possible that all the other people inside teamed up against Tae-sik with the help of Rank B Healer??? It's not really convincing that he arrived to a conclusion of Jin-woo is re-awakened immediately, the novel even said that re-awakening is VERY RARE across the world and there are so few cases of it, but somehow bunch of people arrived to the thought of someone is re-awakened almost immediately.

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Well nevermind no one cares I guess.

On the other hand sometimes Jin-woo could make use many of his powers better but somehow he's not using it well. I mean it's really a waste to have someone have such powers but didn't fully make use of it. Novel got several plotholes but overall Solo-Leveling is good. 4/5 for me. I think reading the manhwa might be more enjoyable than the novel tho. <<less
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Saronin Jayhart
Saronin Jayhart rated it
October 26, 2019
Status: c270
One of the best novels I've ever read (Just be sure to read the Side Stories and After Stories as well)

Unfortunately the translator changes somewhere between chapter 80 and 100. It's not unreadable, but as with most translator shifts some terms are translated differently and might be a bit confusing at first and there is a noticeable drop in quality.

Premise: ☆☆☆☆☆

... more>> Execution: ☆☆☆☆

TL-1: ☆☆☆☆☆

TL-2: ☆☆☆☆

Characters: ☆☆☆☆☆☆ (+1 ☆ for the Side Stories and After Stories)

Plot: ☆☆☆☆☆

Originality: ☆☆☆ (The setting of dungeons appearing in the real world is used a lot in Korean low fantasy, but I liked that setting so although it's not original, it's not really a big minus either. Originality barely exists anymore anyway. Nowadays it's all about how you take an existing concept and make it your own.)

Total: 4.57 Round Up to ☆☆☆☆☆ <<less
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