Title: Solo Leveling Volume 9
Author: Dubu (Redice Studio), Chugong (original story)
Editor: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 312
Genre: Fantasy, Action
Release date: 20 August 2024
The story
In volume nine of Solo Leveling, Russian S-rank hunter Yuri Orlav is called to seal the S-rank gate discovered in Shinjuku with a barrier spell. Meanwhile, Jinwoo has been given a key and a summons to where it all began… the Double Dungeon, located in a nearby C-rank dungeon. Inside, Jinwoo evacuates the team after unlocking the door. We meet the original God Statue from the beginning of the series, as well as the Architect who built the system! Jinwoo’s trump cards, inventory, potion usage, and necromancy powers have been disabled! His final test is to defeat the Architect, his minions, and the God Statue single-handedly!
Jinwoo completes the task. He doesn’t get many answers, however, but we do get some pretty important clues. Meanwhile, an S-rank search party went to look for Jinwoo, but discovered him sleeping and guarded by the Architect. After that ordeal is over, we turn our attention to Orlav, who is setting up the barrier around the S-rank gate. However, the mission fails and the gate collapses. The A-rank gate bosses in the form of giants pour out! Meanwhile, Jinho’s father summons Jinwoo and offers him money, claiming he knows something about curing his mother’s illness.
Regardless of Jinwoo’s decision on the matter, he decides something else… He sets off for Japan, not because he cares about closing the gate or affecting Japan’s fate, but because he knows that even at level 103, there are still more out there who are just as strong or even stronger than him. And he’s going to do what he does best… level up!
Characters
While we don’t have all the answers, Jinwoo has evolved massively here. I won’t give too much away, but we get a sense of what his powers are, where they come from, and what’s inside him that could very well be the source of his powers. The thing inside him increased his MP by 100,000! With that much mana, he could probably summon an infinite number of shadows! There are still a lot of unanswered questions about the system and how Jinwoo was able to do some of the things in it. I’m sure we’ll get those answers in time.
With Yuri Orlav, we know he is extremely greedy and very confident in his abilities. When I recognized his personality, I knew immediately that he would fail at the S-rank gate. Despite this, while he was setting up his barrier, he noticed that he was being watched by someone… someone who said that the beginning of destruction was imminent. In addition, more S-rank gates have appeared around the world… one in Maryland in the United States, one in England, and one in India. Whoever this new figure is, they are surely connected to the gates and may be the only reason for their existence.
Final thoughts
Another great volume of Solo Leveling, although I can’t shake the feeling that it’s coming to an end soon. We still have quite a bit to learn about the system, why it was created, what Jinwoo knows about it, final confirmation of who he really is, who the “he” is that the Architect kept alluding to, and the S-Rank Gates and the person seemingly behind them. While there’s still a lot to cover, this all seems to be the start of a final story arc. I know the first part of this series has come to an end in Korea, but Yen Press is combining chapters… I just don’t know how many they’re combining. While we’re at “Chapter 27,” realistically we’ll be at Chapter 135 in the webcomic, with only 44 webcomic chapters left.
Regardless, things are heating up and the threat of a “world-ending threat” is increasing, and Jinwoo is at the point where he is clearly the world’s only true hope. With potentially only a few volumes left, I hope there’s still enough time to answer all of our remaining questions. If not, there’s a sequel series in the works, so… regardless, we’re far from done!
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This article was provided for review by Yen Press.
