Back when Solo Leveling kicked off, it was like any other average shonen/action series. The main character was weak, kind of pitiful, and unable to take the increasing pressure of the ever-growing strength of society around him-- something that landed him the title of "Mankind's Weakest Hunter." What made this particular series different was protagonist Sung Jin Woo's intense and rapid progression from being the ultimate underdog to reaching divine levels of strength and power. A kind of growth so unparalleled that it made everyone tempted to get acquainted with the show whether they liked it or not.

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Because Jin Woo was so weak in the beginning, the opponents he faced were almost always too strong for him. This set the fans up for some pretty evenly-matched fights, with both parties doing serious damage to the other. However, as he started growing stronger (thanks to his infinite ability to level up), most of Jin Woo's fights in the latter half of the series were almost always one-sided—especially the ones against magical beasts. However, in the original manhwa, there were some fairly strong beasts that gave Jin Woo a run for his money.

Major manhwa spoilers ahead, proceed with caution!

8 Blood-Red Commander Igris

First Seen in Chapter 38

Blood-Red Commander Igris was the first major high-ranked beast Jin Woo faced during his raid in the Job Change Quest dungeon. Although he wasn't the strongest one in the grand scheme of things, he definitely left a mark on the story, particularly given his transformation into one of Jin Woo's most trusted generals.

Blood-Red Commander Igris, despite only being an A-Rank, was the most striking beast of the entire manhwa—and not only because of his glorious red armor (although yeah, that's one heck of an armor). It was because he was the first, and sort of the last, creature in the series that Jin Woo had to break a sweat to defeat. Both of them had equal strength at the time, and the match-up was almost completely balanced. In fact, it was Igris who was initially in control of the fight until Jin Woo gained momentum and left the poor knight completely battered.

7 Baruka

First Seen in Chapter 52

Baruka is the ice elf boss Jin Woo faced during his raid on the Red Gate Dungeon. He was also one of the first few magical beasts that had an intelligence rivaling that of a human—essentially meaning that the beast was sentient. That said, Baruka was extremely sadistic and ruthless and had to be defeated by multiple shadow beasts.

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He was also smart enough to figure out that Jin Woo wasn't exactly a human, although not smart enough to know that challenging the Shadow Monarch directly wouldn't end well for him. Ultimately, though, he was defeated by Jin Woo (but not before he overpowered the MC and his soldiers multiple times). The one thing that confirmed Baruka's rank and strength was the fact that, when Jin Woo tried to extract him as a shadow soldier, he failed all three times, proving how the latter's extraction powers were not strong enough.

6 Vulcan

First Seen in Chapter 58

Vulcan was one of the many dungeon bosses Jin Woo faced during his Demon Castle raid. He was a large, intimidating demon beast that, unlike some of the many other magical beasts on this list, was devoid of any humanoid features. Vulcan was also the ruler of the lower floors of the castle, and was clearly very proud of it considering the creepy smug look he had on his face.

He wasn't lacking in terms of combat strength either. Despite his massive size, Vulcan was lightning-fast, so much so that it even caught Jin Woo off guard. He also managed to subdue Igris and Iron with one swing of his colossal sword. And for someone as beastly and savage as Vulcan, he was pretty good and predicting the Jin Woo's direct offense attacks on him.

5 Kargalgan

First Seen in Chapter 71

Karlgalgan was the menacing high orc boss and shaman that was first introduced in the manhwa in the Hunter's Gate Guild raid. Karlagan was highly egotistical and loud, and had overestimated his ability as both the leader of the high orcs and as a powerful magical beast. Funnily enough, after his shadow extraction by Jin Woo, he ended up becoming one of the most loyal and meek shadow soldiers of the shadow army.

Kargalgan was a sick individual who enjoyed playing with human emotions and misery. Before inviting them to his throne room, he promised the A-Rank hunters a reprieve and a truce, only to take back his words the minute they came face to face with him. He also had multiple spells up his sleeve and was able to use a bunch of them during his fight with Jin Woo.

4 Ant King

First Seen in Chapter 94

The most destructive magical beast on this list, and the one with the most impact, was the Ant King from the Jeju Island Arc. He was the one beast in the entire series that had the most S-Rank hunter deaths on his hands, and was the only shadow soldier in Jin Woo's army that he struggled to fully control even after its extraction.

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Ant King (Beru after his extraction) had unparalleled levels of strength and power; he was able to eliminate 7 major S-Rank hunters in one strike, including the reigning strongest hunter in Japan. Additionally, he claimed the life of an S-Rank healer, Min Byung Gyu, whose loss was a major blow to those involved in the raid. He single-handedly overpowered all the other S-Ranks present on the island, only meeting his match upon Jin Woo's fairly late arrival.

3 Kamish

First Seen in Chapter 115

It's ironic that Kamish, the strongest magic beast in the series, had the least amount of screen time and a legacy only spoken of in dialogues, yet managed to have an impact that left the post-dungeon-appearing world completely traumatized.

He was the boss of the first S-Rank dungeon to have ever appeared in the world, and left the American west coast completely decimated in his wake. He killed hundreds of S-Rank hunters and was only defeated by the combined efforts of the 5 he barely left behind.

2 Architect

First Seen in Chapter 6, Major Fight in 125

The Architect was the most anticipated, yet the most unexpected antagonist of the entire series. Anyone familiar with it in the slightest knows all too well about the double dungeons that appear at the start of the series. The same double dungeons that created the domino effect and landed Jin Woo his godlike powers, albeit not without their fair share of trauma and hopelessness.

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The Architect, clearly by the name, was the creature responsible for the events surrounding Jin Woo. He was the one who gave Jin Woo his powers, and served as his ultimate 'test.' Even at level 100, Jin Woo had a lot of trouble defeating him and his stone soldiers. And while Jin Woo did eventually win the fight, it rendered him momentarily incapacitated. Pretty good for a magical beast.

1 Biggest Giant

First Seen in Chapter 131

In chapter 131 of the manhwa, Sung Jin Woo—now known as mankind's strongest hunter and the Shadow Monarch—left for Japan to close a very high-ranked and destructive dungeon that had appeared there. The beasts emerging from the said dungeon and wreaking chaos all around Tokyo were humongous giants (bigger than an average giant) that were being led by an even larger one.

The aptly-named "supermassive giant" had the most terrifying and intimidating presence out of all of them and particularly stood out because of the eerie smile he had on his face. He managed to off hundreds of Jin Woo's shadow soldiers, and even overpowered some of his generals. Jin Woo himself found the sheer evil energy emitting from the beast unpleasant, admitting that it was oppressive enough to make him consider fleeing.

Solo Leveling

Action

Fantasy

Release Date

January 7, 2024

Creator

Chugong

Studio

A-1 Pictures

Based On

Web Novel

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll