Highlights
- The Double Dungeon was initially part of a D-Rank Gate, but it turned out to be much more dangerous than expected.
- The statues in the dungeon have specific roles, with the ones holding weapons preventing anyone from leaving and the ones holding musical instruments being essential to fulfill the second commandment.
- The survival in the dungeon depends on fulfilling three commandments, which include revering God, praising God, and proving faith to God. The consequences of failing can result in death.
The following contains spoilers for Solo Leveling Episode 2, "If I Had One More Chance", available for streaming on Crunchyroll. It also contains heavy spoilers for the Solo Leveling story far beyond this point. The manhwa can be read on Tapas.
Some of the most famous scenes from Solo Leveling are in its early moments, during the Double Dungeon raid that claims Sung Jin-Woo's life. Its Boss, the Statue of God, is particularly famous among fans for that smile. The dungeon has various rules which, if not followed properly, lead to gruesome death.
Despite being the weakest Hunter, Jin-Woo was the best at keeping his wits about him and alchemizing the information that was presented to them about their situation, making his presence the ultimate reason why anyone was left alive at all. So, what exactly was that dungeon, and what do we know about the ominous Statue of God in Solo Leveling?
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The Dungeon Is First Shown As Part of a D-Rank Gate
The Double Dungeon first appears in a D-Rank Gate that had been left unchecked for too long by the Hunter Association. Jin-Woo and his party members cleared the adjoining dungeon, which had been populated with regular magic beasts; however, they discovered a cave leading to a mysterious door. Beyond it would be the site of a nightmarish massacre at the hands of living statues armed with various weapons and objects. These statues stand inanimate along the walls of the dungeon, which takes on the form of a throne room where the supposed king sits upon his throne at the front, with three commandments of the Cartenon Temple inscribed on a tablet close by. Since the double-dungeon was part of a D-Rank Gate, Jin-Woo and his party didn't suspect that it could be as dangerous as it actually was.
The Various Statues Have Specific Roles
Along the walls are the statues of various warriors, armed with different kinds of weapons, and among them are statues holding a musical instrument. After the commandments are read, the doors of the throne room close, and anyone who tries to escape is immediately cut down. After the doors close, the statues inside become "live", but they do not pursue the Hunters in the way that regular magic beasts would, prompting Jin-Woo to question the three commandments they saw upon entry. While the ones armed with a weapon are there to prevent anyone from leaving the throne room alive, the ones holding musical instruments are central to fulfilling the second commandment. The statue seated on the throne is supposedly the deity of this religion from centuries past.
The Three Commandments Must Be Fulfilled For Anyone's Survival
To ensure survival in this unique dungeon, three commandments outlined on a tablet inside the throne room must be followed and fulfilled by all present.
- First, revere God.
The statue seated upon a throne fires intense laser blasts from its eyes to raze down anybody standing above a certain level. To survive, Jin-Woo quickly surmises that they need to kneel before the statue on the throne to satisfy the first commandment. Once the survivors of the lasers get their heads below a certain level, the statue stops firing and the blank expression on its face is replaced with a sinister grin of incredible malice, satisfied with the initial display of piety of the insects that bow before it.
- Second, praise God.
After the sinister grin spreads across the seated statue's face, it stands up from its throne and advances. In an attempt to fulfill the second commandment, a Hunter experienced in theology attempts to pray to the statue but gets crushed under its feet instead. Eventually, Jin-Woo realizes that the second commandment is related to the non-combatant statues. To pass this stage, all the musical statues must have an individual positioned in front of them so that they can play the "secret chord" that would appease the rampaging Statue of God. With multiple casualties, Jin-Woo's party manages to fulfill this commandment, and the Statue of God sits back down. Once seated, the Statue of God raises an altar in the centre of the throne room, with the blank expression returned to its face.
- Third, prove your faith to God.
When Chi-Yul stands near the altar at the center of the room, a lone orange flame flickers on the platform where the altar is located, but nothing else happens. When all the party members assemble at the altar, a series of blue flames ignite, and the number and position of orange flames matches that of the Hunters. The doors which had been sealed shut flung open. The statues came to life with a blue-white light glowing across the eyes and various markings of the warrior statues. They advanced towards the altar with clear murderous intent, but if all the party members kept their eyes fixed on the looming threat, they stopped moving. Unfortunately, not all of Jin-Woo's party members could keep their nerve, and whenever someone ran, their corresponding orange flame would extinguish and the door would close slightly. If enough people left, those remaining would certainly die.
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The Thematic Significance of the Third Commandment
The third commandment presented each of the present Hunters with a difficult choice: stay, and risk death; or run away and survive. Only Jin-Woo, Joo-Hee and party leader Chi-Yul had the guts to see it all the way through. Despite being the reason that the escapees could survive, Jin-Woo ended up dying a brutal death. It tested the faith that the Hunters had in their survival should they comply with "God's" rules and their own resolve. Those who failed at the final commandment may have left with their lives, but the consequences of these decisions falling upon a sole sacrificial lamb wound up being the fulfillment of its conditions, as Jin-Woo was violently ripped apart by the warriors just as the timer hit zero. It's possible that Jin-Woo's sacrifice enabled him to fulfill the survival and special conditions of the dungeon, enabling him to become a Player.
The Statue of God is Created in the Image of The Creator God of Solo Leveling
The statues and the commandments are of the Cartenon Temple, an aspect that isn't explored in Solo Leveling until much later in the story. At some point, Jin-Woo is thrown into battle against the Statue of God and its minions when he reaches Level 100. Beings of darkness known as Monarchs were born to destroy the world, while their arch-enemies of light were known as Rulers, born long before the events of the story. A being known as The Architect wanted to assist a Ruler known as Ashborn in finding a suitable human host in exchange for immortality. The Architect is the creator of the System that Sung Jin-Woo uses to level up, and as a final test, The Architect invites Jin-Woo back to prove his might against the Double Dungeon. The Statue of God is actually created in the image of the Absolute Being, the cruel and sadistic ultimate creator of the universe who treated his creations as mere entertainment and was eventually killed by seven of the eight Rulers, with Ashborn remaining loyal to the end.
Solo Leveling: Heroic Death and The Hypocrisy of Self-Sacrifice
Jin-Woo's tragic fate is sealed after his allies escape the Dungeon.
