This article contains major spoilers from the Solo Leveling manhwa.

Summary

Jin-Woo navigates a world where killing is essential for survival
The system in Solo Leveling forces Jin-Woo to kill humans.
Jin-Woo's kill count reaches 13 humans, including high-rank hunters

Solo Leveling’s Sung Jin-Woo exists in the dangerous and cruel world of hunters, where killing monsters and even humans is necessary to survive. If a hunter hesitates to kill for a second, there’s no telling what will happen to them in the dungeon, where no one from the outside, not even the Hunter Association, knows what is happening. The moment a hunter steps into a dungeon, they should be ready to kill or be killed.

Sung Jin-Woo was once a weak and harmless hunter who usually injured himself in E-rank dungeons with low-level monsters. He never expected that he would cross the line where he had to take someone’s life to survive. The system in Solo Leveling plays a significant role in Jin-Woo's life, forcing him to kill monsters and humans alike. If Jin-Woo ever decides to disobey the system, his heart will stop beating instead, so it's best to just go with the flow.

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By Cathlyn Melo

Sung Jin-Woo's First Human Kill

An Experience Jin-Woo Will Never Forget

What begins as a casual raid turns into a bloody situation as the system forces Sung Jin-Woo to kill eight humans who want him dead in the dungeon. C-rank hunter Hwang Dong-Suk and his group enter a C-rank dungeon with Jin-Woo and Jin-Ho, expecting their usual hunting routine to go as planned. They leave Jin-Woo and Jin-Ho by themselves in the dungeon boss’ lair while they wait outside the gate, expecting that the two will die when they return to mine the magic crystals.

"Just as I thought, they are the lizards!"—Sung Jin-Woo to Hwang Dong-Suk and his group

However, Jin-Woo successfully kills the boss and turns his eye to Hwang Dong-Suk and his group. As Jin-Woo recalls a story about lizards in the dungeons, he realizes that Hwang Dong-Suk and his group are the lizards who will cut their tails and leave them behind, just like what they just did to them. While Jin-Woo never thinks of killing these humans, the system suddenly brings an emergency quest that wants him to kill Hwang Dong-Suk and his group.

The System Forces Jin-Woo to Kill Humans Again

Sung Jin-Woo's Life or Kang Tae-Shik's Life

Following the encounter with Hwang Dong-Suk's group, Jin-Woo must kill another human to survive. This time, it is Kang Tae-Shik, an inspector from the Hunter’s Association, who accompanies Jin-Woo, some familiar faces, and a group of rehabilitators in a dungeon raid. From the beginning, Jin-Woo felt something off with Kang Tae Shik and, sure enough, his sharp instinct and survival sense did not fail him.

"I'll get rid of you first!"—Kang Tae-Shik to Lee Joo-Hee

To see another day, Jin-Woo kills Kang Tae Shik in a thrilling battle between an assassin and a player in the system. At the time, Kang Tae Shik was in a different league than Hwang Dong-Suk and his group, forcing Jin-Woo to fight to the best of his abilities. After killing Tae-Shik, Jin-Woo receives a runestone that contains the skill Stealth. And before we forget, Jin-Woo is also responsible for the death of the surviving rehabilitator. Because Jin-Woo can’t forgive his crimes, he throws the rehabilitator into the lair of the dungeon boss, leading to his tragic demise.

How Many Humans Did Jin-Woo Kill?

Death Toll Revealed

As the plot unfolds in Solo Leveling, Sung Jin-Woo kills a total of 13 humans, including the prisoner who turned himself in to the police in the epilogue of the series. The first eight people who died at Jin-Woo's hands were Hwang Dong Suk and his group. For some reason, some fans think Jin-Woo only killed six people during the Dungeon and Lizards Arc, but the system’s quest forced him to kill eight, based on the manhwa.

Aside from Kang Tae-Shik and the surviving rehabilitator, Jin-Woo also killed the A-Rank hunter from the White Tiger Guild, Kim Chul, and turned him into one of his shadows named Iron. He also killed Hwang Dong-Suk's brother, Hwang Dong-Soo, during the International Guild Conference Arc and turned him into one of his shadows named Greed. While it looked like Jin-Woo killed the healers who were working with Hwang Dong-Soo when they kidnapped Jin-Ho, there’s no confirmation of their deaths.

"The real hunt begins now!"—Sung Jin-Woo

In Solo Leveling’s epilogue, Jin-Woo sent three of his shadows to murder a prisoner. It was unfortunate, as the prisoner willingly turned himself in to avoid death, but the police force, including Woo Jin-Chul, took him out of prison to verify his claims about the shadow monsters. The prisoner ends up dying, while Jin-Chul and two others have their memories erased.

Humans Sung Jin-Woo Killed in Solo Leveling
Hwang Dong-Suk
Juntae
Jinsuk
Lee Chul-Jin
Cho Kyu-Hwan
Unnamed Hunter
Unnamed Hunter
Unnamed Hunter
Kang Tae-Shik
Unnamed Rehabilitator
Kim Chul
Hwang Dong-Soo
Unnamed Prisoner

At the end of the day, it’s better for Jin-Woo to take the lives of the worst humans on Earth than to die for them. Instead of allowing them to live and giving them another chance, Jin-Woo ensures they can never lay their hands on innocent people struggling to survive in the cruel and dangerous world of Solo Leveling.

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