Solo Leveling Episode 7 Review

Let’s See How Far I Can Go

Jinho attempts to recruit Jinwoo in Solo Leveling Episode 7. And, he fails. Specifically, Jinho wants to recruit Jinwoo to accompany him on 19 additional raids. But, why does he want to reach that number? What does he get out of it?

Apparently, anyone who completes 20 dungeon raids can apply to be a guild leader. Jinho’s father’s construction company is interested in creating a guild. And, Jinho wants to be the leader. I guess the fact that he’s a D-Rank Hunter doesn’t matter as long as he has strong Hunters working under him.

So, we know what’s in it for Jinho. But, what about Jinwoo? What does he get out of this arrangement? A high-ranking position in the guild? No. Jinho offers him 30 billion won — or a building worth 30 billion won. It wasn’t entirely clear which he was offering.

Regardless of what form that 30 billion won comes in, that’s a good chunk of money. If we convert it into USD, that comes out to over $22.5 million. So, Jinwoo would be taking home over $1 million per dungeon he completes.

And, as far as I know, there’s no difficulty threshold for these 20 dungeons Jinho needs to complete. He and Jinwoo could tackle 19 more dungeons that are D-Rank or lower. There are obvious rewards for completing higher-ranked dungeons. Jinho would get more accolades and Jinwoo would get more experience points.

However, as I mentioned at the start, Jinwoo turns him down. Why? Because he believes he’ll be able to make even more money if he focuses on his training and reaches S-Rank levels. Sure, that’s a good idea, too. But, why not both? He can continue getting stronger while also making $22.5 million.

S-Rank Enemy

Dongsuk Hwang was the leader of the Hunters Jinwoo killed in the dungeon. And, before he died, he tried to threaten Jinwoo by dropping his brother’s name. Dongsuk’s younger brother is Dongsoo Hwang, an S-Rank Hunter. But, Jinwoo didn’t seem to care when he heard that name.

Did Jinwoo not care because he already sees himself as being stronger than S-Rank Hunters? No. As we saw in Episode 7, Jinwoo recognizes that he’s not at that level yet. Also, it wouldn’t have mattered if he did recognize Dongsoo’s name — he still had to kill Dongsuk for his quest.

In this episode, though, we find out the reason for why Jinwoo might not have known or cared about Dongsoo. Apparently, there are only seven S-Rank Hunters in the country (South Korea). And, it looks like Dongsoo isn’t one of them. He doesn’t appear to be in South Korea.

Why do I assume Dongsoo isn’t in South Korea? The big giveaway is that he asks his assistant what would happen if he killed someone in another country. He’s referring to killing Jinho and Jinwoo to avenge his brother. And since he’s asking about a different country, it means he’s not in the same country as them.

Where is Dongsoo, then? As far as I know, we don’t have any confirmation about his location. But, there’s a small clue that could point us in the right direction. His assistant refers to him as “Mister Hwang.”

She says “Mister” in English. What’s the largest English-speaking country in the world? The United States. So, I’m going to predict that Dongsoo works as a Hunter in the US. If you want to make a lot of money as a Hunter, it must be great. We love capitalism and the military-industrial complex.

The Demon Castle Dungeon

Is the Demon Castle dungeon going to be the final obstacle for Jinwoo to overcome? I knew he wasn’t going to be strong enough to clear it in this episode. It’s an S-Rank dungeon, after all. But, it seems like it’s going to be the “final boss” of the series.

Jinwoo’s entire reason for being a Hunter is to provide for his family while his mother is in the hospital. He needs money for himself and his sister to live off of. And, he needs money to continue paying for his mother’s treatment.

If he clears the Demon Castle dungeon, though, he can solve all his problems. If he’s strong enough to do that, he’ll have been able to make all the money he’ll ever need. But, more importantly, after clearing the dungeon, he can craft an item that will allow him to cure his mother.

If Jinwoo cures his mother, he’ll never have to work as a Hunter again. Both his personal and financial reasons for doing so will be solved. Would he continue working as a Hunter? Probably. Rich people tend not to stop wanting more money. And, he’d be doing a service by clearing dungeons.

It also makes sense for a dungeon like this to be the final boss rather than another one of the S-Rank Hunters. Sure, Dongsoo wants to kill Jinwoo and you could argue that he could be the final boss. But, that wouldn’t make much sense.

Remember, Jinwoo’s world has been turned into a game. One way in which he could beat this game is by acquiring the Elixer of Life. Another is by defeating the god that did this to him in the first place. But, Dongsoo and the other Hunters have nothing to do with it.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of Solo Leveling Episode 7? Should Jinwoo have taken Jinho up on his offer? Where do you think Dongsoo is currently located? And, are you expecting Jinwoo to clear the Demon Castle dungeon in one go at the end, or in pieces as he gets stronger?

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My review of Episode 8 is available now.