Solo Leveling to Return with Side Stories and Epilogue!
Solo Leveling is easily one of the most famous webtoons to have been released. Ever since the manhwa concluded in December 2021, fans have been waiting for some update regarding its possible return.
There have been rumors about Solo Leveling getting an anime but nothing has been made official so far. However, there is some good news for fans who have been bitter about the webtoon ending so soon.
There was a piece of news that surfaced last month, that had predominantly gone overlooked by the majority of the fandom.
On April 4, 2022, Tapas Studios made an official announcement stating that the main story of Solo Leveling was over, but that it would return with special episodes at a later date.
Tapas is the webtoon platform that holds the English-language publication rights to Solo Leveling. They revealed on their website that the series is currently on hiatus, but will definitely be back soon with new chapters.
There is no confirmed date given by Tapas, but the Scanlation group, Flame Scans, announced that Solo Leveling will be back with the side stories and epilogue in the third quarter of 2022.
So, we can estimate that the promised special episodes might be released sometime between July and September.
What is the Last Chapter of the Manhwa?
Chapter 179 is the final chapter of Solo Leveling, the manhwa/webtoon. It is based on chapter 243 of the web novel, and also includes bits from chapters 244-270.
Solo Leveling, the series, began as an unpublished Korean novel in 2014, written by Chugong. It was serialized in 2018, and has a total of 270 chapters.
The novel was adapted into a webtoon in 2018, and ended with a total of 179 chapters. It also included a Prologue, which wasn’t in the original novel.
Chapters 244 to 270 are considered the Epilogue of the novel, which weren’t completely adapted into the main series of the webtoon.
We did get some information from the Epilogue in the last manhwa chapter, but the side stories weren’t really included.
What will the New Solo Leveling Chapters Include?
According to the official announcement, Solo Leveling webtoon readers will be getting the whole story, including everything from the web novel’s Epilogue: the side stories and the after stories.
The novel’s Epilogue is the 21st arc of the series and spans a total of 26 chapters. Since some of it was already squeezed into chapter 179 of the webtoon, I am worried about how much content they will have for the special chapters.
It is possible that the webtoon creates some new content to fill in the narrative. The side stories themselves didn’t seem fully complete in the novel, and it seemed like they tried to leave it open for added side stories or even a sequel.
The web novel includes 22 side stories (chapters 244 to 264) and 6 after stories, called Recollections (chapters 265-270). The new special chapters that will come out on Tapas will likely include all these, and maybe some new material as well.
How did Solo Leveling End?
Solo Leveling, the webtoon, ended with Sung Jin Woo winning against Antares and becoming the new Shadow Monarch.
Jin Woo travels 10 years back in time using the Cup of Reincarnation and defeats all 7 Monarchs. He also saves everyone that had died as a result of the war, and returns back as a teenager.
The Cup of Reincarnation affects every human alive 10 years ago. All the Shadow Soldiers go back to being human, which is why characters like Greed and Iron disappear as Shadows when Jin Woo returns.
On the other hand, Beru, Tusk, Tank, and Kaisel were non-humans that were made into Shadows, and thus Jin Woo could retain them as Shadows in his army when he goes back in time.
After he returns, though, they cease to exist, since magic itself is eliminated.
The Gates stop existing the moment Jin Woo succeeds, and there is no need for Hunters anymore either. Only the people who would be alive regardless of the existence of magic, remain.
In the end, Jin Woo retains his Shadow Monarch powers and lives on as an eternal on Earth.
The ending was wholesome but some fans felt that the time traveling bit ruined the series. I mean, all this just for Sung Jin Woo to go back and change history?
Jin Woo’s main thing, though, is protecting the people he loves, so the ending does make sense.
Conclusion
Many Korean web novels have their ending spread over side stories and bonus chapters. The Epilogue, when fully adapted, will strengthen the manhwa ending for sure, giving many readers the opportunity to see their favorite characters to the end.
In the Epilogue, after he resets the timeline, Jin Woo reintroduces himself to his love interest, Cha Hae In, and they eventually get married and have a son called Sung Suho.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the webtoon adapts this. I hope we see more of our protagonist’s new life when Solo Leveling returns with its new chapters.
About Solo Leveling
Solo Leveling is a Korean Webtoon written by Chu Gong and illustrated by Jang Sung Rak. It is adapted from the webnovel; I Alone Level Up. Kakaopage publishes it in South Korea and Piccoma in Japan.
Portals connecting the Earth to realms of monsters have opened up, and hunters defeat those monsters. Sung Jin Woo belongs to the lowest level of hunters, but after getting involved in a Dungeon quest, he alone can see quests like that of a game.
His journey to become the most powerful hunter and bring peace back to Earth begins.
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