Solo Leveling Episode 12 ending explained

Solo Leveling Episode 12 brings the first season to a big conclusion, and Sung Jinwoo is now more powerful than ever. Here’s what goes down.

Solo Leveling is likely to be among the best anime of 2024. That much was true only a few episodes in, as more and more fans got into Sung Jinwoo’s epic journey from E-rank hunter to world class dungeon crawler.

We’ve seen him tackle some hefty opponents so far, from human to beast, and now he gets his most fascinating ability yet. But if you’re wondering what just happened, we can break it all down for you.

What happens in the Solo Leveling Episode 12 ending?

Sung Jinwoo becomes the Shadow Monarch at the end of Solo Leveling Episode 12, raising an army of undead knights and Igris to do his biddings. He manages to complete the job change quest by cleverly taking on a penalty mission that let him regroup, heal, and level up some more, before returning to destroy the knights and earning the role of Shadow Monarch.

Originally, he was only going to become Necromancer, but he gains so many experience points in such a short length of time he then moves up another rank, to the Shadow Monarch. The central ability he gets is the power to turn fallen enemies into pawns for his own bidding.

At first, he raises all the knights he defeated, but then Jinwoo decides to go for something bigger: Igris, whose corpse remains at the side of the hall. His ability seems to work, but then fails, revealing that each body hold three attempts before you can’t raise them at all.

On the third go, with Sung Jinwoo commanding “Arise” each time, Igris finally reanimates and joins his legion. Then Sung Jinwoo exclaims that he’s excited to fight alongside his former opponent, and we get credits.

Where are the S-rank hunters going in Solo Leveling Episode 12?

The S-rank hunters are heading to Jeju island in Solo Leveling Episode 12, setting up another arc for the future. At current rate of adaptation, the Jeju Island Arc won’t arrive until Season 3, so expect more teases and twists in the subplot for now.

Thankfully, Solo Leveling Season 2 has been confirmed and is coming soon, so we don’t have long to wait. Check out the best anime like Solo Leveling for ways to keep yourself amused.