Who Could Be the First S-Rank Hunter?

In Solo Leveling, S-rank hunters are considered national treasures of their country due to the immense abilities they possess. As mysterious gates formed all across the globe, hunters also appeared, as if their purpose was to avoid upsetting the power balance. That said, who could be the very first S-rank hunter to emerge in Solo Leveling?

Awakened individuals who choose to become hunters are classified according to their abilities and mana output. The series has an S-E categorization system, with S-rankers at the top and E-rankers considered the least powerful. In a nutshell, the higher the rank of an awakened individual, the better compensated they are, and the more power they possess. However, there are false rankers who can manipulate their mana at will to conceal their real classification.

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What Does It Mean to Be an S-Rank Hunter?

S-Rank Hunters Are National-Level Assets

Unlike low-rank hunters, S-rank hunters are gifted with exceptional combat skills, immense mana, and special abilities that are nothing but extraordinary. Their mana output can’t be quantified by the mana meter technology, elevating them to the ranks of the elite as if they were the world’s apex predator. However, there’s no official upper limit to their abilities, which means there are some S-rank hunters who are simply stronger than the others.

Every country values their S-rank hunters above all others due to their ability to clear high-rank dungeons with fewer casualties, not to mention the amount of money and profit they can bring to the table. The more S-rank hunters a nation has, the more powerful they appear to other nations, at least in the eyes of the public. In South Korea, a nation with a dwindling number of S-rank hunters, Sung Jin-Woo’s existence makes a huge difference because of his outrageous abilities, which even the most powerful countries regard as a significant threat to the power balance.

Not everyone can be an S-rank hunter, even those awakened individuals who work extra hard to improve their abilities. After all, it’s common knowledge that it’s almost impossible for someone to go above their initial rank unless a reawakening occurs. This is not the case with Sung Jin-Woo, who became a player in the system and changed his fate.

So, Who Could Be the First S-Rank Hunter?

Possible Candidates Explored

To this day, Solo Leveling has never outright revealed who became the very first S-rank hunter, which means anyone, particularly those who rose to the rank before everyone else, could be a potential candidate. They could be from South Korea, Japan, the United States, Russia, China, or even from other countries left unexplored in the series.

One of the first candidates that comes to mind for Solo Leveling fans is Go Gun-Hee, the chairman of the Korean Hunters Association. He is over 80 years old, which means he may have been in the business longer than any other S-rank hunter known in the series. With his moniker as the S-Rank among the S-ranks, it would not be surprising if he were later dubbed as the first S-rank hunter known to mankind. Among the S-rank hunters featured in the series, Go Gun-Hee is the most likely to claim the title, rather than the United States’ Thomas Andre or even China’s Liu Zhigang.

However, there’s also a huge possibility that a different character, whose name has already been lost in history, could be the first-ever S-rank hunter. They could be in a different country or have died while Sung Jin-Woo is shaking the balance of the world. It’s also possible that the first-ever S-rank hunter emerged as soon as the gates appeared and even before the classification system was implemented. Perhaps they are also a player, but for now, fans will never know unless additional lore is revealed.

Whoever the first S-rank hunter is, only the author of Solo Leveling will know. At this point, their identity remains one of the biggest mysteries in the series, and fans are hoping to get an answer sometime in the future.

Solo Leveling

Release Date

January 7, 2024

Directors

Shunsuke Nakashige

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  Taito Ban

  Shun Mizushino (voice)

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  Genta Nakamura

  Kenta Morobishi (voice)