Why Are S-Rank Gates So Notoriously Tough to Clear?

Ever since mysterious Gates have spawned in the Solo Leveling universe, hunters gifted with supernatural powers have fought a seemingly endless war with monsters to keep civilians safe. Unfortunately, each dungeon comes with its unique challenges, and guilds have to carefully assign the hunters of the proper rank to clear it, or things might get ugly.

Although the dungeons are quite different, their threat levels can be estimated based on their ranks. Typically, B, C, D, and E-ranked Gates are somewhat safer. A-rankers can be tough, but the S-rank dungeons are nightmares. But what makes them so deadly? Let’s explore their history and unpredictable nature to make an educated guess.

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The Notorious History of S-rank Gates

S-rank Gates Have Always Been Notoriously Dangerous

S-rank Gates are deadly, but luckily they rarely spawn. The first dungeon of that rank spawned several years before the events of the main storyline. It ended up becoming one of the most tragic events in human history, as over a million people lost their lives along with top S-rank hunters who fought till their last breath to defeat the dungeon boss, Kamish.

The situation only came under control when five brave S-rankers, who later became National Level Hunters, banded together to defeat the menacing red dragon. Some years later, another S-rank Gate spawned on Jeju Island, following which it was declared uninhabitable for humans. Despite the Korean government’s best efforts, the region could not be reclaimed for many years and remained a breeding ground for magic beasts who kept evolving.

Although the island was eventually freed from the Denizens of Chaos, countless civilians and hunters had already lost their lives by that point. So what made these S-rank Gates notoriously hard to clear, unlike other low-ranked dungeons, some of which can be cleared alone by a strong hunter?

The Unpredictable Nature of S-rank Gate Magic Beasts

Every Monster in an S-rank Gate Is Comparatively Overpowered

Perhaps one of the most overlooked yet tricky parts of clearing an S-rank Gate is fighting the countless magic beasts that live in them. Unlike other less-threatening dungeons, monsters in these Gates are far more powerful and are capable of challenging a decent hunter alone. These Denizens of Chaos derive their strength not just from numbers but also from their innate abilities, which often leave even experienced hunters in shock.

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The inability to clear such Gates eventually leads to a dungeon break, which brings bloodthirsty monsters one step closer to defenseless civilians, who end up dying in droves. The large casualties caused by such Gates are not just a coincidence but almost a certainty, given how difficult it is to contain such a dungeon, let alone clear them.

In the Japan Crisis arc, when an S-ranked Gate spawned over Tokyo, the local government tried its best to contain it but to no avail, like every other nation that failed to stop a similar catastrophe. Japan’s best S-rankers worked together, and Yuri Orloff was hired to use barrier magic to prevent a dungeon break, but all those efforts eventually proved to be a waste of time.

The overpowering giants that lived in the dungeon were so powerful that they killed someone of Orloff’s caliber with a single strike. Most Japanese S-rankers could barely do anything against these menacing beasts and felt useless. It was the same story on Jeju Island, as every raid failed, with Koreans losing some of their most talented hunters and returning home with a feeling of helplessness and shock.

It is noteworthy that every raid team that was assembled for the two S-rank Gates could not even manage to get to the dungeon boss. In low-ranked dungeons, the bosses can trouble hunters, but in S-rank Gates, even going past the countless magic beasts seems like an impossible task.

The Almost Invincible Dungeon Bosses

S-rank Dungeon Bosses Can Single-Handedly Kill Hundreds of Top Hunters

To clear any dungeon, the hunters are required to defeat the boss, who is typically extremely powerful. Even in an A-rank Gate, they can wield such menacing powers that an entire squad of A-rank hunters struggles against them. But S-rank Gate bosses are on a whole new level. They are gifted with such frightening powers that even an entire country’s S-rank hunters are sometimes too few to even stand a chance against them.

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When the first S-rank dungeon boss, Kamish, made it to the human world, he managed to single-handedly kill about a hundred top hunters from around the globe. If he hadn’t been stopped by five National Level Hunters, it is entirely plausible to assume that he might have gone on to destroy the entire country before he was defeated.

On Jeju Island, Ant King slaughtered most members of the Draw Sword Guild even before they could fully comprehend what was happening. Japan’s greatest hunter, Goto Ryuji, failed to land a single blow before he was decapitated. The Korean hunters would have faced the same fate if Sung Jinwoo had not intervened at the right time.

Clearing any dungeon is an achievement, as most of them have strong bosses capable of causing life-threatening injuries. But in S-rank Gates, even getting to the boss is a task that most hunters fail to accomplish. Even if they do somehow survive the battle and confront the dungeon boss, their chances of victory are almost close to zero. This is why clearing an S-rank Gate is a monumental achievement that only a handful of hunters can claim to have accomplished.

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Solo Leveling

Release Date

January 7, 2024

Directors

Shunsuke Nakashige

Writers

Noboru Kimura

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  Taito Ban

  Shun Mizushino (voice)

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  Genta Nakamura

  Kenta Morobishi (voice)