How to Become a Guild Master, Explained

In the world of Solo Leveling, guilds have a guild master (GM) who is capable and strong enough to oversee hundreds of hunters. While being a guild master comes with immense responsibilities, obtaining a license for the role is surprisingly easy, provided that the necessary steps and requirements are met by the aspirants. Not a lot of people, including Sung Jin-Woo, are aware of this, which may explain why there aren’t a lot of guilds in the series.

South Korea is home to more prominent guilds in Solo Leveling. There’s the White Tiger Guild headed by Baek Yoon-Ho, the Hunters’ Guild by Choi Jong-In, the Fame Guild by Ma Dong-Wook, the Fiend Guild by Lim Tae-Gyu, and the Knights Guild by Park Jong-Soo, to name a few. Noticeably, a common trait among these guild masters is that they are either S-rank or A-rank hunters. That said, it’s no surprise that aspiring guild masters are expected to meet the same high standards.

Related

Solo Leveling: Why Jin-Woo’s Personality Changed So Much, Explained

Sung Jin-Woo has one of the most drastic personality changes in anime and manhwa history.

The Significant Role of Guild Masters

Guild Masters Are More Than Just Figureheads

Guild masters stand at the helm of the guilds, serving as leaders responsible for not just the guild’s growth and success, but also the safety of its members. They have a lot of responsibilities on their shoulders, ranging from raid management to political and economic influence. They strive to maintain the guild’s strong reputation while enhancing their strength by recruiting strong hunters. Above all else, guild masters consider the safety of their members, going to great lengths to provide support and rescue as much as possible.

In Solo Leveling season 2, episode 4, “I Need to Stop Faking,” the Hunters Guild, led by Choi Jong-In and Vice Master Cha Hae-In, exhibits how an established guild clears a high-rank gate. They have an existing routine in which they utilize an elite attack force, a mining team, as well as a recovery team to clear the dungeon with ease and less risk. This strategic tactic says a lot about Choi Jong-In’s leadership skills as well as his experience in raiding dungeons. With this, he might be the perfect example for aspiring guild masters to look up to most among the others in South Korea.

How To Become a Guild Master?

Yoo Jin-Ho Reveals Two Easy Steps

While most people think that it’s difficult to become a guild master, Yoo Jin-Ho reveals in Solo Leveling season 1, episode 7, “Let’s See How Far I Can Go,” that it’s easy to obtain a guild master’s license. It’s a walk in the park for someone like Jin-Ho with financial means, proving that a hunter’s rank has nothing to do with his goal of becoming a guild master. He only needed money to secure the gates, but also Sung Jin-Woo by his side.

Accordingly, Jin-Ho reveals two easy steps to becoming a guild master. First, the aspirant must join a dungeon raid at least 20 times. This means it’s impossible for an ordinary human to become a guild master since they need to awaken their abilities and become a hunter in order to join raids. The second step is to pass an examination, the details of which, for some reason, have not been revealed. For someone like Jin-Ho, who’s known as the second son of Yoo-Jin Architectures, passing the exam will not be a problem. Therefore, the aspiring hunter must also have the brains to overcome the test.

Once all these steps have been accomplished, Yoo Jin-Ho confirms that the aspirant will finally be able to get a guild master’s license. The most difficult part of the process comes after obtaining the license, since Jin-Ho must establish a building for their headquarters, recruit high-rank hunters as much as possible, and start securing gates one after another. This process exhausts a lot of resources, mostly financial, but with Yoo Jin-Ho, nothing is impossible.

Does Yoo Jin-Ho Become a Guild Master?

Jin-Ho’s Goal Is Not Impossible

While Jin-Ho’s father agrees to let his second son take over the company’s guild rather than hiring an S-rank hunter, Jin-Ho has a change of heart. Instead of becoming a guild master, Jin-Ho joins Sung Jin-Woo at Ahjin Guild as the vice master. It was a difficult decision, but it was the right choice for Jin-Ho, who wants to be with his “hyung-nim” no matter what happens.

All in all, guild masters play an indispensable role in Solo Leveling. They are more than just figureheads or symbolic leaders—they actively shape the survival and success of their respective guilds. Without them, guilds would likely be in disarray, without structure and order.

Solo Leveling

Release Date

January 7, 2024

Directors

Shunsuke Nakashige

• 

  Taito Ban

  Shun Mizushino (voice)

• 

  Genta Nakamura

  Kenta Morobishi (voice)