Is Igris a Former Human?

Most of Sung Jin-Woo’s shadows in Solo Leveling are former magical beasts, but there are major ones who were humans in their past lives. Take Iron, for example, who used to be the A-rank hunter Kim Chul. Aside from him, many are curious about Jin-Woo’s first major shadow, Igris, and whether he was human in his past life. After all, not much is known about him since his debut in Solo Leveling.

Sung Jin-Woo acquires Igris within the job-change quest of the system. He was formerly known as Blood-Red Commander Igris, the formidable knight who guarded an abandoned throne. Raising his shadow was no joke, as Jin-Woo had to exert more effort to defeat him in addition to summoning him. He failed twice in extracting Igris until he decided to throw a bit of encouragement to convince him.

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Igris, the Humanoid Knight Shadow of Jin-Woo

How Jin-Woo Acquired Igris

Sung Jin-Woo encounters Blood-Red Commander Igris during his attempt to complete the job-change quest required by the system. Unlike the other enemies that Jin-Woo defeated, Blood-Red Igris was clearly in a different league of his own. He was a giant humanoid knight who was guarding an abandoned throne as if he were waiting for his master to return. Since Jin-Woo appeared as an intruder, it was Igris’ job to punish him to the best of his abilities.

Jin-Woo had no choice but to defeat Igris using his current level and abilities to complete the quest. It was all or nothing as Jin-Woo tried to conquer the towering knight with his bare hands. Luckily, Igris was chivalrous enough to discard his weapons, particularly his sword, out of respect for his unarmed opponent. Eventually, both had to use their weapons again, with Jin-Woo attacking Igris’ head with a dagger before the latter could finish him with his sword. In the end, Jin-Woo emerged victorious and later extracted Igris’ shadow, making him the first major shadow in the series.

The Truth About Igris

Igris’ identity and origins are shrouded in mystery in Solo Leveling. Unlike Jin-Woo’s other shadows, there’s little detail about who he was before meeting Jin-Woo, why he was guarding an abandoned throne, and why he resisted Jin-Woo’s orders to arise twice. In addition, Igris doesn’t have that much of a personality compared to the rest of the shadows, such as Beru and Iron, who always love to show off.

Despite this, Solo Leveling revealed intriguing details about Igris. Later in the series, it is revealed that Igris was one of the original shadows who served the first Shadow Monarch, Ashborn. In fact, he was once a lieutenant in Ashborn’s shadow army, much like Bellion, who later appeared in the manhwa. However, it was never confirmed whether he was also born from the fruit of the World Tree. What was certain was that Ashborn ordered Igris to test Jin-Woo’s abilities to determine whether he was a worthy vessel or not.

Is Igris a Former Human?

Solo Leveling: Arise Reveals Igris’ Backstory

The Solo Leveling manhwa did not thoroughly explore Igris’ backstory, leading to a lot of assumptions about his origins before becoming a shadow. However, the Solo Leveling: Arise game surprisingly revealed a lot of information about Igris’ past when it released a game-exclusive background of the shadow. While a lot of fans aren’t convinced about this tale, many consider this backstory canon.

Accordingly, Igris was a former human. He was once a handsome knight who also had a wife and children. Due to his mastery of the sword, his career flourished, collecting victories on the battlefield one after another. Despite this, Igris’ ambition to achieve more and climb the ranks was hampered by the nobles, who were intimidated by his prowess. His success on the battlefield only landed him a low rank.

The Pain of Igris

Eventually, Igris earned the trust of not just the public but also the king himself, despite the nobles who wanted nothing but to see his downfall. The situation got worse when the nobles set up a plan to bring Igris down, along with his soldiers, once and for all. They took his family hostage and even ambushed his army for alleged treason. Igris ends up dying, including his family, but will later return as a shadow extracted by Ashborn.

Unfortunately, Igris’ backstory was not a pleasant one, which is a common theme in Solo Leveling. Many characters, including Jin-Woo himself, have unfortunate backgrounds after all. It was to be expected, given the vibes that Igris gives off in the anime and the manhwa. In some ways, Igris was somewhat similar to Sung Jin-Woo, wherein they both strived for power and, at the same time, experienced betrayal at the hands of their people.

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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)

  
  

  
  

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  Experience the webtoon’s story – and discover brand new exclusive stories!

  [Play strategically with swappable equipment and skills!]
  Watch your combat style evolve based on your choices!

  Dodge with Extreme Evasion, and then strike a killing blow with a perfectly timed QTE skill!

  [Play as the top hunters from the original story!]
  All your webtoon favorites are here, including:
  Ultimate Hunter Choi Jong-In, Beastly Baek Yoonho, and the unparalleled Cha Hae-In!

  Combine different hunters, abilities, and tactics and form your ultimate team!

  [Challenge dangerous dungeons and defeat powerful bosses!]
  As you grow stronger, so do the gates!
  Form your teams, apply your strategies, clear the gates, and obtain rewards!

  Tackle an array of different game modes, including massive dungeon raids, boss replays, and Time Attack content where every second counts!

  [Become the Monarch of Shadows and recruit your army!]
  Command squads of loyal Shadow Soldiers by extracting the shadows of monsters you have defeated and recruiting them as your new allies!