Jinwoo is the beloved protagonist of the Solo Leveling story, which sees him fight against formidable enemies and level up with the experience he gains along the way. As such, the main appeal of Jinwoo’s character is his immense growth rate. Jinwoo goes from being a meek Hunter to the world’s strongest. Unfortunately, we won’t get to see Jinwoo’s growth in the 2026 anime, but we will see him develop greatly in Solo Leveling: Karma, set to be released in Japan and South Korea this year.
Solo Leveling: Karma is set to uncover the mysterious events of the 27-Year Monarch War, but sadly, a new Q&A by Netmarble indicates that Jinwoo is no longer tapping into the power of the Outer Gods of Solo Leveling, the Itarim. Instead, Jinwoo will acquire some unique Monarch abilities.
Solo Leveling: Karma Reveals Original Plans To Grant Jinwoo the Power of the Itarim
Solo Leveling focuses mainly on Sung Jinwoo, the protagonist created by Chugong in his 2016 novel. Jinwoo first comes into power after his near-death experience in the Double Dungeon, which granted him the power of the System. The system allows Jinwoo to level up and eventually become the Shadow Monarch.
In the original Solo Leveling series, the Monarchs were explored in great detail. In time, they ended up becoming the primary antagonists of the series, whom Jinwoo had to come face to face with on multiple occasions. The Monarchs are a powerful bunch of mysterious beings created by the Absolute Being. However, there is another intriguing race of the Solo Leveling World that never got as much exposure, that being the Itarim.
In Solo Leveling, only one Itarim has officially been revealed, that is, the Absolute Being, the God of the Solo Leveling world who created everything. The Absolute Being was killed by their Rulers, but his race still lives on with many more members. Solo Leveling: Karma, a video game by Netmarble Studio, is going to expand the lore of the universe as a whole. It is set during the 27-Year Monarch War, after a time rewind. While the Monarchs are still the main antagonists of this story arc, Karma was stated to expand significantly on the Itarim.
One way Karma was going to do that is by granting Sung Jinwoo their powers through the introduction of the Emissaries of the Itarim. This was further discussed during the new 39-long Q&A by Netmarble Studio concerning Karma, specifically in Question 19. It was revealed that the idea of the Emissaries of the Itarim was later scrapped. It was then decided that Jinwoo’s powers would no longer come from the godly beings of the Solo Leveling world. This news means that Jinwoo’s potential God power was stripped from him forever, and he was prevented from attaining the power of the Outer Gods. While we’re disappointed by that, it’s still possible to get these Emissaries in a future Solo Leveling Karma update. Since the video game works in a gacha-style, free-to-play model, constant updates over the years are a guarantee.
Q19: Original characters called the ‘Emissaries of Itarim’ appear in the game. They possess distinct attributes such as Radiant Light, Magic Bullet, Meteor, Flame, Tempest, and Frost, and form covenants with Sung Jinwoo. How do you plan to expand the game’s original universe through these characters?
Business Division Head Lee Jong-hyuk: We agonized over this point in particular. We put a lot of thought internally into what lore concept IP fans could understand and immerse themselves in. Consequently, we recently changed the lore so that instead of the ‘Emissaries of Itarim,’ Sung Jinwoo absorbs and uses the powers of the Monarchs from the original work within the dimensional rift. While this might still feel unfamiliar to anime-only viewers, those who read the original work to the end will experience Sung Jinwoo fighting by absorbing the Monarchs’ powers, which should feel a bit more familiar.
Why The Itarim Powers Were Scrapped and Replaced by Monarch Abilities
Many fans are quite displeased with the decision of Netmarble Studio to scrap the idea of the Itarim granting Jinwoo his powers through the Emissaries. The reason why they scrapped it has enraged fans even more. The original characters of the Emissaries of the Itarim were sidelined as Netmarble Studios believed they were not well known enough by the fandom. Instead, they chose to grant Jinwoo powers stemming from the Monarchs, whom we already know plenty about. This was witnessed in new gameplay footage, where Jinwoo utilized abilities stemming directly from Baran, the Monarch of White Flames, and Sillad, the Monarch of Frost. Jinwoo was seen using White Flames and Frost in new powerful attacks.
Since we already know so much about the Monarchs, it’s definitely sad to see them take the spotlight once more when this time could’ve been used on the Outer Gods instead. It is also a bit confusing, story-wise, as to how Jinwoo was able to acquire the power of the Monarchs. With the Itarim, Jinwoo would have formed a covenant, and the Outer Gods would have directly handed him their abilities. In the case of the Monarchs, it makes little sense, but we assume these abilities will become unlockable after Jinwoo is able to defeat them. Since Jinwoo never acquired these powers after killing them in the original timeline, it brings up the question of why he can take their abilities now. It may just end up becoming a major plot hole for Netmarble.
Solo Leveling Karma Will Still Expand The Lore of The Outer Gods
All fans wanted to learn more about the Itarim through Solo Leveling: Karma. Seeing Jinwoo form covenants with these characters through their Emissaries could have revealed to us their designs and their innate abilities. Despite this idea being shut down, we are likely still to get some information about the Outer Gods. In large part, that is because Chugong is directly involved in the project, and since he has been wanting to utilize the Itarim, something is sure to come from them.
Furthermore, we even have the reveal of a new god character in Karma, that being Azarea, the Goddess of Benevolence. Only the Itarim have been referred to directly as gods in the Solo Leveling world. Based on what we know now, Azarea could be an Emissary of the Goddess, sent to observe the actions of Jinwoo. There are a few other original characters that have been revealed, and while we don’t have their names or clarity on their roles yet, they could be other Emissaries who come to the dimensional crack to help or sabotage Jinwoo.
