°☆Possible Spoilers☆°
WHAT A FANTASTIC ENDING!!! 😸👏👏👏The main story ends on page 62 and the rest of the book is compsed of extra stories that either added depth to the main story or gives the reader a glimpse into Jinwoo's life in the new timeline. I enjoyed all of them, especially the story about his encounter with Jinchul while he was in high school. It was nice knowing that someone, other than Mrs. Sellner, remembered his sacrifices for the world from the past timeline. I got emotional right along with Jinchul. 🥹
I'm not sure why more people don't like the ending, but it made the most sense to me. Jinwoo wanted to save people, and after he gained the memories and full power of the Shadow Monarch, he had the ability to go back and save everyone who was impacted by this war. Why wouldn't he do that? Nevermind the millions of people who needlessly lost their lives, but can you imagine the collective trauma of the Earth if the original timeline wasn't changed? It would've been horrible. After such an epic battle with the Monarch of Destruction, it felt nice unwinding to those short, satisfying stories. They were a much appreciated, wonderful addition to the main story. We even got a story from Igris's and Fang's POV! 🥰 I'm not sure how the story ends in the Manhwa (since the English translations haven't been fully released yet), but I heard that it's different from the novel.. or maybe it doesn't provide closure? If you're planning on only reading the story through that medium, I suggest picking up novel VIII to get the full ending. And yes, Jinwoo does reconnect with Jinhoo. 😁
And finally, the epilogue. In it, we are given a glimpse into the farther future where Jinwoo now has a son with as much potential as him. It is a great lead-in to the followup series Solo Leveling: Ragnarok; a series that I am very much interested in checking out later this year. 5 stars