Solo Leveling, Vol. 8

나 혼자만 레벨업 [Na Honjaman Level Up] (8 Volumes Novel) #8

by Chugong

“MAY YOUR COURAGE SAVE YOUR WORLD.” The Monarch of Destruction and the armies of Chaos have descended upon Earth, leaving nothing but death and carnage in their wake. The fate of humanity lies in the hands of the newly crowned Shadow Monarch, Jinwoo Sung. Who will be the final victor when the dust settles on this timeless feud?And more importantly, will there be anything left of the world to save?

Genres: Fantasy, Light Novel, Manga, Audiobook, Urban Fantasy, Novels, Manhwa

272 pages, Paperback

Published July 18, 2023

About the author

추공

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

disappointing end to a great series

Loved the rest of the series but this one was almost an insult. The first little bit of this should have been included in the previous book instead of a cliff hanger and this whole book could have been published as an non-essential epilogue. Pretty disappointing

[L Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

°☆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

[Eyad · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story concludes in the first 40 pages. After that it’s just 200 pages of epilogue. They could’ve just wrapped the story in the previous book.

[Brandon Zarzyczny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty disappointing end to an excellent series. I won't be specific to avoid spoilers, but while some of the main action was fun to read, the ultimate end felt like it made the entire journey of the series pointless. I just really disliked how the author decided to end the story, and then most of this book is just, "Oops, all Epilogues!" There's really like only a chapter or two of actual ending, which could have easily been included in Volume 7. However, they split it off into this volume to make sure that the reader would have to buy it, and then padded the book with a series of short stories taking place after the end. Some of them were fun, but as a whole this was a let down.

If you want to see my video review of the entire series, you can find it over here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukFBY...

[Patrícia⁷ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you mean it's OVER? No! Sequel NOW!

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

And at last this journey has reached its conclusion! The ending to the main story seemed kinda abrupt IMO and not entirely satisfying, but the short stories and epilogue that followed added quite a bit of context and I’d say they redeemed it. Quite a risk on the author’s part and I can see why it would be divisive, but I feel content with how it wrapped up.

Looking back on the series: we came a looong way. both in terms of the characters and the broader story. It was a lot of fun to experience! The remaining 4/5-ish seasons of the anime have big shoes to fill but sooo much potential—I’m looking forward to watching it!

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, this series was exactly what I needed right now. A very fun and easy to read story with a lovable MC and interesting magical creatures. I don't think a book 8 was needed, as the story ended in 67 pages with the rest of the book being bonus chapters and an epilogue. I am super excited about reading the manga so I can get more visuals for the characters and creatures and also watching the anime when it comes out in January of 2024!

(I give 5* to series/books I consider favorites and would reread- not necessarily the same rating system that other people use 😬)

[Nikhil Math]

And with that, a chapter in my life comes to an end.

This series made me feel so strong. I haven't experienced this emotion from a series in a long time.

The thought that you are able to level yourself up to become a literal god is empowering. I know this is a fictional amplified take, but real life is also like this. You are able to level yourself up everyday. The more you level up, the more confident you are able to take care of your loved ones.

Please everyone, when you get the chance start Solo Leveling. Either by reading it, listening to it, watching it, or getting the comic book.

One of the best animes I have been a part of.

[I.M.BookMeIn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know what to think about this ending.. For me, the most underwhelming ending of all times is when the MC wakes up and everything turns out to be just a dream. Solo Leveling managed to score the 2nd position 🏆 Congratulations !

I'm so underwhelmed I'm not in the mood to read the bonus stories for now.

Let's just move to the rating :
For this Volume, I give 3.75⭐ for everything before that final fiasco, and 2.5⭐ for the whole.
As for the entire Novel, a very very VERY generous 3.5⭐.
Since lots of BS has been omitted from the Manhwa, and the side characters had more presence, I'll be even more generous and give that one 4⭐.

Now, would I ever read this again ? NO.

[Jenni Mac · Rating 2 out of 5]

Highly disappointed with this final volume. The actual series arc ends in the first fifty pages, then there’s a set of “bonus stories” in the middle that seem to have no organization, followed by the epilogue that feels too picture perfect for Sung Jinwoo.

I’m shocked that this volume is so highly rated when the ending series arc is an “it was all a dream/lemme go back in time before anything happened and undo it all” gimmick. This feels like everything leading up to this final book was utterly pointless. Hoping the rest of the manga/anime doesn’t go in this direction and makes it an epic ending without this lame gimmick.

[Camy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good ending to the series, to balance the darkness and loss of the Monarchs' invasion. The final battle with the Dragon Monarch only took up a fraction of the first part, and the rest is a long, extended epilogue with vignettes of what happened after. At first I was disappointed since I tend not to like short stories, but it ended up being very entertaining.

[an4 sofi4 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nah nah 🥶

[MIKE Watkins Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

WARNING (Contains spoilers)

Pros:

1. The book shows how overwhelming powers fueled by mana would impact a world without it. Imagine introducing a machine gun to the 1200s and you get the gist.


2. We see the MC try to live a normal life with superpowers. The author goes into extensive detail about how the MC uses his powers to succeed in his occupation.


3. In this book, we finally see the MC, Jimwoo, face challenging foes; he's pushed to his absolute limit in a way he wasn't in previous books.


4. Like previous Volumes, Chugong does a nice job of featuring the side characters in this book, albeit not as well as in previous volumes.

Cons:

1. The romance between Jimwoo and Haichan goes from non-existent to....eh getting there...to oh there's a kiss..... to oh they're married? There is one scene in Vol. 7 (previous book) where Chugong details their dates and interactions as a couple. However, Chugong barely puts any effort into their romance in this book.


2. The way that the MC uncovers info. regarding his backstory is rushed in this book and very anti-climactic overall. Chugong, in previous books, would provide clues and keys for the MC to uncover aspects of the system. This created suspense and intrigue regarding what the MC would learn next regarding the system. But for some reason, the author deviates from this slow unraveling in favor of a rushed reveal.

[Kadi Babinsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️ the pacing was sooooo strange and unexpected. The last book was so epic that I was so excited to read this one and conclude the series, only to find out the last battle was the first 60 pages and the rest of the book was random side stories. Which, don’t get me wrong, they were fantastic! But my expectations were that it would flow like a normal fantasy series would and that’s just not the case here. Still a great time though.

[Gregory Sabine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Main story ends 20% in. Filled with junk after that.

The main story ended 20% into the book. The rest was filled with random stories about random people. Could have included the ending in book 7 and saved us the money.

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not the type of ending I prefer but it works here. Want to read Ragnarok so bad now.

[Sierraaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’d rate this book higher if i could


i cried several times

[Davina Herondale · Rating 5 out of 5]

No bc what am I supposed to hyperfixate on now?😭

[Kayla Benedict · Rating 5 out of 5]

They were messing with me on the almost kiss at the end. So I’m just going to imagine that every time Jinwoo comes home and Haein says “honey” they share a kiss. :)


Also there are a lot of side-stories & an epilogue. If you are the person that wants to know about their babies and some “what happened to all the characters after the end” then you will love this.

If you don’t like that kind of stuff, then just stop reading before the side stories. Easy as that.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

What an utterly disappointing end to an otherwise amazing series. Calling this Book 8 is so misleading. The first 10% of this book should’ve been in Book 7 and these mini sorties should’ve been called something else. The amount of skipping forward between chapters with no building in the story felt forced and unnatural. Books 1-7 were fantastic, what happened?

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

literally so fire

[RoninKam]

I’m not giving it a rating because I’m pissed off. This is not how I expected the story to end, I didn’t even read the bonus stories ( I might one day). This series has done a lot for me since last year, while I still love it and absolutely recommend it, I’m still pissed off and now I’m going to sit in the corner and brood for a few hours.

[Jesse Drew · Rating 1 out of 5]

Such a disappointing ending. If you’re reading book 7 just power through the first 100 ish pages and you’ll be done. I get why they chose this kind of ending but it just makes everything we read and experienced feel pointless. Not even sure I would bother to reread the series now.

[Yukihina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leider schon der letzte Band.
Ich hatte sehr viel Spaß mit der Reihe.

[Nick Pell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know if I've ever read a series where the epilogue is basically the entire last volume. Didn't even realize this is the final volume until I saw the table on contents. The main story wraps in about 60 pages and then we get "bonus stories" which basically serve to flesh out what happens after Jinwoo beats the Dragon King and showing Jinwoo going through a normal life, becoming a detective, and having a kid who ends up with powers too. It's a fantastic way to end the series and I really enjoyed the series as a whole. Can't wait for the anime!

[Alandra (Fosa Comun de Ideas) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here comes the unpopular opinion!
This was a incredibly disappointing end to an otherwise good saga.
Why did they feel the need to make whole other book to include just two chapters of main story and a boatload of epilogues.
I cant explain how little I cared for the epilogues, yes some were cute but overall they added nothing, it was pure filler.

Also I have to say that the whole ending felt very anticlimactic.

[Shawnie Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhhhhh it’s over…
I don’t know why I’m acting like it hasn’t been over for weeks but it seems so final now.
I’m going to miss Jinwoo, Jinho, Igris, Beru, Jinchul, Haein, Bellion, Fang, President Go!

Ugh… I’m so sad but so full lol.

Ah well… I can always reread any time I want. So until next time!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish the main story was longer, although I did enjoy the short stories at the end.

[Elvira Lundberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really wish I could have liked the ending

[Ryofire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally finished this series at last, and it's leaving me with mixed feelings, though it does have a happy ending. And a big part of it is that this plot just isn't for me. The other part is that the writing is kind of shoddy.

The parts of the story that aren't for me: the mass amnesia and the "next generation" plotline. I personally view permanent amnesia as character death, so it's really difficult for me to see this as an improvement, even if, technically, most people are generally better off. It's worse when Ilhwan voluntarily has his memories erased to be a better father. I guess it helps it was his choice, but it's an uncomfortable one, all the same. Losing memory is a terrifying thought, even if some memories I can understand not wishing to have.

I pretty much never like next generation plots. I care about the cast of characters I've been through the story with, not a group of new people set to replace them, usually as the previous generation grows old and/or for some reason dies. Sooho and his small cast of new characters isn't that big of a deal in this volume, they're more important in Ragnarok (at least as far as I understand, since I have no plans to ever touch the sequel at this point), but I found the test Jinwoo puts him through silly when I first read it in the manhwa and I admittedly zoned out when reading it here. It's just dull. It doesn't help that rather than learn more about Cha Haein, again, we learn about a man. What's she doing as an adult? I assume track, but does she have any friends who aren't Jinwoo or the shadows? Does she have other thoughts about things that aren't track, Jinwoo, or Sooho? I can't even say I find Cha Haein to be an interesting character or want more story about her, particularly given the story spends more time making Go Gunhee and Woo Jinchul more interesting, but it just feels really silly, given we're meant to care about her relationship with Jinwoo. Why am I supposed to value the relationship when there is literally nothing there? It's just a void. And now here's Sooho, being almost equally boring yet still getting more development because he's a guy and Chugong can't really write women at all.

There's so much mess happening in this volume that it's almost painful to think back on it. Overall, a lot of the plots are just weird, though I hope Chugong found their bliss. The Antares dream was just weird, albeit a bit funny in the manhwa. The episode where Fang gets a new outfit felt really stupid, and is at least compelling in the manhwa because you've got Dubu's visuals. The characters don't really have personalities: they just really like Jinwoo, like Haein and Ilhwan and pretty much everyone else. And that's not entertaining as a narrative.

I can, on a logic level, understand why Jinchul is a cop. I find the idea that Jinwoo, someone who has never demonstrated all that great a skill at investigation (having cameras everywhere /= investigation, it just means you see a lot; data analysis is an important skill, too) or understanding people, would actually be good at being a "supercop", and I really question what the people he brings in for work did. Were they all murderers? There really aren't THAT many murderers out there. Is he just really great at collecting on parking tickets?

We're not going to touch on how Jinwoo just dismembers at least one criminal and the cops are like "eh" (but it's fine cause the guy broke into a house and beat two old people to death). On the one hand, realistic to how cops are, and normal for Jinwoo's character, considering how he treated the rapist after defeating Kang Taesik. On the other hand, deeply disturbing as a preview of what he's like as a cop. I don't know if this is meant as parody or what. Heroes becoming cops is a kind of disturbing result, and we went through this song and dance for another popular fantasy series already, and this is as silly then as it is now. Cops aren't the only option for solving people's problems, and it's just kind of unfortunate Chugong decided it was, at least for Jinchul and Jinwoo (e.g., Baek and Ilhwan are firefighters).

The other groanworthy change is having Go Gunhee - rather than dedicate himself to political reform for the marginalized like he did as an S-ranker - just become a rich dude who supports charities. There's no mention of how he pushed for political reform so rich men with money aren't necessary to make up for issues. He's just a nice rich guy now. It's so soulless and sad. We don't even know what the charities were for, which, given the rather terrible charities very rich men often support, is really nebulous. There's no mention of his wife or if they had kids or other family. He's literally just a rich guy who supported [insert whatever] charity and then dies because of an illness.

And then there's Jinah and Kyunghye. Ilhwan gets an aside, and even Haein gets a little bit of screentime. Jinah gets about a paragraph, and Kyunghye gets maybe a sentence or two. Kyunghye's life is her family. We have no idea if she had friends or dreams or anything, or if they had an extended family. We don't even really know what her life with Ilhwan was like other than they care about their children. Jinah generally follows the same path, going to medical school... other than becoming involved with Jinho, which seems more like a joke meant for shock value. I'm not averse to the relationship, but it seems kind of like a gotcha if you recall when Jinho was kicked out of his home in the original story timeline and Jinwoo refused to let him near Jinah for no reason. We don't know Jinah's thoughts on the matter. She's just vaguely existing somewhere in the background and then married and then pregnant. She's a woman, so her story does not matter beyond its involvement with the various men Chugong cares about. Same with Kyunghye.

Perhaps the one interesting Extra was the Igris story, which went into his POV a bit, particularly for his first battle with Jinwoo. Unfortunately we don't really learn much else about him - though we learn elsewhere he was human once, so it feels a bit meaningless, but it's fun to see his perspective of things, all the same. It's sad the rest of the volume didn't really live up to that. Everyone's a Jinwoo yes-man or doesn't matter.

It's not precisely a bad volume, and I imagine for a lot of people, this is a good ending. It's still boring, it's bland, the main romance is meaningless, and it's just kind of disappointing. I'm glad everyone gets a happy ending (relatively speaking), but I can't say I recommend it to anyone else, either. For better action-adventure regression stories, I'd recommend "Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint" and "My S-Class Hunters". Those are way better than this. But give the anime adaptation of this a shot, since it's pretty fun.