Disclaimer: Okay, so this is a fair warning. I am going to start doing this THING because I have grown obsessed with WebToons and since I have absolutely nowhere to talk about them, I’m going to do so here. If you’re not interested, which is completely fair, I will not hold a grudge against you if you decide to unfollow. You can also just block the tag (it’s going to be “WebToon talk”) if you still want to see my gifs but not these :)
And now...
Also Known As: Only I Level Up
I’m Currently On: Chapter 106 / ?
Manhwa Status: On-Going
Art Style: 10/10
This is THE WEBTOON. The one that started it all. I study Japanese and love manga and one of my friends recommended this one. When he explained about the manhwa, I knew I had to try it out.
The story goes something like this: It’s our world, only one-day 10 years ago dungeons (like the ones in RPGs) show up in RL and people (called Hunters) start getting powers in order to be able to combat them. Our hero is one such person, except he is super UNDERpowered. He’s, like, the bottom of the bottom. Due to some circumstances, he cannot stop his work as a Hunter, despite how dangerous it is. On one such dangerous job, things take a turn for the worse. When Jin Woo wakens from the ordeal, he discovers something different... he can now see a ‘system’, like in video game, of his real-life stats. And more than that... he can now level his stats up??
My Thoughts: Omg, this webtoon is SO GOOD. One of my absolute favorite tropes in manga is that of the underdog that grows OP af. There is nothing I love more than someone who is underestimated and looked down on proving everyone wrong and becoming something to be reckoned with, and this webtoon is basically Zero to Hero: The Webtoon™
Jin Woo is so freaking cool I can’t. I have NEVER had such a reading experience. You know what I mean, right? One where you fist pump at the hero’s successes, squeal at how freaking COOL he is at the fight scenes, rant at people for looking down at him as if these imaginary characters could hear you, and just basically have to calm yourself down as you read because it’s just a manhwa. But damn is it hard to calm myself down while reading this.
SOLO LEVELING is badass af, and if that sounds like something you might like, I think you should totally give it a chance!
It is also, I feel compelled to add, a super cool series of novels. There are 14 volumes of the original novel, and I HAD to go read them because I could not handle the cliffhangers of the webtoon. The novels can be found under the title ‘Only I Level Up’, and there are several translations available. The one I read I felt was the best, not in terms of accuracy to the source (since I have no knowledge of Korean as of yet, I couldn't judge that) but in terms of it reading like a book. It took me a week but I finished it all and I am super excited to see the upcoming scenes translated to manhwa form!!
This one is my newest obsession, and let me tell you, it has one of the BEST manhwa otps I've had the pleasure to read of and it's shockingly wholesome considering it involved monsters, human experiments, and death!
SUMMARY
From Tappytoon, the official English translater (and please support the author through the site if you can!):
On a mission to find the two most important people in her life, Sica steps foot outside the Magician's Tower for the first time ever! She soon meets Karsus, a mercenary swordsman who looks like her first love. Despite being confused for someone else, Karsus offers to help find the people Sica's looking for if she helps him with his work. Thus the two begin their adventure - one that will change not only the fate of the Empire, but also their hearts! First love or Karsus, who will Sica choose?
THE PLOT
The plot is really engaging; it's not much of a mystery, so the real interest is in how the characters react to the things happening to them and how they choose to act. Most of the time, they surprise me (in a good way), and the interactions & dialogues between them made me unable to put it down!
This one is definitely a character-driven story, so let's talk about them for a second!
SICA WOLF
Sica Wolf is the protagonist of the story. She is a beautiful, tiny and (honestly) fluffy looking sorceress who is too pure and sweet for this world. This world tries to put her down, with traumatic experiences in her past that convince her she is a monster and make her prone to believing people will hate her or try to hurt her. And does this precious bean blame them? Even when she's done nothing to deserve their hate but only tries to help and protect others? NO SHE DOESN'T! She thinks it's to be expected and she understands why they act like this. She is too precious and sweet for this world and must be protected at all costs!
KARSUS LIAN
Luckily, she meets Karsus; a handsome swordsman and master aura user, who has no lack of self-confidence, is laid back and is quite blase about killing and stuff. He is the perfect match for her, since he is always honest with her, constantly tackles her fears and unabashed. Of course, he too has a tragic past, one that makes him resistant to the idea of creating lasting relationships
THE ROMANCE
Featuring: Hand Holding! Cheek Kissing!! REAL Kissings!!! Chemistry!
#blessed
Honestly, these two are adorable from the get-go. Sice is not very familiar with how to create human relationships, which means she has no restraints. She doesn't fear getting physically close to people or to do whatever to make them feel better. Karsus, on the other hand, simply doesn't care, and his promiscuous and flamboyant manner makes him very quick to show physical affection.
Of course, he normally keeps it at physical affection only, but both Sica and he feel some kind of instant connection that puts them very much at ease with one another.
Which means... we get a pretty touchy-feely romance that features a couple who are pretty comfortable with each other from the get-go - they are touchy-feely, they kiss a lot (yes! a lot! And no need to wait for chapter 150 for it to happen!), they are super honest with each other, super affectionate, and super unafraid to let other people in on the secret, too! Quite frankly, they are a breath of fresh air in the manhwa world and their interactions made me unable to stop reading!
If you are still not convinced and want to see more images from this amazing webtoon, check out this Pinterest board I created for my favorite panels. If you’re looking for more webtoon recommendations, I opened a Wattpad story dedicated to that so it’s worth a follow :)
