Solo Leveling: How Many Rulers and Monarchs Are There & What Are They?

Solo Leveling is a South Korean web novel written by Chu-Gong. The story follows Sung Jin-Woo, an E-rank Hunter, who is the weakest of the weak in a world where gates to dungeons have appeared, unleashing monsters upon the earth. However, after a near-death experience in a dungeon, he can level up and become stronger. Sung Jin-Woo is, however, not the only interesting character in Solo Leveling, and today, we’re going to talk about two specific groups from the series – the Rulers and the Monarchs. In this article, you will find out who and what they are in the series.

The history of the Monarchs and the Rulers is a shared one

The story, or history of the Monarchs and the Rulers, starts off in ancient history. Initially, only the Absolute Being existed, and light and darkness were forces of nature under his control. At one point, the Absolute Being decided to fragment these two forces and it created ten entities on each side. The entities of light became known as the Rulers, while the entities of darkness became Monarchs.

Of course, as you’d have it, the two factions engaged in a bitter, ruthless, and seemingly endless war. Neither side was able to gain the upper hand, and it seemed, at one point, that the two groups were fighting for the sake of fighting – there was seemingly no goal there, and neither side would win against the other, which did not make sense to anyone.

The Rulers, who represented the ideals of good, asked the Absolute Being for help, something that would help them defeat the forces of evil. Still, they realized the sad and horrible truth of their existence: there was no winner, there was no end to their war – the two groups were fighting solely for the amusement of the Absolute Being.

This was a shock to them, and the Rulers – save for one – decided to rebel, and they managed to take down and kill the Absolute Being. The only Ruler who was against it, Ashborn, was also defeated and left for dead, but he managed to heal himself by transforming into the Shadow Monarch. He then went to the Monarch and wanted to join them, but they were initially mistrustful of him; still, they accepted him among their ranks, only to betray him later on.

Ashborn’s story was pivotal for the development of the plot, especially since the Rulers ultimately repented and asked him for forgiveness. The Rulers would ultimately manage to defeat the Monarchs, but it turned out that their remains began spreading to the world of the living, spreading chaos with which the Monarchs tried to rebuild their army and defeat the Rulers.

The Rulers then used the Cup of Reincarnation to turn back time in order to stop it, but the outcome would always be the same, and that is the vicious cycle the entities are trapped in and in which we meet them when the story starts. They are, of course, present in the real world as well, but only through their vessels, as they are not material beings and cannot exist in the world of the living without a vessel. Let us now see who they are.

Who are the Monarchs and Rulers in Solo Leveling?

In this section, we are going to list the 10 Rulers and 10 Monarchs that have been introduced in the series:

• The Greatest Fragment of Brilliant Light (Ashborn): He was the first and foremost Ruler, the most loyal to the Absolute Being, and the strongest among the Rulers. His story, downfall, and betrayal are pivotal moments in the mythology of the Solo Leveling series.
• The Brightest Fragment of Brilliant Light: This is the only other ruler that has been named in the series, although we only know his descriptive name. He is an important part of the lore, but that is more or less everything we know about him.
• Six unnamed Rulers: Six other Rulers have been identified in the series, but their names have not been revealed. This means that there is a total of eight Rulers in the series, which is two less than the total number of Monarchs.
• Antares: He is the Monarch of Destruction and the King of Dragons. Antares is an exceptionally powerful entity and was the strongest and the oldest among the Monarchs. He was also the series’ final villain.
• Ashborn and Sung Jinwoo: Asborn’s story was told earlier, so we know he transformed into the Monarch of Shadows. He ultimately chose Sung Jinwoo as his successor, becoming the second Shadow Monarch.
• Baran: He was the monstrous Monarch of White Flames and the King of Demons. He was one of the strongest Monarchs in the series but was defeated by Ashborn.
• Beast Monarch: The unnamed King of the Beasts, who was also defeated by Ashborn in the series.
• Frost Monarch: He was the unnamed  King of Snow Folk.
• Iron Body Monarch: He was the unnamed King of Monstrous Humanoids.
• Legia: The Monarch of the Beginning, as well as the King of the Giants, Legia was a powerful Monarch whose capture in ancient history proved to be a pivotal moment.
• Querehsha: She is the Monarch of Plagues and the Queen of Insects, as well as the only female Monarch.
• Yogumunt: The last known monarch is the Monarch of Transformation, who was also the King of Demonic Spectres.

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