Solo Leveling: What Is the Cartenon Temple (Double Dungeon) & What Happened There?

Solo Leveling is a South Korean novel series that has recently seen an anime adaptation. Arguably the most popular manhwa in the world, Solo Leveling is sure to attract a lot of attention, especially in light of the fact that the anime adaptation is truly great. While we’re enjoying the episodes, we have decided to cover some aspects that appear in the series, and the one we are going to be covering in this article is the Cartenon Temple, also known as the Double Dungeon. This location is one of the most important ones in the series and we are going to reveal everything you need to know about it.

The Cartenon Temple remains an exceptionally important location in the series

The story of the Cartenon Temple started when a relatively weak D-Rank Dungeon opened in town, and a Guild, which included Sung Jinwoo, entered it to clear it and close it. Everything was in order; the Guild members took care of the monsters, but even though they managed to clear the Dungeon, it wasn’t closing. They then discovered that there was another hidden Dungeon inside this one; this is a rare but not completely unknown situation. Namely, it can happen from time to time that there are two Dungeons connected to one Gate, meaning that we’re dealing with a Double Dungeon.

The second Dungeon is always a surprise, and you never know what to expect, but in order for the gate to disappear, both Dungeons have to be clear. This is what happened inside this D-Rank Dungeon, so when the Guild members cleared it, they actually discovered that there was a second Dungeon within. Although they did not know what awaited them, they continued forward until they reached a gate. Realizing immediately that the Gate was hiding something powerful, they took a vote and Sung Jinwoo’s vote decided that the group would try and clear this Dungeon as well. But they had no clue what awaited them there.

The Double Dungeon they entered was actually The Cartenon Temple, one of the most powerful Dungeons in the whole series; although it was connected to a D-Rank Dungeon, the Cartenon Temple was actually a powerful S-Rank Dungeon and the original Guild that entered it stood no chance. It has to be added that the powerful entity known as the Architect used the Temple as his base of operations, and we immediately saw just how powerful he was when the Guild member first came, and he easily killed several of them.

The Guild members will survive the Cartenon Temple, although only six of them, as the Architect wiped out the rest of them. This is important to stress, because the survivors survived, actually, thanks to Sung Jinwoo’s sacrifice, but while it seemed that Sung would die there, once he sacrificed himself, he was informed that he had met the conditions and was made a Player of the System, which gave him a significant power-up, as well as the opportunity to survive the Double Dungeon.

From that moment on, Sung Jinwoo became a major player in the game, and this experience actually made him into the powerhouse he would be later in the series. He would once again return to the Dungeon at the Architect’s behest later in the story; the Architect believed that Ashborn would take over Sung Jinwoo as his vessel then, but it turned out that Ashborn has absolutely no intention of taking over Sung’s body and making him into a vessel. What happened was that Ashborn simply transferred his powers over to Sung Jinwoo, making him his successor, which was a major moment in the series but also an act that resulted in the Architect’s demise.

This is why the Cartenon Temple is so important and why the first episode was only the beginning – we are certainly going to see more of it in the future, as it is one of the series’ most important locations.

How did Sung Jinwoo figure out how to escape the Double Dungeon?

Now, we have told you a bit about the Cartenon Temple and why it is important. In a separate text, we have also told you about the commandments of the Cartenon Temple, their meaning, and their importance for the Hunters. We analyzed each commandment and explained how each commandment was actually a test for the Hunters that they had to pass before leaving, i.e., if they wanted to leave the Temple alive, that is. While most of the Hunters were either dead or in a state of shock, Sung Jinwoo was eventually the one who solved the tasks and figured out how to exit the Double Dungeon. But how did he do it?

As far as the first commandment is concerned – the Hunters had to bow to the Lord and keep low enough for the Lord to spare them – he simply observed his surroundings. Those who ran were killed, so they initially thought that the Lord punished those who moved, but Sung Jinwoo noticed that it did not attack those who moved but were kneeling or on the ground. This is how he realized that they have to show their respect to the Lord by bowing, so he told them to do it. This was more instinct than anything else, as he himself admitted.

The second commandment – it demanded that the Hunters reach a musician statue, which then activated itself and revered the Lord – was a bit more difficult as they did not know how to praise the Lord; at the same time, the Statue started moving and crushing everyone in its path. A Hunter tried to pray but was stomped. As they were running around, Sung Jinwoo noticed musician statues, and they soon realized that they would not attack them like the armored ones. He also realized that one person could occupy only one statue, so when they scattered around, the music soothed the Lord, and the Statue stopped.

Finally, an altar appeared for the third commandment – which required the Hunters to offer one sacrifice to the Lord – and Sung Jinwoo realized that they would have to make an offer. They all had to be around to activate it, but once they did, only one of them needed to remain for the others to escape. Sung Jinwoo realized that and then offered his own life, but ultimately survived since that was proof of his faith. He was kept alive and made a Player of the System. And that is how Sung Jinwoo figured out how to survive the Double Dungeon.

How many Hunters died in the Double Dungeon?

We know that a total of 17 hunters entered the D-Rank Dungeon. All of them survived and entered the Double Dungeon as well. Knowing that the Double Dungeon was the scene of massive bloodshed, we cannot but wonder – how many Hunters died there, and how many survived? Let us see:

As you can see, five of the hunters were never identified, but we can confirm that they were killed in the Double Dungeon. In total, out of the 17 people who entered the Double Dungeon, only six of them survived, and even Sung Jinwoo stayed behind to become the final victim, but by doing that – he saved his own life. So, the total tally is 11 dead Hunters and six alive ones, which makes the Cartenon Temple one of the deadliest non-mass events in the story.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!