Power scaling is a mess. Usually, in shonen or power-fantasy series, the moment a protagonist hits the big leagues, everyone who used to be scary suddenly looks like a toddler. That's the vibe a lot of people get when they think about the National Level Hunter in Solo Leveling. You see these guys hyped up as the peak of humanity, the absolute ceiling of what a person can achieve after the "Kamish" raid, and then Jinwoo just... passes them. But honestly? If you look at the lore, these hunters aren't just fodder for the MC’s growth. They represent the only successful attempt by the Rulers to preserve Earth before everything went to hell.
They were rare.
Specifically, only a handful of people in the entire world held this rank. To be a National Level Hunter, you didn't just need a high mana count. You had to have cleared a S-Rank Gate—specifically the one in the US that birthed the dragon Kamish—and survived. More importantly, you had to be a "Vessel."
The Truth About National Level Hunter Power
So, what makes a National Level Hunter different from a "regular" S-Rank? It's not just a certificate from the government. It’s the borrowed power of the Rulers. In the Solo Leveling universe, the Rulers (the fragments of brilliant light) realized they couldn't just descend to Earth without destroying it. Their solution was to find human hosts. These hosts became "Ruler's Vessels."
Think about Thomas Andre. He’s the Goliath. He isn't just strong because he works out; he’s strong because he has the literal power of telekinesis (Ruler's Authority) and a physical reinforcement that defies logic. When he fought the Beast Monarch, he lost, yeah. But he survived. Most S-Ranks would have been mist in seconds.
The criteria for this rank are pretty strict. You basically had to be at the raid that killed Kamish. If you weren't there, or if you didn't possess the "Ruler’s Authority" (that invisible hand move), the US government wasn't going to give you that special status. It was a political move as much as a military one.
The world was terrified. After Kamish nearly wiped out the Western seaboard, the surviving hunters became the new nuclear deterrents. Thomas Andre (USA), Christopher Reed (USA), Liu Zhigang (China), Siddharth Bachchan (India), and Jonas (Brazil). That was the lineup.
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Why Thomas Andre is the Benchmark
Everyone talks about Thomas because he's the one who actually tried to throw hands with Sung Jinwoo. It was a disaster for him, but it showed the gap. Thomas Andre represents the absolute peak of "Human" potential aided by divine power. His "Reinforcement" skill turned his skin into something harder than any known alloy.
His fight in the scavengers guild arc wasn't just about showing off Jinwoo’s strength. It was about closing the chapter on human supremacy. Up until that point, the National Level Hunter in Solo Leveling was the gold standard. Once Thomas went down, the story shifted from "Hunters vs. Monsters" to "Gods vs. Monsters."
It's kinda wild when you realize Thomas was the only one who really got a prolonged fight scene. Christopher Reed was killed off-screen (mostly) by the Monarchs. Jonas was found dead in a river. Siddharth Bachchan barely got page time. It makes you wonder if Chugong, the author, realized he’d made them too strong or if he just wanted to get to the Monarch war faster.
The Five Greats and the Kamish Incident
We have to talk about Kamish. That dragon is the reason the National Level system exists. It came out of the first-ever S-Rank gate in the United States. It killed hundreds of high-ranking hunters. When the smoke cleared, only five were left standing. Those five were the original National Level Hunters.
- Thomas Andre: The tank. Aggressive, wealthy, and fiercely protective of his "property."
- Liu Zhigang: The only one who might have been stronger than Thomas. He’s a 7-star hunter in China. Interestingly, he uses dual swords, which mirrors Jinwoo's style. He never got his big showdown, which is honestly a crime.
- Christopher Reed: The fire-user. He was the first real warning sign that the Monarchs were coming. His death was the "oh crap" moment for the audience.
- Siddharth Bachchan: The Indian powerhouse. We know he exists. We know he's strong. That's about it.
- Jonas: The Brazilian representative. His death served to show that even National Level Hunters were being hunted like prey.
The Hierarchy Shift
Basically, the National Level rank is a lie by the end of the series. Not because they weren't strong, but because the scale changed. In the beginning, we thought the scale went E to S. Then we found out about "Nation Level." Then we found out about Monarchs and Rulers.
If a regular S-Rank is a 10, a National Level Hunter is a 100. But a Monarch? They’re a 1,000. Sung Jinwoo ended up being a 10,000.
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It’s easy to look back and call these guys "frauds," but that’s not fair. They held the world together for a decade. Without Liu Zhigang holding down Asia or Thomas Andre being a literal wall in the US, the world would have collapsed long before Jinwoo even entered the Double Dungeon.
They weren't just fighters; they were symbols. The US government spent billions to keep Thomas and Christopher on their soil because having a National Level Hunter meant you were safe from the "End of the World."
Why Liu Zhigang Deserved Better
I’m still salty about Liu Zhigang. In the Manhwa, he looks incredibly cool. He’s got this aura of a bored king. When the giants invaded Japan, he was ready to step in, but political red tape and Jinwoo’s sheer speed kept him on the sidelines.
He represents what Jinwoo could have been if he worked within the system. Liu is respected, he follows (mostly) the rules of his country, and he leads an army. He is the "Hero of China." The fact that we never saw him go all-out is one of the biggest "what ifs" in the series. Could he have beaten a lower-tier Monarch? Maybe. He was a Vessel, after all.
Understanding Ruler's Authority
The most distinct trait of a National Level Hunter in Solo Leveling is the "Ruler's Authority." If you see a hunter moving objects with their mind, they are likely a vessel. Jinwoo got this skill too, but he got it from the System (which was mimicking the Rulers' powers).
For Thomas Andre, this wasn't just a party trick. He used it to pull enemies toward him or crush them into the dirt. It’s the signature of the Rulers. If you have this skill, you have the "potential" to reach National Level, assuming your body can handle the strain of the mana.
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The Practical Impact on the Story
The existence of these hunters gave the story stakes. If the Monarchs had just started killing C-Rank hunters, we wouldn't care. But when they started picking off the world's strongest men—men who cleared the Kamish raid—that’s when you realized the situation was dire.
It also served to isolate Jinwoo. Once he surpassed the National Level Hunters, he was effectively alone. There was no one left to help him. No one could even stand in the same room as him without being crushed by his passive pressure. The National Level Hunters were the last "peers" Jinwoo had before he ascended to godhood.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Lore Buffs
If you're revisiting the series or diving into the Solo Leveling: Arise game or the Ragnarok sequel, keep these points in mind:
- Look for the "Vessel" Status: Not every S-Rank is a candidate. Only those who can host a Ruler's spirit hit that National Level ceiling.
- Kamish’s Legacy: The daggers Jinwoo uses (made from Kamish’s tooth) are technically more "National Level" than half the human hunters in the series. That dragon’s mana was the catalyst for the entire top-tier power structure.
- The Sequel Context: In Solo Leveling: Ragnarok, the power scaling gets even weirder, but the legacy of the National Level Hunters remains the baseline for what "Peak Humanity" looks like.
- Pay Attention to the Eyes: In the anime and manhwa, when a Vessel uses their full power, their eyes often glow with a specific intensity that regular hunters don't have. It's a subtle visual cue for the Rulers' influence.
The National Level Hunters weren't weak; the world just got too dangerous for humans, even those with the help of gods. They were the bridge between the world we knew and the chaotic reality of the Shadow Monarch's war.
To truly understand the power gap, watch the fight between Thomas Andre and the Beast Monarch again. Look at how much damage Thomas takes and keeps standing. That isn't "fraud" behavior—that's a man fighting a god and refusing to blink. That is what it means to be a National Level Hunter.