ALL 9 Monarchs & Gods in Solo Leveling Ranked & Explained!

Updated April 17, 2024 by Noel Vermen

They can easily destroy worlds and have the power to turn back time! These are the most powerful Gods in ‘Solo Leveling’. 

To understand their powers let me first explain who was the ‘Absolute Being’ 

BTW, before we start, you can also check out all the Solo Leveling characters just in case you’re curious!

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO HERE!!!

THE STRONGEST MONARCHS AND GODS IN SOLO LEVELING

10. The Absolute Being

In another world, there was only light and darkness. Then came this dude, all covered in silver and gold, pointy and super shiny. He was known as the ‘Absolute Being.’ And he was so OP that he split the light to create the ‘Messengers of God‘ and the darkness to create the ‘Monarchs.’

The Monarchs were born to destroy the world, and the Messengers were born to protect it. So, basically, the Monarchs are like troubled children, and the Messengers are the well-behaved kids.

The Messengers and Monarchs fought each other for a very long time, but nobody ever won.

So, the Messengers grew tired of this endless war and asked their creator, the Absolute Being, to help them defeat the Monarchs once and for all.

But the Absolute Being just snubbed them, he didn’t say anything. That’s when the Messengers realized that their creator liked watching them fight and didn’t want the war to stop. 

So, you know what happens when kids don’t get what they want… they start to rebel! The Messengers figured as long as the Absolute Being was around, the war would never stop. In short, these kids made a plan to kill their dad.

But there was one who didn’t agree with this plan – Ashborn. He was the only Messenger who stayed loyal and tried to stop the others. But since there were so many against him, Ashborn got overwhelmed and nearly died.

Right at the brink of his death, he found out that the Absolute Being had sneakily hidden a special power inside him. With this newfound power, he raised an army of undead soldiers and charged into battle. But by the time he got back to the Absolute Being, it was already too late. The other Messengers had already stormed the throne room and attacked their creator.

There, Ashborn found the Absolute Being, sitting lifeless on his throne, his body pierced by countless spears and covered in blood, betrayed and murdered by his own creations.

So, the lesson here, guys, is don’t have children.

But, how did the Rulers kill the Absolute Being? I mean, he’s the OG God, so why would he die at the hands of his own creation?

Ashborn explained in Chapter 163, ‘There is no such thing as infinite power. Just like how the Absolute Being was defeated by his creations, all power has an end.’ It’s no different from how humans are killed or hurt by machines of their own making. The Rulers and Monarchs were created to fight, and they became so strong that they could even kill their own creator. (Manhwa Chapter 163)

Just think of it like the movies about how AI could destroy humanity

So, after they successfully murdered their own creator, the Messengers who rebelled took over as GODS and became known as the ‘Rulers.’

9. Legia: The Monarch of the Beginning, The King of Giants

The Rulers used special tools that had the power of the Absolute Being. With these devices, they started to attack the Monarchs and even caught one of them, Legia.

Legia is the King of the Giants and the Monarch of the Beginning.

The main issue with this character is that we haven’t actually seen his full power. That’s why I put him at the very end of our list because it’s kinda hard to tell if he’s one of the strongest or the weakest Monarch. Here are two reasons why it’s so confusing:

Number 1: He was easily captured by the Rulers, which might suggest he’s not that strong.

Number 2: The Rulers went after him on purpose because he has a special kind of power that can turn the tides of battle. This idea makes sense, especially since Ashborn mentioned that the capture of Legia led to a collapse in the balance of power.

I also think he’s quite clever, especially in how he tried to persuade Jinwoo. Let me explain…

In Chapter 137, when Jinwoo confronted this giant, Legia was so excited because he thought he would finally be free! He promised that if Jinwoo released him, he would help in the big war that was about to come. See, he’s trying to manipulate!

But, of course, Jinwoo doesn’t trust him. I mean, why would you trust a monster that is enchained in the first place?

So, to gain Jinwoo’s trust, Legia cast a magic spell called ‘The Pledge of Trust.’ This spell made sure that neither of them could tell lies to each other. Sneaky trick, right? But of course it was actually a scam.

Then Jinwoo thought that if Legia was gonna be his ally anyway, why not just turn this giant into one of his Shadow soldiers? Damn, Jinwoo has no chill.

At first, Legia was terrified because he thought he saw Ashborn for a second. Then he explained that Jinwoo couldn’t turn him into a shadow soldier. This is because Monarchs and Rulers have ‘astral bodies‘ that get destroyed when they die. So, Jinwoo can’t turn the King of the Giants into his shadow. 

Legia still tried to convince Jinwoo to free him and become allies, but Jinwoo was way smarter than that. Jinwoo found something called an ‘essence stone‘ stuck in the back of Legia’s neck. That was bad news because as long as that stone was in the Giant’s neck, it would make him kill humans.

When Legia realized he had been caught, he tried to attack Jinwoo. But Jinwoo was way too fast and dodged all his moves. Then, with just one powerful hit, Jinwoo defeated Legia.

So, in theory, Legia was a major threat not just because of his strength, but also because he was really cunning. However, he was out of luck with Jinwoo, who’s way too sharp for him.

Now, here’s what I’m thinking… Why was Legia called ‘The Monarch of the Beginning‘? What’s up with ‘Beginning‘? Was he, like, the very first Monarch ever, or is there something else behind it?

OR… what if he had some ability to mess with time, sort of like a mini-version of the ‘Cup of Reincarnation‘? This cup is a powerful item that the rulers actually use to turn back time. And I’ll explain it later…

8. Tarnak The Monarch of Steel, King of Monsters. 

Next up is Tarnak, the Monarch of Steel, and King of Monsters.

Just like Legia, we didn’t get to see much of Tarnak’s powers. But, judging by his title, ‘The Monarch of Steel‘ or the ‘Monarch of the Iron Body‘, he’s probably like the tank among the Monarchs. 

He can also transform into a monster. However, I think his transformation doesn’t really enhance his combat power because…

This dude first showed up with the other three Monarchs when they murdered Christopher Reed.

So, Tarnak teaming up with the other Monarchs suggests that he’s more of a tank or support, rather than the main damage dealer.

Then, in Chapter 152, when the Frost Monarch wanted the other Monarchs to help him kill Jinwoo before he got too powerful, Tarnak was the first one to say, “Oh, hell no.” He thought trying to fight Jinwoo on their own was a really bad idea, which is true because Jinwoo can beat them up. 

Tarnak believed it was smarter to wait for Antares, the Monarch of Destruction, to come back and help them.

So, if Tarnak is so strong, why wait for Antares?

I’m not saying Tarnak isn’t powerful, but compared to the other Monarchs’ destructive abilities, he might not be on the same level.

This could be why he prefers having a teammate—to handle the attacks while he focuses on defense. 

Fast forward… When Antares showed up in the human world, Tarnak joined him and ended up facing Thomas Andre on the battlefield. Tarnak decided to take Thomas on in a fight.

But, Tarnak was too cocky and he even mentioned that he can kill Andre in a blink of an eye! Yet, he didn’t realize that Thomas was prepared. The Monarch of Steel was surprised when Bellion and Beru suddenly jumped out of Thomas’s shadow. Tarnak then realized it’s a trap! 

Tarnak tried to call Antares using his mind-reading powers to warn him, but couldn’t because Tusk had blocked his telepathy, cutting off his communication with Antares.

Tarnak was so pissed because he was outplayed by Jinwoo. So, The Monarch of Steel transformed himself into a monster and tried to beat Thomas, Bellion, and Beru all on his own. But it didn’t work out for him. Even just the two shadows were way too strong for Tarnak, and they beat his ass easily… Guess the Monarch of Steel isn’t as tough as he thought! (Manhwa Chapter 172)

Sure, he’s tough, but Beru and Bellion are on a whole other level. Tarnak just couldn’t keep up because he’s not the best when it comes to dealing damage.

Even though we didn’t get to see all of Legia’s true power, I still think Tarnak is stronger. But if it turns out that the Giant King, Legia, can actually mess with time, well, that’s a whole different story.

7. Yogumunt: The Monarch of Transfiguration, The King of Demonic Specters

Now, going back to Chapter 152, there’s a second person aside from Tarnak that refused when the Frost Monarch asked the other Monarchs to help him kill Jinwoo.  

And that’s Yogumunt, the Monarch of Transfiguration and the King of Demonic Specters.

The reason why he refused to help the Frost Monarch is because Yogumunt doesn’t want to end up like the Monarch of White Flames… Which is Baran the Demon King, and I’ll explain his story later… 

So, if Tarnak was kind of like a tank, then Yogumunt was more like a mage. The only thing we know about his powers is that he can open portals. That’s probably why he’s called the Monarch of Transfiguration – because he can change or manipulate space.

And we actually saw this in action in Chapter 173…

Yogumunt tried to help Antares beat Jinwoo by opening lots of portals to bring in more dragon soldiers. But their plan didn’t work. This was because Jinwoo’s skill, “Dragon’s Fearsome Roar,” rendered the dragon army useless. It immobilized every single dragon, including Yogumunt. After that, no one knew where Yogumunt went… maybe he died from Emotional damage!

I also think he’s kinda like Tarnak, Yogumunt just supports other Monarchs because he can’t really deal damage by himself, unless he summons a powerful monster or ‘demonic specter‘ to fight for him. 

So, if you figure out a way to stop Yogumunt from summoning portals, or if you immobilize him just like Jinwoo did, then he’s pretty much out of the fight.

Later, when Jinwoo finally defeated Antares he asked the Rulers to use the Cup of Reincarnation one last time, to turn back time. After that, Jinwoo started to chase the Monarchs in a place called the Dimensional Rift or Chaos World and when Jinwoo finally found Yogumunt, Jinwoo just easily killed him. 

6. Querehsha: The Monarch of Plagues, The Queen of Insects

There were actually two Monarchs who teamed up with the Frost Monarch to try and take down Jinwoo.

The first was Rakan, and the second was Querehsha, the Queen of Insects and the Monarch of Plagues. And guess what? Jinwoo ended up fighting all three of them at the same time!

So, when you compare her up against the other three Monarchs we talked about, Querehsha is way stronger because she actually went toe to toe with Jinwoo. 

The Insect Queen launched her attack on Jinwoo with an army of corpses, which she controlled using parasites. But during the fight, she got way too focused on trying to mess with Beru’s mind. Big mistake! When she got distracted, Jinwoo saw his opportunity. He sneaked up behind her and slashed at her face.

Man, Querehsha was absolutely furious! So, she regenerated her entire body and tried to hit Jinwoo with her poison. But here’s the thing – our boy Jinwoo is totally immune to poison!

This just made Querehsha even more enraged. She charged at Jinwoo, but he easily stopped her with the Ruler’s Authority. Then, with a swift move, he used his Mutilation skill to slice her entire body into pieces!

Now, here’s what I think is why Querehsha is stronger than the previous Monarchs I mentioned earlier… 

If she will fight against Tarnak, it might be a tough fight ‘cause Tarnak is a tank, but if she continuously overwhelms this guy with her zombie army then she can probably win or… She can rain Tarnak down with her poison to wear down his armor. 

Fighting against Yogumunt is a difficult scenario ‘cause the Monarch of Transfiguration can easily summon monsters that can wipe out Querehsha’s zombie army. Yet, if the Insect Queen can restrain Yogumunt then there’s nothing that guy can do.

If she fights against Legia, it could be a tough battle because the Giant King, with his wits and strength, can totally flip the battle’s outcome. Of course, he has giant armies, but I think the zombie army might just overwhelm them. Plus, if these giants die, she could also take control of them with her parasites.

However, like I mentioned before, if Legia can manipulate time, Querehsha might struggle to combat the Monarch of the Beginning.

But, since we haven’t seen the full might of these three, based on what we’ve seen in the manhwa, Querehsha seems definitely stronger than the others.

5. Sillad: The Monarch of Frost, The King of the Snow Folk

Next up is Sillad, the Frost Monarch and the King of the Snow Folk.

The Frost Monarch went to Korea and hunted down Chairman Go Gunhee, one of the Rulers’ vessels, and managed to kill him. 

Side note: The Rulers didn’t appear much in the story, but their human vessels did. Like Jinwoo (since Ashborn was a former Ruler), Thomas Andre, Christopher Reed, and Jinwoo’s dad, Sung Il-Hwan.

The Monarch of Frost is super tricky to fight because he’s smart and uses everything to his advantage. Like this one time, he was fighting Chairman Gunhee, and just as Jinwoo showed up, the Frost Monarch quickly made a huge ice wall and threw an ice spear at Gunhee, just to distract Jinwoo. That quick thinking gave him just enough time to escape. 

Just as he was about to leave, Jinwoo suddenly teleported in using Shadow Exchange and attacked the Frost Monarch. The Frost Monarch quickly created a massive ice wall and threw an ice spear at Gunhee for distraction. This bought him just enough time to open a magical portal and escape from Jinwoo.

After seeing Jinwoo’s power, the Frost Monarch realized they could actually lose the war if Jinwoo was against them. That’s why he met up with the other Monarchs and asked for their help to quickly defeat Jinwoo. Tarnak and Yogumunt were too scared and disagreed, but Rakan and Querehsha thought they could win since they believed Jinwoo wasn’t at his strongest yet.

During the fight with Jinwoo, the Frost Monarch showed off his powerful abilities. As soon as Jinwoo summoned his shadows, the Frost Monarch instantly froze them with his icy breath. He could even create weapons out of ice and summon ice golems!

So, the Frost Monarch already showed two advantages against the other Monarchs, one is that he can freeze an entire army, so even if you have giants or zombies, he can instantly stop them. Plus aside from his army of ice elves he can even create his own monsters which are the ice golems!  

Meaning that The Frost Monarch can’t be outnumbered plus he can also create his own weapons and he has an immense speed and strength that actually went toe to toe with Jinwoo in their second battle. 

When Jinwoo killed Querehsha. The Frost Monarch kept Jinwoo busy, and Rakan sneakily attacked Jinwoo from behind, seriously hurting him. For a moment, it seemed like they had defeated Jinwoo… but that’s what they thought. Because Jinwoo has two hearts, and when his Black Heart started beating again, he came back to life! 

The Monarchs tried to finish him off for good, but then Il-Hwan showed up. With a super strong kick, he sent them flying into a nearby building. Seeing that they were losing, Rakan decided to bail, leaving the Frost Monarch to fight Jinwoo all by himself.

Even though he was by himself, the Frost Monarch didn’t give up. He created a giant ice storm that chopped off Il-Hwan’s left arm. But just as he was about to beat Il-Hwan, Jinwoo returned, back from the dead. 

The Frost Monarch, stubborn as ever, tried to fight Jinwoo, throwing his trident and casting ice magic. But nothing worked against Jinwoo. He broke the trident with just one hand and slashed the Frost Monarch across the chest. That’s how Jinwoo finally avenged Chairman Gunhee.

The Monarch of Frost can absolutely handle the Monarchs: Tarnak, Yogumunt, and Querehsha. Either he can overpower them with his ice powers, armies, and of course with his strength or speed. 

But if he’ll be fighting against the Monarch Rakan then he can’t win….  

4. Rakan: The Monarch of Fangs, The King of Beasts

Now let’s talk about the King of Beasts, the Monarch of Fangs, Rakan. 

When he showed up, rampaging through the city, Thomas Andre tried to stop him. Andre put up a great fight, but Rakan, in his full power, was too much for Thomas.

So, imagine if the Frost Monarch fights against Rakan. Yes, the Frost Monarch is fast and his ice magic is tricky. But remember, during Rakan’s fight with Andre, Rakan wasn’t using his full power. So, if Rakan transforms into his true form, he could easily overpower the Frost Monarch.

Also, Thomas and Tarnak seem similar in their abilities. But of course Tarnak, the Monarch of Steel, is stronger. However, if Tarnak and Rakan were to battle, Rakan’s strength could easily break through Tarnak’s tough armor.

Even if Rakan were to fight against an army, he could handle it pretty well because he also has his own army. Plus his true form is MASSIVE! He’s so powerful, he could defeat an entire army by himself, and with his size he could tackle giants as well.

Just as Rakan was about to kill Andre, Lennart Niermann, an S-rank hunter from Germany, stepped in. But even Niermann stood no chance against Rakan and nearly met his end! He was on the brink of defeat until one of Jinwoo’s shadows intervened, stopping Rakan in his tracks. Moments later, Jinwoo appeared and delivered a crushing ax kick, smashing Rakan into the ground!

A few chapters later… When Jinwoo came back to life, Rakan totally freaked out. Then Il-Hwan showed up and kicked off a fierce fight with Rakan and The Frost Monarch. The moment the King of Beasts realized he couldn’t stop Jinwoo… Rakan didn’t waste a second! He ditched the Frost Monarch and escaped through a portal. Man, Rakan is such a chicken… actually he pulled the same stunt when he and the Demon King Baran betrayed Ashborn.

Yep, that’s the only problem with Rakan. If he knows his enemy is stronger, he’ll just run away.

So, Rakan tried to hide himself. But he soon realized Jinwoo had followed him. Knowing he couldn’t beat Jinwoo or escape, Rakan bowed his head and begged for forgiveness. Jinwoo agreed but only if Rakan could withstand five of his attacks first. Realizing Jinwoo was mocking him, Rakan transformed into his ultimate form, ready to fight back with all his might. But Jinwoo defeated him easily. 

3. Baran: The Monarch of White Flames, The King of Demons

Next, let’s talk about the King of Demons and the Monarch of White Flames… Baran.

But first, let me show you what happened so you’ll understand the Demon King’s power.

In Chapter 128, when the Architect revealed the past to Jinwoo, we saw that right after Ashborn destroyed the Ruler’s soldiers, Baran and Rakan, leading their own armies, tried to attack the Shadow Monarch. But despite Baran’s efforts, Ashborn defeated both him and the Monarch of Fangs. Rakan actually ran away from the fight, leaving the Demon King behind. Told you guys, Rakan is such a big wussy.

Then Ashborn approached Baran and asked why he had turned against the Shadow Monarch. We didn’t get a proper answer because, well, talking about demons isn’t really our thing, so… This made Ashborn so pissed that he ended up crushing Baran’s skull with one hand.

The Demon King that Jinwoo fought in the Demon Castle is actually a copy of Baran made by the Architect to be the final boss. Yet even as a copy, this guy was strong. I mean, he can summon many demons through portals, has lightning breath, and those hit by it instantly get stunned!

That’s why Jinwoo had a rough time with Baran 2.0. But thanks to a distraction caused by Esil, Jinwoo managed to win. He ripped off Baran’s left arm and smacked him hard in the jaw, which literally destroyed Baran’s body.

So, if the copy of the Demon King was this powerful, just imagine how OP the original Baran must have been!

We didn’t get a chance to see the full extent of this Monarch’s power, but his formidable strength might be exactly why Antares ordered him and Rakan to betray Ashborn. 

Why? It’s probably because Rakan and Baran were on the same level of strength, making them the only Monarchs who had a real shot at taking on the Shadow Monarch.

Yet, there’s still a chance that Baran was actually stronger than Rakan, because the moment Rakan saw Baran was defeated, he just left him. If someone stronger than you gets defeated, wouldn’t you be scared to fight the dude you’re trying to mess with? Unless you aren’t a wussy like Rakan…

2. Antares: The Monarch of Destruction, The King of Dragons

Next, Antares, the King of the Dragons, and the Monarch of Destruction.

Antares finally came to the human world through a huge gate in Canada. There, he met Jay Mills, an S-rank hunter. When Antares saw that Jinwoo wasn’t there, he used his fiery breath to turn Jay into ashes. Feeling pleased, Antares let his dragon army loose, destroying everything in their path.

So, if Antares can easily kill you with just his breath and has an entire army of dragons backing him up, which of the other Monarchs can stand against him? (Except Ashborn of course)

Even if you have an army of giants, zombies, and demons, they won’t stand a chance against the Dragon King… and let’s not even count the ice golems, ’cause they’ll just instantly melt away. 

When Jinwoo finally showed up, he teleported Antares with him to a far-off island in Japan. The two started fighting there. Antares was tough to beat because he could turn into a dragon. At first, no matter how many times Jinwoo attacked, the Dragon King’s scales were so thick that Jinwoo’s attacks didn’t even scratch Antares. 

This part just literally shows that the Dragon King ain’t just destructive but he’s also a tank! Tarnak must be jealous of this guy… just kidding. Which means even if Baran had a thunder breath that’ll just tickle Antares, if the Monarch of Frost uses his ice magic against this Dragon, that magic will just be like an icicle, and even Rakan can transform into a giant wolf there’s no chance he can bite through Antares dragon scales.  

In short, they’ll just die fighting Antares.

So, the Dragon King stopped fighting for a moment and offered not to harm all the humans if Jinwoo helped him defeat the Rulers. But of course, Jinwoo rejected his offer.

This made them start fighting again. It was a tough battle, but when Jinwoo got a chance, he used his dad’s special dagger to nearly split Antares in two!

Antares was really surprised to see that Jinwoo had actually managed to hurt him. Then, he noticed the armies of the Rulers up in the sky and realized Jinwoo had been planning this all along.

Jinwoo also revealed that Antares is the one who ordered Rakan and Baran to attack Ashborn.

After revealing that Antares was behind the betrayal, Jinwoo couldn’t help but mock the Dragon King. His mockery taunted Antares, who then tried to attack Jinwoo one last time. However, the Rulers jumped in and defeated him with their spears. Yep, bro got impaled!

Now, with all of the Monarchs totally defeated, Jinwoo had a special request. He asked the Rulers to use the Cup of Reincarnation again to rewind time, aiming to bring back the many lives lost in the battle.

So, the Rulers agreed and turned back time. Boom – Antares and all the other Monarchs were alive again. But there was a catch: the Monarchs would still remember everything that ever happened from before.

But that wasn’t really a big deal for Jinwoo. He hunted down the Monarchs and beat them all without much trouble.

Fast forward 27 years, and Antares was the only Monarch left. That’s when Jinwoo showed up in his palace, ready to defeat him and finish everything. The Dragon King was really happy to get another chance to fight Jinwoo.

In the end, Jinwoo won the battle. The only injury he got was a bad burn on his left hand.

1. Ashborn: The Monarch of Shadows, The King of the Dead

Next, the OG Shadow Monarch, and the King of the Dead… Ashborn.

When the Rulers captured Legia, the Giant King, the balance of powers collapsed. Ashborn seized that chance to reach out to the other Monarchs. In order to face off against the Rulers, the Monarchs had no choice but to team up with Ashborn.

After that, Ashborn fought alongside the Monarchs and became the Monarch of Shadows.

Ashborn was so powerful, the Rulers and even the Monarchs feared him.

That’s why Antares ordered the Demon King and the King of Beasts to betray Ashborn. But these mofos didn’t stand a chance against the Shadow Monarch.

Since Sung Jinwoo ended up killing all the Monarchs and since he and Ashborn are the same, then it’s obvious that Ashborn is way stronger than all of the eight Monarchs combined.

Despite having massive armies or crazy super powers, Jinwoo is proof of how strong Ashborn really was.    

I mean Jinwoo didn’t even lift a finger against Tarnak, Yogumunt died without doing anything, while Rakan, Querehsha, and the Frost Monarch with their combined powers were useless against Jinwoo.     

So, Rakan ran away, and Baran ended up dying. After that, the Rulers appeared, knelt before Ashborn, and asked for forgiveness.

Bro, the Rulers could have totally killed Ashborn at that time, but instead, they all kneeled down and said sorry to him. Why? Because they didn’t just fear him, they also respected Ashborn.

Of course, Ashborn was furious and didn’t want to forgive them. He even told them to end the war by killing him right there. But the Rulers kept asking for his forgiveness. Ashborn was so confused and didn’t know what to do. He then decided to hide in order to plan his revenge against the Monarchs who betrayed him. So, Ashborn left the big battle to strengthen his shadow army again.

While he was hiding, the Monarchs lost a huge amount of fighting power and were defeated by the Rulers.

See? That’s how powerful Ashborn was. If the Monarchs hadn’t betrayed him, they wouldn’t have been defeated. 

BTW guys, the Rulers and Monarchs have spiritual bodies and don’t have their own physical bodies. To visit the human world, they need to use human bodies. They pick people and use their bodies, but they let the people stay in control of themselves. Rulers can’t actually use their full power this way, unlike the Monarchs, who totally take over the human’s body and use it for themselves.

So, both Ashborn and Antares possess enormous power. To cross into the world or Earth, they need a human vessel that can handle such power. This is why Ashborn and Antares can’t find a suitable vessel ‘cause they’re just too OP.

This is where the Architect comes in. He offered to find Ashborn a suitable human, and in exchange, he asked for immortality. 

Ashborn agreed with the Architect and spent years searching for a suitable human vessel. But, the Architect actually had a tough time because no living being could become a vessel for death.  That’s when Ashborn found Jinwoo. 

Jinwoo was chosen because he had stepped beyond the boundaries of the system that the Architect had created, a human who didn’t follow its rules and did things differently. 

Plus, Jinwoo was always weak and constantly facing death. Yet he always managed to escape with his life.

Even though the Architect disagreed, Ashborn still chose Jinwoo.

Conclusion

Then, Jinwoo and Ashborn became one. That’s why Ashborn said to Jinwoo, ‘I am the record of your bitter struggle. I am the evidence of your resistance. I am the reward of your pain. I am death, I am eternal rest, and I am also terror. I am you.’ Damn, what a badass quote. (Manhwa Chapter 162)

So, after fully absorbing Ashborn’s powers, Jinwoo actually surpassed Ashborn.