Solo Leveling fans waiting for Season 3 might want to keep one eye on the game side of the franchise, because one of its coolest character stories may never make it into the anime.
Season 2 wrapped last year after adapting the popular Jeju Island Arc, but there is still no official sequel announcement even after a year. While the anime side is quiet, Netmarble’s free-to-play RPG Solo Leveling: Arise has been adding more story content for both canon characters and original game characters.
The game, available on PC, iOS, and Android, uses a gacha-style Ticket system and has a dedicated Hunter Origin section on its official website. These one-shot chapters dig into different playable characters, including some who did not get much space in the original manhwa.
The big one for longtime fans? Igris.
For many Solo Leveling viewers, Igris is not just another shadow soldier. He is one of Sung Jinwoo’s most trusted and powerful shadows, and his connection to Ashborn, the former Shadow Monarch, makes him feel important even when the main story keeps his past mostly hidden.
That changes in the 25th Hunter Origin chapter, which reveals that Igris was once a human named Sian Halat. Before becoming the loyal shadow knight fans know, Sian served as a Knight Captain. He was skilled enough to earn royal recognition, but that success also made him a target among jealous nobles.
According to the backstory, Sian often felt that some terrifyingly powerful being was watching him, even though he could not identify it. Then things went bad fast. After receiving an emergency summons from the king, Sian left despite his wife’s worries. On the way, he was ambushed by soldiers.
Sian was strong enough to defeat them, and he even understood that he had walked into a trap. But the real cruelty came after that: his enemy had taken his wife and soldiers hostage. With their lives at risk, Sian surrendered — only to see them die anyway.
That tragedy pushed him into despair. Near death, he once again sensed the mysterious presence watching him. This path eventually led him to the Shadow Monarch, where Sian swore loyalty thousands of years before the main story. The Hunter Origin chapter does not show the full meeting with Ashborn, but it gives fans the emotional missing piece behind Igris’ loyalty.
So why does this matter for anime-only fans in Malaysia and SEA? Because this is exactly the kind of lore that makes a character hit harder. Igris already became a fan favourite from his Season 1 fight with Jinwoo, but knowing he was once a tragic knight rather than just a cool boss monster adds another layer.
The problem is that the Solo Leveling anime has been following the manhwa’s main plot. If it stays on that route, Igris’ Hunter Origin backstory has very little chance of being adapted naturally. Unless A-1 Pictures or the production team decides to do an OVA, special episode, or game-crossover content, this might remain extra material for fans willing to dig outside the anime.
For now, if you are a Solo Leveling fan here and you only watch the anime, just know this: one of the franchise’s best character backstories is sitting in the game side of the universe. And bro, Igris fans are going to feel that one.
Source: ComicBook Anime