Solo Leveling Episode 3 titled “It’s Like a Game” just dropped, and we’re here to unpack the desert dashes, dungeon dives, and System surprises galore. Get ready for a recap that’s equal parts heart-pounding action and witty analysis, as we dissect Jin-Woo’s journey from hospital bed to monster mash.
Solo Leveling Episode 3 Recap: From Hospital Bed to Desert Grind
Following his traumatizing and gore-filled experience in the Double Dungeon, Jinwoo wakes up in a hospital to his surprise his body is recovered, with all of his limbs intact, believing that his experience in the dungeon was just a dream. He is soon greeted by Woo Jinchul and Kang Taeshik of the Korean Hunters Association. Jinchul tells him that he and his comrades only found him collapsed on the floor with no signs of the statues the other survivors depicted.
He then interrogates Jinwoo if he perhaps received a “second awakening”. Bringing him hope, Jinwoo is asked to place his hand on the mana meter that Taeshik places in front of him. Excited to see the result, he asks the two men what rank he is now and if he has been reawakened. Jinchul apologizes as they may have made a mistake upon seeing that the machine indicates his score as 10. Having gained his hope for nothing, he questions why they did not question a message given by the System that Jinwoo appears to be able to see as the officials walked out.
Solo Leveling Episode 3 Recap: From Desert Grind to Dungeon Dive
Soon, Jinwoo’s sister Sung Jinah enters to express her worries. Jinwoo apologizes and configures whether she can see the message that is in front of him. Knowing that the message is only visible to him, he also asks her what to do when he has unread notifications like in video games. She tells her that he needs to check his infobox although initially confused why he was asking her such a question before walking out to join her friend waiting at the door.
Jinwoo reads some instructions provided by the System, including a quest that asks him to complete some intense workout routines that he believes to some jokes.
Currently, Jinchul and Taeshik are in their car with Jinchul on the phone informing Go Gunhee that they have mistaken about Jinwoo receiving a reawakening.
At the Hunters Guild building, Choi Jong-In assigns Cha Hae-In to participate in the next B-Rank Raid. Hae-in, unconfident in her leadership skills, is assured by Jong-In that she has what it takes for this mission. At another location outside at night, a few civilians are interrupted by a gate that appears in the middle of a road and questions when the hunters will arrive to clear it.
Meanwhile, Jinwoo is sleeping in his room at the hospital, unaware that the limited time of quest he believed to be a joke has run out, causing a rumbling that he believes to be an earthquake before finding himself in a desert where he receives a message telling him to survive for the next four hours as he encounters an enormous centipede that began pursues him. Back in Jinwoo’s room, two nurses find his bed empty and begin to search for him. For four hours in the desert, Jinwoo barely survives his chase from the centipedes and is found exhausted by the nurses at the hospital.
Solo Leveling Episode 3: Dungeon Delving and Doubts
The next day, Jinwoo sports himself in a tracksuit as he informs his sister that he will be heading out.
Lee Joohee who is still greatly affected by the experience in the Double Dungeon receives a phone call that asks her to participate in a raid, knowing what she has gone through, something that she naturally declines. She is also told that Jinwoo has woken up, leading her to head to the hospital where she finds him jogging outside as two nurses questions.
Jinwoo sits down as he completes more of his quests and begins to understand the functions and rewards he receives. Back inside his room, Jinwoo this time receives a special reward that grants him a key that leads him to the Hapjeong Subway Station for a dungeon.
Anime only scenes from Solo Leveling episode 3 🎬 pic.twitter.com/R6v2JD1kr1
— Solo Leveling (@SoloLevelAnime) January 22, 2024
A news reporter announces that the Hunters Guide will be in charge of the dungeon that appeared in the middle of the road. Jinwoo is then seen visiting his unconscious mother as he gets flashbacks of when he learned she became a victim of the Eternal Sleep Disease. Jinwoo continues he work out routines as he thinks of back in the day when he began to work and when he was qualified to become a hunter so that he could earn money to support her mother. Some times after, Jinwoo deems that he is finally ready to use that key he got earlier.
Conclusion
Finally feeling strong enough, Jin-Woo decides to tackle that dungeon. He steps through the portal, only to find himself trapped in another dimension. It’s like he’s stepped into a dark, abandoned subway station. He’s not alone, though. Goblins and a giant wolf-like monster are ready to give him a warm welcome.
This is where the episode ends, leaving us with a cliffhanger that will only be saved by episode 4: will Jin-Woo conquer this dungeon and level up even further? Or will he become another victim of the System’s twisted game? Sign up for our newsletter to know more.