Solo Leveling Season 2 Episode 5: The Hunters Guild Gate Arc Begins with a Confrontation Against High Orcs

Released on February 2, 2025, at 12 AM JST, Solo Leveling Season 2 Episode 5 starts the Hunters Guild Gate Arc, making fans excited. In this episode, Jinwoo joins the second strike squad of the Hunters Guild for an A-Rank dungeon raid and takes on the job of a porter.

But soon, it begins to blow up upon their first encounter with powerful high orcs and when they find out that they are trapped by the dungeon boss, Kargalgan. Kargalgan addressing them in human language was astonishing enough, but Kargalgan invited them to his lair!

Hae-in's Investigation

While Hae-in's suspicions of Jinwoo grow stronger as the plot unfolds, she investigates him further and visits the dungeon site for answers. The episode ends on a tense cliffhanger as the strike team steps into the boss's lair for confrontation.

Based on the fifth episode, which bears the title "This is What We Are Trained to Do," chapters 67 to 71 of the manhwa are adapted almost faithfully to the original webtoon. The episode begins with Jinwoo's first encounter with Cha Hae-in, who is about to face the dungeon boss. Caught off guard, Jinwoo explains that he simply "made a mistake, wandering into the boss chamber." Impressed with Hae-in's stealth, he is puzzled when she sees his weapon disappear just moments later.

Jinwoo's Unique Scent

Hae-in finds Jinwoo's pleasant fragrance interesting to her; unlike the foul smell associated with most Hunters; she checks his E-Rank license and lets him go, wondering if the absence of this stench is somehow connected with his low rank.

Later, the mining team informs Jinwoo regarding Hae-in's unique ability of the detection of Hunters by the foul scent; the further Jinwoo ponders on whether the fact that he himself smells nice has something to do with his being a Player. He remembers that even Baruka supposedly didn't hear any voices that would urge him to attack, leading Jinwoo to ponder further about what it means to be a Player.

Joining the Raid

After witnessing Jinwoo's impressive mining capabilities, the team invites him to join their next raid. Jinwoo, with his re-evaluation just two days away and the second strike squad ready for the A-Rank dungeon raid, decides to join in.

At the same time, Hae-in's investigation into Jinwoo gets stronger. She finds out that Jong-in has already started looking into him and learns that the Association has marked his file as classified, which raises more questions about who he really is. Even though she is becoming more suspicious, she is still fascinated by Jinwoo's special scent.

The A-Rank Dungeon Raid

As Jinwoo joins the raid, he thinks about his past experiences with his old teammates. Before the A-Rank dungeon raid starts, the strike squad leader, Son Kihoon, asks for a new porter because their original one has dropped out. Jinwoo sees this as a chance to watch the squad in action and decides to volunteer.

The raid started well as the squad took on the dungeon jackals, displaying excellent coordination. However, a quick escalation took place when high orc numbers broke the battle line, augmenting their overwhelming might into the squad and ruining their strategy.

Jinwoo's Secret Assistance

In those fleeting moments of chaos, Jinwoo was in the background, secretly aiding the strike squad against the orc assault. His shadowy intervention gave the strike squad the winning edge, which culminated in defeating the high orcs without a single casualty. One of the Hunter mages saw Jinwoo's camouflage but chose to remain quiet, for she was grateful for his assistance.

As the episode comes to a close, the team discusses their options and decides to retreat to regroup with stronger forces. But soon they find their escape blocked by a massive spell barrier, sending tremors of shock through the Hunters. As the mages struggle to dispel the barrier, they are struck by a curse spell, and a bigger horde of high orcs emerges.

Confrontation with Kargalgan

Having realized their disadvantage, Kihoon backs out from the fight. To their surprise, one of the orcs speaks in human language introducing itself as Kargalgan, expressing the wish to meet the humans. Kargalgan introduces himself as the boss of the dungeon and gives the team an unpleasant choice: die at the hands of his orc soldiers or go meet him.

Knowing that he doesn't have many options, Kihoon chooses to follow Kargalgan, secretly planning a surprise attack on the boss with hopes of breaking the barrier in all the ensuing chaos. He tells Jinwoo to get out in the middle of all this commotion, as he is not part of their fighting squad.

Hae-in's Growing Suspicion

Meanwhile, Hae-in reaches the gate while thinking that Jinwoo must have joined the raid despite being off-duty. The others tell her that he entered as a porter with the strike team, increasing her suspicions.

The episode concludes on a tense cliffhanger as the strike squad enters Kargalgan's lair, with the boss welcoming them inside.