WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Season 1 of The God of High School, now streaming on Crunchyroll.
By the end of the first season of The God of High School, an abundance of new characters with unique Charyeoks had been put on display. Charyeoks are borrowed powers from spiritual entities that are referred to as “gods.” There are different types of Charyeoks that range from summoning an actual spirit, to manifesting weapons to give the user enhanced abilities. Here is every Charyeok from the anime's first season, ranked according to raw power.
23. Marionette
Its manifestation isn’t really clear in the anime, but there is a reference to the marionette Charyeok being utilized by Commissioner P. It hasn’t been used in battle, but it was used to spare the lives of Shim Bongsa’s family from assassination. Marionette’s ability is doll creation, which makes copies of individuals, as well as bodily manipulation, which can use a person’s body as a puppet. These two abilities alone are quite powerful, so it’s a shame they haven’t been used for combat quite yet. When a doll is created, P is connected with the creation, allowing her to see and know what the doll experiences.
22. Hammer
Used by the oldest member of the tournament, Jin Pum-Gwang, this weapon Charyeok manifests as a large hammer, which delivers attacks with extreme brute force. It also amplifies the user’s strength.
The most powerful use of it is when Jin Pum-Gwang battles Daewi in The God of High School tournament. As he swings the almighty hammer, referring to it as Thor’s Hammer, it's stopped by Daewi, who destroys it with his Azure Dragon technique.
21. Kraken
This giant purple squid Charyeok is used by the deep sea diver/swimmer Lee Marin. The squid Charyeok gives its user the ability to restore health and amplifies their physical characteristics. Lee Marin’s physique is already quite strong, so adding this gives him the upper hand in a long battle. (Although, in the anime, the Kraken’s tentacles are used to attack Mira, and the health restoration is not used.)
When Lee Marin faces off Yoo Mira the Kraken is only summoned after he loses the National Treasure, Bongseon, to her. The Kraken uses a fury of attacks before suffering a final blow form Mira’s Lu Bu Fengxian Charyeok.
20. Bastard
The massive double-edged sword Charyeok comprised of energy belongs to the representative from Choongcheongbukdo, Jang Jangmi. Bastard gives Jangmi the ability Weapon Augmentation, which strengthens the power and size of her kendo sword. She is already a talented swordswoman, and her devotion to her team gives her an extra motivational drive. Aside from her quick reflexes and swordsmanship, Bastard feeds off Jangmi’s emotions to cultivate a massive sword.
When Bastard is summoned for the first time in the anime, Jangmi uses the giant light sword against Mira. Unfortunately for her, Mira can fend off the attack and win without a Charyeok.
19. Aegis Shield
The Aegis Shield is used by the doppelganger of Nah Hanseong. The summoned weapon manifests as transparent pink shards around the user, who can use them as weapons, while its shield ability creates a barrier to protect them. The shards can also be used to shower the enemy like daggers. The offensive/defensive capabilities of the Aegis shield make it a very versatile Charyeok.
The Aegis Shield is used against Mori in the tournament. The Charyeok’s offensive abilities are fully displayed, but an angered Mori overpowers the doppelganger user with ease.
18. Caterpillar
The green insect Charyeok is used by one of the followers of Nox, Drake McDonald. The caterpillar’s abilities allow the user to regenerate and reattach lost limbs with the use of silk thread. While it does develop later in the webtoon, for now, there are no other prevailing characteristics that make it stand out in the anime -- other than making Drake look really creepy.
The most powerful moment for the caterpillar comes when Drake successfully assassinates Sim Bongsa. Although the Charyeok is not seen in use, Drake must have been able to utilize it to kill the well-trained announcer. Other than that, his Charyeok only comes in handy to avoid death after Commissioner Q cuts both his arms off.
17. Samurai
Although the name of the Charyeok is uncertain, it makes its debut during Oh Seongjin and Mira’s wedding. It grants the user physical enhancements, boosting their original capabilities. Seongjin’s sword style benefits from these physical enhancements quite well -- causing Mori and the gang some trouble when Seongjin tries to acquire Mira’s sword via marriage by promising to continue the legacy of her Moon Light Sword Style. Luckily, Mira comes to her senses and calls off the wedding, which leads to Seongjin manifesting his Charyeok to go on a rampage.
The large slashes cause a great deal of damage to its surroundings, but Mori, Mira and Daewi are able to stop the threat without any Charyeok assistance.
16. Shield of Discrimination
The summoned wings weapon is the Charyeok of Nox Priest Axley. Paired with the National Treasure: Durendal, Axley’s aerial mobility makes him a tough opponent to beat. Shield of Discrimination manifests as a pair of wings on the user, giving them the ability fly while also being able to shield them. It also gives Axley a boost in speed while reinforcing his physical capabilities. Using the wings as a shield does come in handy, but if they take damage, the user can come crashing back down to earth.
The Shield of Discrimination's big moment comes during the assassination attempt on Commissioner Q. Axley is able to effortlessly maneuver around Commissioner Q, but is outmatched by Joker’s scythe, and, as you'd expect, gets his wings cut off.
15. Jack the Ripper
This calm and composed Charyeok is used by the wild and obnoxious Gwum Gi. It manifests as black blades in different shapes and sizes at the user’s command. The blades can be created from the ground or from the body. The aura of the Charyoek appears as a black mist hovering around Gi, but then it solidifies, creating large black blades. The blades can be used for offense and defense, but Gi’s style makes him more of an aggressive attacker.
Jack the Ripper is only used once in the first season, and its most powerful moment is when it’s used to deliver the final blow on Park Ilpyo -- but is unsuccessful. The young Taekkyon user is able to defend against the black blades and defeats Gi.
14. Mage
This wizard Charyeok is used by the young singer, Jun Jugok. The Mage Charyeok grants its user pyrokinesis to generate fire and electrokinesis to summon lightning. Jugok also uses the rhythm of his singing to cast spells. Although his attacks are powerful, his abilities do not get fully explored in the first season and he is portrayed as a very weak-minded individual given that he needs a maid, Lee Hyangdan, to always look after him.
His most powerful moment is when he tries to get revenge on Jegal Taek, but is quickly defeated, and his Mage Charyeok is absorbed and manipulated by the Greed Charyeok, turning him into a rampaging monster.
13. Doppelganger
The cloning Charyeok belongs to one of the members of Nox, Paylong (Fei-long). As you guessed it, Doppelganger allows the user to make copies of others, and can produce multiple different copies at once. The doppelgangers use the abilities of the original and can explode on demand. Paylong murdered and created copies of the Jeju Island Team, while still being able to copy Mori’s grandfather to lure him into a trap.
This leads Paylong to face off against Mori with an ensemble of his doppelgangers. He overpowers Mori early on but the young tiger cub defeats him in the end, returning to the tournament.
12. Sadie
This Charyeok is used by the foul-mouthed Nox Priest, Saturn. The Sadie Charyeok has the abilities Sadie’s Table, which summons hands to attack, and Sadies’s Breakfast, which summons a large creature that attempts to devour its enemies. Saturn’s cross gun is a National Treasure, but the name of it is currently unknown. Sadie is only used briefly in the anime, but its abilities make it quite an eerie opponent to face.
Sadie is manifested in the battle against Commissioners O and Q. Saturn tries to use the hands from Sadie to immobilize O, but the attempt is futile as O completely overpowers her. Saturn’s most powerful moment actually involves her National Treasure -- not Sadie -- when she unleashes a huge blast from it to try and vaporize O.
11. Megalodon
The vulgar and aggressive style of the Magalodon is used by one of the main antagonists of The God of High School, Taek Jegal. It appears as a large shark that uses its teeth to pierce his enemies. Jegal can manifest loads of teeth at once -- showing no mercy as he impales his victims. If that wasn't enough, he can also summon a whole shark head to consume them from below. The summoned teeth can also be used to shield him from opponent attacks.
The most powerful moment, or perhaps the most gruesome, is when Jegal summons the shark head to devour half of Jugok, while also removing Ryu Hyeonbok’s arm and Park Seungah’s leg in the process. The Megalodon takes no prisoners; it devours and moves on to its next prey.
10. Haetae
Though the actual form is not fully awoken by Han Daewi yet, he does start to manifest and manipulate water to either aid him. Daewi can move it around his body to amplify his attacks and pierce those he is battling with it. Haetae can also heal wounded members -- Daewi used it to encase Park Seungah and Ryu Hyeonbok in a bubble to help them recover.
He also consistently uses Haetae to fight off against Jegal with Mori and Mira in the final battle. Haetae’s true potential has not been unlocked yet, so keep an eye out for Daewi’s development in the anime.
9. Lu Bu Fengxian
Lu Bu Fengxian, also known as Yeo-Po Bong Seon, is the warrior spirit Charyeok of Yoo Mira. She awakens her Charyeok in a decisive battle against Lee Marin while trying to recover her stolen sword. Upon awakening her Charyeok, her sword returns to her because it is the National Treasure: Bongseon, which belonged to her Charyeok in the past. When she manifests her Charyoek, a headband with two long falcon feathers appears on her head. Lu Bu Fengxian enhances Mira’s sword and swordless styles tremendously, while also giving her the ability to use a higher-level move set. Her speed also gets a boost, making her a force to be reckoned with.
When she first awakens the Charyoek against Lee Marin, she unleashes a devastating blow -- Moon Light Sword Style 42: Fang Tian Hua Ji. Her speed and reflexes improve drastically, and she eliminates his Kraken with ease.
8. Joker
This menacing clown-like Charyeok is used by Commissioner Q. Known as the Joker Charyeok, he summons it with a joker playing card and then uses the rest of the deck to unleash other attacks. Joker enhances Q's strength and agility, and allows him to regenerate from devastating blows. When Joker is summoned, a Scythe materializes, and is used as a weapon by Q. Watching Q bounce around while effortlessly using the scythe, you can see his mastery of the weapon, and it can pierce through almost anything.
Commissioner Q’s abilities with Joker are displayed to the fullest as he fights off the assassination attempt by Priests Axley, Saturn and Drake McDonald. Commissioner O stops by to help him, but he makes it very clear that he had the situation under control.
7. Dragon Slayer
The Charyeok that allows the wielder to control dragons at will is held by Commissioner O. Dragon Slayer gives the user the ability of fire manipulation, dragon resurrection and protective barriers. The large red dragon in the anime is known as Changsik. This is where O gets her fire powers, and can even turn one of the teeth from the dragon into a fire weapon. O can call upon Changsik to battle alongside with her or use the fire manipulation at will. She actually has a whole arsenal of dragons, but only Changsik has made an appearance so far in the anime.
When she is fighting alongside Q her abilities shine in the battle, and she is able to defeat the Nox Priests without breaking a sweat.
6. Greed
Greed has been used by many people but ultimately resides within Jegal. Greed is transferred to him by Sang Mandeok and gives him the ability to absorb the powers of those he defeats, as well as regeneration. Unlike most other Charyeok, it changes Jegal's own appearance, too, giving him dark patterns around his body with red eyes and sharp teeth. Greed is able to copy powers, store them for use, and create shadow-like branches that can be used as weapons.
When Greed absorbs the Key, it turns Jegal into an angelic god for a short period of time. He gains new abilities in his ultimate form, but is defeated by Mori after he awakens his own latent god powers.
5) Trinity: The Gods of the Wind, the Rain and the Clouds
This Charyeok is very powerful but only a small portion of its potential is demonstrated by Kim Ungnyeo in the anime so far. In the last episode of Season 1, she appears to grant the wish of the winner for the tournament. She uses her ability, Reality Warping, to heal all of the participants from the tournament, minus the deceased, as Mori's wish commands her to do.
Her actual Charyoek is not shown, but she does revert in age after she uses her abilities, which is a side effect. Ungnyeo’s potential is yet to be seen, adding more anticipation for the anime's next season.
4. Longinus
Though it has been described as having the appearance of a palm print, this Charyeok's actual form is a centurion soldier wielding a spear. Park Mujin’s Charyeok gives him the ability to suppress opponents with a gravity field, rendering them immobile. The cross marks on each of his hands are the symbol of possessing Longinus. His Charyeok can also generated large crosses that can block massive attacks.
This is demonstrated when Mujin uses it as a shield against Sang Mandeok’s attack, God’s Blades. Though this leaves Mujin vulnerable, his team (the rest of The Six) has his back. Only a few Charyoeks can resist the power of a god.
3 Nine-Tails Guardian
The Heavenly Fire Fox is the Charyeok of Park Ilpyo. Combined with Ilpyo’s Taekkyon fighting style, the Nine-Tails Guardian is among the strongest Charyeoks in the first season. When it manifest, it changes the appearance of its user, giving them fox features and fire tails. It is referred to as the “Key” because the power it contains is known to be at the level of a god, and can awaken the inner potential of a Charyeok. Aside from changing the physical appearance of Ilpyo, it grants the user health regeneration, physical enhancements, pyrokinesis, fox generation and ability awakening, which unlocks the hidden potential of an individual so they can inflict damage on gods. Fox generation summons fire foxes for combat.
When it’s first awakened by Ilpyo in its battle against Mori, the intensity of the battle not only shows how strong Ilpyo is but also shows how tough Mori is after he taps into his own godly powers. The exchange of blows between the two are more entertaining than Ilpyo’s battle with Jegal's angel form.
2. God’s Blades
The god-summing Charyeok is used by the leader of Nox, Sang Mandeok. This Charyeok is taboo because it actually summons a god rather than borrow their power to be used. The abilities of the Charyeok are blade manipulation, the summoning of heavenly creatures, creation, teleportation, energy manipulation and shield generation. With it, the user can summon Nephilim, which are part of a minor god race, to use massive swords that appear from the sky. Mandeok bares the omega symbol on both hands, like Mujin, and uses the power of the blades to capture Mori’s grandfather. He also summons hundreds of “angels” to aid in his battle, but they easily get defeated by the Commissioners.
God’s Blades most powerful display is when a Nephilim pops out from one of the summoning gates and tries to ram a massive blade into the city. It takes the effort of multiple Charyeok and National Treasure users to defeat the heavenly beast but Mandeok keeps the onslaught coming.
1. The Great Magician
Although the Charyeok is never shown, Jeon Jaesan is the user of The Great Magician. The grandfather of Jeon Jugok, he arrives at the tournament to seek revenge for the death of his grandson. He possesses a very high level of magic, as well as the ability to use alchemy. This means he can create objects from the chemical components of another object, which leads to him having one of the best battle scenes in the anime.
During this brawl, he converts a fleet of nuclear bombs heading for toward Seoul to counteract Mandeok's Charyeok into an alchemic bomb, before calling upon Stardust to finish the job, defeating Sang Mandeok’s summoned god. The power from the alchemic bomb is so immense, he has to teleport all the civilians far away from the blast area in order to guarantee their safety.
