The Dark Madonna's Rules for Salvation

In an age when the gods have withdrawn, women on the continent cannot adapt to the new climate. Their numbers dwindle until they are all gathered on Tulan Island, in the middle of the sea.

At sixteen, Ke Shan boards a ship bound for the imperial capital of the Federation with a group of girls. As one of the few women left, she is expected to help carry on the species.

As Ke Shan grows up, she discovers that she has a rare talent for light magic.

Having never fit in, she takes advantage of a shipwreck to escape. Disguised as a boy, she enrolls in the Federation's most prestigious magic and martial arts academy to study magic.

But after spending more than a decade in a utopia, she never expected the outside world to be full of lunatics.

Human men have also been altered by the climate. Depending on their talent, they have evolved into near-divine beings, highborns, and mediocrities, with clear divisions between them.

The greater their talent, the less stable their mental state.

As a lowly mediocrity, she faces severe discrimination as soon as she enters the academy. To continue her magical studies, she has no choice but to ingratiate herself with lunatics of every stripe and spend years working like a beast of burden.

She dodges the scrutinizing gaze of a cold, sharp-tongued, and deeply suspicious senior student;

Endures the noise of the fire dragon next door going on a rampage in the middle of the night as she tries to sleep;

And deals with the perfect, obsessive-compulsive Crown Prince's daily challenges to spar...

Ke Shan: There may be plenty of lunatics around, but luckily, I know how to handle them.

Until the gods who once invaded the continent descend once more...

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Theme: Learning to love yourself is the only way to love others better