Chapter 510 — The Spread of Knowledge

Because they had once studied rune theory together and had co-edited the first edition of the *Low-Tier Spell–Rune Array Reference Table*, Jenny and Rebecca were on very good terms. The runesmith—white-haired and habitually keeping to herself in the institute—made no secret of her nervousness: "What if... what if I don't know what to say when the time comes?"

"Then record it again," Rebecca said with a wave of her hand. "It's not a live broadcast today—with a few more takes you're bound to succeed. But the first live broadcast is in three days, so you'll need to be careful then."

Jenny seemed to relax slightly, and then she could not help but marvel: "I really admire Miss Jubilee... I hear her very first time was a live broadcast."

"Honestly, as long as you relax, there's nothing to be nervous about. It's just standing in front of a stage demonstrating a few of the simplest little experiments—fiddling with runes, letting everyone see how the most basic runes work. The things you teach your apprentices in the institute are far more abstruse than that—and you manage to teach them well enough, don't you?"

"It's not the same," Jenny said with a bitter smile and a shake of her head. "If I had a few apprentices standing beside me and I were lecturing to them, I wouldn't be nervous at all. But I looked inside at the broadcast hall just now... having to stand on an empty stage and do a demonstration before a heap of Magic Net terminals and half a room of expressionless technicians—I really am a little nervous. And when I think that those images will be recorded and put out over the Magic Net broadcast..."

As she spoke, Jenny could not help touching her cheek, and the nervousness surfaced once more.

"There's no help for it—that's to ensure the experimental details can be captured. But you've actually given me an idea. Next time I record, maybe I can have one or two assistants on stage—they can lend a hand and it might ease the tension..." Rebecca's train of thought seemed to have opened up, and she began chattering away with a cheerful expression. But she had barely gotten halfway through when her gaze fell on Jenny's face.

The runesmith from the capital, director of the Rune Research Institute, one of the founders of Cecil Arcanotech Industries, was using her hand to gather a few strands of long hair at the side of her ear in an unnatural manner.

Today Jenny had taken special care to redo her long white hair, the smooth strands falling from the side of her face down to her chest, the hair covering nearly half her face.

Yet even so, in the gaps between the strands, at the exposed nape of her neck, those conspicuous burn scars were still clearly visible.

Ordinarily she had all but stopped caring about these scars, and when working at the institute she made no deliberate effort to hide them, yet at this particular moment the runesmith lady was plainly still conscious of them.

Jenny noticed Rebecca's gaze and grew all the more unnatural. She gathered her hair again and asked, a little uncertainly: "Can you... still see them like this?"

"I can see them," Rebecca nodded. "And I'd see them no matter what."

Jenny's hand froze in the act of gathering her hair, and her expression turned dejected and disappointed: "I actually tried Master Piyun's scar-removal ointment, but it was no use at all..."

"Piyun's ointments are almost all useless if you buy them privately," Rebecca said with a curl of her lip. Then she looked at Jenny earnestly. "And I don't think you need to cover them up—on the contrary, I think you should show them openly. Of course, that's just my opinion."

Jenny looked at her in surprise—this first friend of hers who had crossed the barrier of status to be candid with her: "Why..."

"Because you're beautiful," Rebecca said frankly. "Really—you're beautiful. Yes, you have these scars, but they're truly not as severe as you imagine."

Jenny hesitated. She was glad to hear Rebecca's praise, yet uncertain whether such praise truly belonged to her. And in the midst of her hesitation, a voice suddenly came from nearby: "Are you ashamed of these scars?"

Jenny looked up in surprise and saw that tall figure.

She rose hastily: "My lord..."

Gao Yang waved a hand, signaling to Jenny that no formalities were needed. "The one who ought to be ashamed of those scars is your mentor, not you—of course, whether you choose to cover them or ignore them is entirely your own right. It's just that, in my view, I don't find those scars ugly, and I certainly don't think you have any reason to be ashamed of them."

The door leading to the broadcast hall opened, and a technician stepped out, addressing Jenny. "Miss Jenny—the equipment is ready. We can begin at any time."

Jenny clutched at the several sheets of paper in her hands and rose somewhat dazedly to her feet.

Gao Yang watched her quietly. "You are about to spread knowledge outward. You should take pride in your knowledge, because standing behind that knowledge are that unnamed wild mage and Mr. Ravencrest as well—are you sure you want to introduce them with trepidation and shame, rather than with pride and confidence?"

Rebecca stood up too. She gave Jenny's arm a firm squeeze, a brilliant smile on her face. "Go for it!"

Jenny glanced down at the pages of draft paper in her hands, nearly crumpled from her grip, and after a few seconds of silence, she drew a deep breath.

Then she pinned up her hair and strode toward the door not far away.

Watching Jenny's retreating figure, Gao Yi let out a soft breath. "One always has to take that first step."

"Yeah, I think it's time she stepped out too—she's clearly quite pretty," Rebecca muttered, then looked at Gao Yang with curiosity. "But speaking of which, Your Excellency Zuyan, what brings you here as well?"

"Hetty was very worried about you," Gao Yang said, caught between helplessness and exasperation. "And of course, I'm rather worried too—I'm afraid you'll blow this place up."

"Whoa—"