At the next science session, Saeon headed straight for the bench. Its gray top sat on the dark navy stone base. The little result light at the front was off.
There was the magnet that had picked up the iron clip. A gray bar fixed to a short arm. The arm was turned toward the back, away from the materials box.
Saeon stopped in front of the handle. This time, the guess came first.
“Next time, right here. Prediction first, right?”
Teacher Gwak nodded beside the bench. Sodam and Dure came to stand nearby. Behind them, the wide hallway stayed open.
An empty observation container stood by the wall. It was clear plastic. Saeon passed it and rested a hand on the materials box.
Floor 1 · Experiment Area
Science · Sorting the Materials Box
The teal box had three open compartments. A silver iron paper clip lay on the left. A cream-colored paper card lay in the middle.
On the right stood a silver cup. A smooth shine ran along its side, just like the clip's. Close together, their colors looked almost the same.
The cup was made entirely of plastic. No metal decorations. No hidden metal. No metal coating or metal stuck to its outside, either.
The card was only paper. Saeon looked across the compartments and stopped at the right. That object was different from last time.
The yellow cup stood on a shelf nearby. The plastic cup from their last experiment. A round patch of light shone on its yellow side.
The teacher gestured toward the box.
“Find what sticks to the magnet.”
“Let me go first.”
Saeon tapped the box's corner. Test all three objects with the same magnet, one at a time. Sorting meant finding both what stuck and what didn't.
Materials Box
Iron paper clip · Plastic cup · Paper card
“Which one will you try first?”
Sodam raised a finger outside the compartments. Saeon pointed to the left-hand clip, then moved right, stopping short of the cup.
“It's silver, like the clip. The cup should stick, too.”
Saeon remembered that the yellow cup hadn't stuck. But that cup hadn't even been the same color as the iron clip. This one looked similar right beside it.
Saeon spread a hand toward the two silver objects. Those must be the ones to pick. The card in the middle could stay.
Sodam adjusted the glasses and pointed toward the shelf.
“What about the yellow cup last time?”
“That one was yellow. This one's silver.”
Saeon's hand went for the magnet handle. Dure raised a hand to chest height. Saeon stopped just before taking hold.
“Not yet. Pick after you check.”
With a hand hovering over the handle, Saeon looked at the box. The magnet was still at the back. It hadn't gone near the silver cup.
If the colors matched, would the results match, too?
A dull amber knot appeared around the yellow cup on the shelf. Two cream-colored gaps showed through its rounded strands. Simple gaps like eyes.
No mouth. No arms or legs. The knot stayed within the space around the cup. It didn't reach toward the children.
A thin band wrapped around the silver cup in the box, too. It was so smooth that it nearly blended into the cup's shine. Saeon looked between the two cups.
“The yellow cup's tangled?”
The teacher pointed around it.
“It's a Tangle. A device made from a mistaken idea.”
On the yellow cup, the knot was easy to see. On the silver cup, the band looked neat, like a correct answer. Neither cup moved.
Dure pointed to the gray bar at the back.
“The magnet's the same.”
Saeon pulled back. The magnet hadn't changed. Only the cup's color had made Saeon decide the result would be different. There was still checking to do.
Surprise Quest
Shiny Tangle
What in the materials box sticks to a magnet?
Reward: Skill Boost
This time, Saeon turned the handle toward the left compartment first. The magnet's end approached the iron clip. The clip rose from the bottom and stuck.
Saeon drew the handle back a little. The clip followed, leaving the compartment empty. Beside the guess about silver things, there was now something they had seen.
“The clip sticks.”
Sodam waited with a hand at the bench's edge.
“Take it off. Then the next one.”
Saeon stopped the arm. Just then, a shallow recess opened in the base. Dure pointed from outside it.
“The recess opened. The light's going up.”
Saeon let go of the handle and bent down. Inside was the little stair piece from before. Three steps with rounded corners.
The hollow in the top step was still empty. Last time, light had flowed down the piece. Now it traveled from bottom to top.
The line of light followed the outline of the steps toward the upper hollow. Saeon watched its tip. There was still nothing to fit into that empty space.
No letters or patterns marked the piece. Saeon's hands stayed outside the recess. Once the light reached the top, the recess slowly closed.
At the math table, there had been a gap underneath the lowest step. Here, light went toward the top hollow. Saeon pictured both empty places.
How they connected was still a mystery. Saeon straightened, and the silver cup came into view again. What needed checking now was inside the materials box.
Beside the teacher, Sodam took the clip off the magnet and returned it to the left compartment. Saeon checked the bare end. Nothing attached.
The same bare magnet swung toward the right compartment. Saeon stopped it close to the silver cup. The cup stayed where it was.
Away, then close again. The cup didn't lift or follow. The shiny patch stayed on its side.
Saeon could see the clip that had stuck and the cup that hadn't moved. Similar colors. Different results. Saeon curled back the finger that had picked the cup.
“It shines like the clip, but the plastic cup doesn't stick.”
Saeon looked at the yellow cup on the shelf. Last time, they had seen for themselves that it didn't stick. This silver cup gave the same result.
“The yellow cup was plastic, too. Even with a different color.”
The smooth band around the silver cup loosened. Now the cup's side and the strand were clearly separate. The outer strands on the yellow cup spread apart, too.
One last strand remained on each cup. The result light was still dark. Saeon let go of the handle and looked at the middle compartment.
“We haven't done the card.”
Dure reached out to take a turn. Saeon stepped half a pace aside. Dure brought the bare magnet close to the paper card.
The card lay flat in the compartment. Its corner didn't follow when the magnet pulled away. Saeon looked at the clip, cup, and card in turn.
Dure held the other hand open at chest height.
“We have to try all three. Then we're done.”
Nothing remained untested now. Same magnet, with one object removed before trying the next. Saeon matched each material to its result.
“The iron clip sticks. The plastic cup and paper card don't.”
Dure swung the magnet back to the left compartment. The iron clip stuck to its end. The card and cup stayed in the box.
Saeon remembered picking two objects at the start. Now only the clip was on the magnet. The cup still reflected light, sitting right where it had been.
Dure let go of the arm and brushed an empty hand along the front edge of the bench. The fingertips came to rest at the end.
The last strands on both cups came loose. They turned cream-colored and vanished. The yellow and silver cups stayed in place.
Only then did the result light come on. It shone at the edge of the bench. Neither the gray magnet nor the clip on its end glowed.
Observation
Sticks: Iron paper clip
Does not stick: Plastic cup, paper card
Saeon looked up at the teacher.
“It was the material, not the color.”
Pointing to the right compartment, Saeon went on.
“I thought it would stick because it was silver. But it didn't when we tried the same magnet.”
“Nice and clear.”
The teacher lowered an open hand. Saeon looked back at the box. Now there was more to say about the cup than its shiny color.
Quest Clear
Shiny Tangle · Unraveled
Observation: Only the iron paper clip sticks
Skill Boost: “Stick or Not?” — Objects Attracted to a Magnet
Sodam pointed to each compartment. Saeon checked the attached clip and the two objects left behind. Beside the guess, they now had the result.
“Materials box sorted.”
Dure closed the notebook. They stepped away from the bench and walked into the broad hall. The clip stayed on the magnet. The card and silver cup stayed in the box.
The yellow cup was still on the shelf. The result light was on. Saeon turned for one more look.
A familiar notice waited by the stairway door.
Next Move-Up Challenge
End of Term · One Gate in Each Area
Clear a gate to move upstairs
Condition: All three explain in their own words
They were still on the lowest floor. Wide stairs and a railing rose beyond the open door. Saeon didn't climb. Only looked up.
That line of light heading toward the upper hollow came back to mind. Same piece, different direction. Saeon gazed for a long time toward the unseen top of the tower.
What was at the top?