"That was fun," Cal said, wringing out his hand to scatter the remaining embers. "Your turn."Cal had never counted how many fire manifestations he knew. When asked, he'd describe it as a handful. This was incorrect.It was two handfuls.Well, as long as he rounded up."That was—" Marcus said with his lips pressed thin, searching for the words to describe Cal's performance. "In line with my expectations."To punch or not to punch, that was the question.The presence of a teacher who might actually give a shit tilted the scales in an unfun direction."Mr. Ardere," Evergreen said authoritatively. Her hands were held behind her back, and her expression was schooled into a professional mask. "Do you mean to tell me that the totality of your repertoire is seven manifestations, with the most complex being Cinder Step?"It would be really dumb of him to ask which one that was, so he didn't. He never cared for the names around specific manifestations. All labeling magic did was constrain its use.If his guess was correct, Cinder Step was the manifestation that created an explosive blast under his foot. He used it for bursts of speed, limited aerial movement, or kicking people. The name only covered two of those."Eight?" Cal questioned, lighting a flame on the end of his finger. "Does this count? I don't really feel like it should."Part of the problem with judging the number of manifestations he had available was defining what counted as a separate manifestation. Cal's control was good enough that he could stretch this tiny flame over his entire body. Did changing a manifestation that much qualify it for a different label?Cal didn't know, and frankly, he didn't care."Candle wick," Evergreen said dryly, eyeing the flickering light. "The manifestation used to teach children."Okay, but could a child make it taller than themselves, smoothly transition the existing manifestation (...)