Academy kids just want to have fun

At the Academy, he was assigned to The Cove. This probably wasn't a sick joke by the staff on a kid that had just survived a terrible flood, though he did seem at home in that flooded herbalism shop.
 
Using the cooking tools and herbs from his cooking craft, as well as things he was able to scavenge around the Cove, he continued to experiment with what he now knew was called alchemy during his free time, but without direct guidance from his teachers in the first couple of years, he was able to experiment freely where he discovered all sort of interesting effects, both mental and physical. While his focus was always on finding and perfecting knew effects, he discovered that he always quite enjoyed testing the concoctions on himself, as well as sharing what he made with his classmates.
 
By his second year, other students were starting to come to him for his latest brew, or to ask for something specific. While he was happy to help them out, it did start taxing his supplies, which pushed him to start taking payment for what he made, just to help replenish his stock, of course. He also learned about the mordayn flower in his herbalism and botany class, but was unable to convince the teacher to give him a sample to experiment with.
 
In his third year alchemy class, Cüper naturally excelled, but also butted heads with the instructor over the topic of what constituted a side effect. Fortunately, the instructor was more impressed than annoyed with his arguments, and allowed Cüper the chance demonstrate the what were traditionally undesirable side effects could instead be made into potions (if you could still call them that) in their own right. For this challenge, Cüper created a particularly smooth tasting but intoxicating brew for the alchemy teacher to try. The teacher felt almost instantly more relaxed than they'd felt in years if not decades, and agreed to unofficially sanction Cüper's side work. Still wouldn't get him a sample of mordayn flower, though.
 
Thanks to his core course work and artifice class, Cüper started to be able to incorporate small amounts of magical energies into both his alchemical processes, and finished products. This greatly expanded what he able to make for people, which now included students and a few teachers. He hadn't made any real friends in all this time, though. He spends so much time experimenting that the only people he saw regularly were his regular customers.
 
When he graduated to The Ring, between word getting around to the other lodges at the Green Gala (not saying any drinks got spiked, but not saying they didn't get spiked, either), older kids that had already graduated from the Cove to the Ring, and teachers talking to each other, he already more than a few people asking his stuff in the first couple of days. Not everything that was asked about was of the intoxicating or psychedelic nature, however. A group of older girls came to him asking if he made any skin or hair care products, something that had never occurred to him, but he was invigorated by the challenge.
 
With the much larger population of The Ring, so too did the amount of concoctions he had to make. He did manage to outsource some of the simpler recipes to other alchemy students, but he was still doing the vast majority of the work himself. He started turning to his own potions more and more to keep his energy and mood up.