The SSS class adventurer is a divine cleric

8:00 AM — The trio were rushing back to the Tavern

To a normal worker, the forest trek would've taken an hour or more. But not these three. With years of muscle memory, mana-assisted strides, and possibly too much caffeine in Kaelen's system, they crossed the distance in less than six minutes.

Their arrival was as dramatic as expected, Kaelen kicked open the back door like he was bringing news of war.

"HE LIVES HERE!" he declared.

Neal sighed. "You're not announcing a prophecy, Kaelen. It's just breakfast."

Alira, balancing the tray like a waitress from a royal palace, added calmly, "But it is a historic moment."

In the corner of the tavern, their victim awaited.

Johny, a fourteen years old boy, thin as a stick, with perpetually messy hair and eyes far too tired for someone so young, was sweeping the floor, dutiful as always.

They needed someone more human to test their dish. It was already proven that the stronger the person the weaker the effects are. So they chose a weak kid to test their first dish.

He paused when Kaelen strode toward him.

Eyes narrowed.

Suspicion fully engaged.

Because Kaelen never smiled at him.

Normally, Kaelen looked at Johny the way a predator might look at a particularly clever mouse: tolerantly, but not without occasional threats. Johny still remembered the time Kaelen caught him sniffing a bread roll and said, "Do that again and I'll cook your soul into the stew."

But today?

Kaelen smiled.

A real, almost warm, terrifying smile.

Johny nearly dropped his broom.

"Good morning," Kaelen said. Too brightly.

"…Sir?"

Kaelen clapped him on the shoulder. "Johny, my boy. You've been working hard, haven't you?"

"…yes?"

"And loyal. So loyal. Never once tried to steal food, even though your stomach growls louder than the tavern's fireplace at midnight."

Johny looked wildly between Kaelen, Neal, and Alira who were all smiling like weird cultists.

"I haven't… I wouldn't dare"

Kaelen crouched to his eye level and held up a plate. "Then you deserve this." Kaelen in a friendly manner puts his arm around Johny's shoulder and raises the other arm towards the ceiling like a prophet preaching. "Our new secret recipe. A reward. An honor, really. Be the first to taste the future of the Ashen Boar."

Johny's heart thumped.

For a second, he thought, Finally. Luck.

For a boy who had worked since he was ten, who had scraped together coins(XP) to buy second-hand boots, who kept a little sister fed and warm every winter… This felt like winning the gods' lottery.

He eyed the dish.

It did smell divine.

But somewhere in the back of his head, a whisper warned him.

Kaelen never smiles like that unless something is deeply wrong.

Still…

He took the plate.

His stomach growled in open betrayal.

He took a bite.

A long pause.

Chewed slowly.

Swallowed.

"…It's… good?"

Kaelen fist-pumped.

Neal let out a breath of relief.

Alira scribbled something into a recipe journal.

Johny blinked. "Actually… really good. Kind of sweet. Spicy too. Like roasted almonds but… punchier?"

Kaelen slapped the counter. "YES! That's it! Punchy almonds! We're keeping that. Write that down."

Neal didn't smile, but his eyes gleamed. "We may be onto something insane."

Alira nodded like chicken pecking for food. "Insane tastes like gold."

Johny, unaware he'd just eaten a previously toxic plant, smiled wide for the first time in weeks.

Maybe his luck really was changing.

Then in the next instant Johny blinked then blinked again.

"Ughh…" he groaned, his face twisting like he'd just sniffed a spoiled dragon egg.

His legs trembled.

His knees buckled.

And the boy slumped over the table, head thunking down onto the half-finished plate of roasted Wyrmleaf.

Kaelen froze mid-cheer.

"…oh no."

Neal grabbed Johny's shoulder, checking for a pulse. "Still breathing. Fast heartbeat. Pupils dilating. He's fine. Just…"

Alira cut in sharply, "He's poisoned."

The trio whipped their heads toward the main hallway.

Footsteps. Heavy ones.

Boots of judgment. The sound of tavern law.

Derek!

Kaelen paled. "Save the kid. I'll handle the beast."

Without a word, Alira scooped Johny up in one arm like a sack of bread and blinked out of existence, vanishing through the back exit in a shimmer of silver speed. She ran straight towards Johny's house, a small worn down house with straw roofing and a garden big enough to feed the family for everyday needs.

He had inherited it from his late parents who had died because of illness and they were too poor to afford any medicine.

By the time Derek stormed into the kitchen, Neal was holding an empty plate and Kaelen had casually leaned against the counter, whistling.

Derek sniffed the air.

His brow furrowed. "Is that Wyrmleaf again?"

Kaelen grinned nervously. "You're imagining things, old man."

"…and where's Johny?"

Neal, without missing a beat, replied, "Ran home early. Family stuff."

Derek exhaled with a grunt. "Poor boy. He lost his parents early in life and no relatives to look after him. He even has a little sister. Oh poor boy! Never gets a break, does he? I'll raise his daily wages. Hope this helps"

Kaelen nodded solemnly, hiding the sweat dripping down his back. "Yeah. Life's hard. I'll go check him out. Just to be sure."

Then, with the grace of a criminal escaping the gallows, Kaelen turned and sprinted out the tavern, kicking up a cloud of dust that swirled dramatically in the morning light.

Johny's Home Minutes Later

The inside of Johny's small home was modest, bare walls, clean wooden floor, a bed barely big enough for two, and a single shelf full of worn books and herbs. His little sister, Mita, was still asleep in the next room, a threadbare blanket pulled up to her chin.

Alira laid Johny gently onto the mattress.

Kaelen was already conjuring a purification circle with his holy energy. His hands glowed faint gold. He had arrived faster using <Blink> nonstop.

Then a minute later Neal came in, breathing hard from the sprint, and slapped a bottle of antidote on the floor. "That's all I had. The rest were used during the war. Don't ask why I brought hot sauce instead of a spare antidote vial. Just… fix him."