"Talk"

'Thought'
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"So, I heard you're the blacksmith of the guild?"

Inside a weapons and armor shop, which was near the Adventurers Guild, Burt Gummer could be seen speaking with the owner of the shop, who was the Blacksmith.

"You can just call me Smith."

The Blacksmith, also known as Smith, was sitting behind the counter, speaking with Gummer all the while polishing some weapons he had nearby.

'I can't tell if that's his real name or another fake one?...'

Burt was honestly getting very confused on how the names work in this world.

"Do you need something? I have armors and weapons all around for sale, unless you need something custom made, though that will cost extra."

Smith, while not specifically impatient, was still waiting for an explanation as to why the Monster Hunter was here.

"Actually, I have a question, are you able to make this?"

Burt, giving up finding a reason for a lack of names in this world, pulled out a piece of paper and showed them to the Blacksmith.

"What are these? I don't recognize any of this?"

Smith grabs the paper and gives a closer look at it, instantly recognizing it as a detailed blueprint of some kind of weapon, something he was unfamiliar with.

"That's unfortunately classified, all I can say is that it helps me in my monster hunting job."

Burt sadly couldn't explain what they were, obviously a secret that he doesn't want to share so carelessly.

"Ah, so you want a commission done in secret, nothing new for me, but it will cost you extra."

Which Smith was understanding and respectful, though he still let's the Gunslinger know that it would be a bit expensive for taking on such a job.

"Will this cover it?"

Though Burt wasn't bothered, even providing a large pouch of coins of copper, silver and a couple of gold, which the Blacksmith made sure to count and see if it was real.

"Alrighy, I should have all this done by the next few days."

Once Smith had accepted the money, he reassured Gummer that the project would be done, and hopefully finished not too long.

"I appreciate it, see you until then."

With a simple tip of Burt's hat and nods in thanks, he leaves the shop and starts to walk away, pulling out a personal notebook and writing some stuff down on it.

'That should solve my ammo problem, a risky move to be sure, to expose such secrets.'

Burt hums, even though he trusted the Blacksmith to keep his promise of his secret commission, he still couldn't but feel anxious and worry for his weapons being exposed.

'But I only have so many bullets before I run dry, and a man who has a gun with no ammo might as well already be dead.'

But even with such worry, Burt knew that he had no choice in the matter, it was either risk having his secret being exposed or be completely defenseless with no ammo for his guns.

'Though, I should still be prepared for when my secret gets out to the public, just to be safe.'

After writing some notes of things to worry about in the future, Burt puts away his notebook and continues to walk on.

"But future problems for future Burt, for now though, time to go back to work."

Though, just as Burt was about to head towards the guild and look for a quest that pays well, he was suddenly stopped when a familiar voice called out to him.

"Um, Mr. Burt Sir?"

The Monster Hunter turned around and was surprised to see both Fighter and Wizard standing before him.

"Ah, Fighter, Wizard, what a surprise to see you again, hope you have recovered enough since our last encounter?"

Though it was a welcome surprise for Burt, as he couldn't help but feel glad to see them looking healthy and happy, no doubt recovered since their last encounter.

"Though once more, I'm sorry for the loss of your friend."

But Burt still gave his respect and apologies, even though everything was in the past and wasn't his fault, he still felt guilty and responsible for not being able to save the life of their close friend.

"It's part of the job as Adventurers, that's what we signed up for."

The Wizard could only sigh in response, also had moved on, but was still unhappy for such a mistake.

"Though I won't deny that we could've been more prepared about that situation, that's completely our fault."

Fighter said this was extreme shame, knowing full well that the situation could have been avoided if they were just careful and more prepared.

"No need to blame yourself, everyone makes mistakes, including someone like me."

Burt wanted to reassure and comfort them, letting them know that everyone was not immune to making mistakes and shouldn't be blamed for it.

"But we don't want to make any more mistakes!"

Though that only made Wizard more upset, clearly hates the idea of making more mistakes like that again, however was forced to calm down her outburst, thanks to her friend.

"... Which is why, we... We want you to take us as your apprentice..."

And once Wizard was calm, she was able to properly ask for the help from the Gunslinger, once again surprising him.

"Huh? Apprentice? Why me? I'm sure someone is more qualified than some conspiracy nut?"

Burt was very confused and was struggling to understand why anyone would want to become his apprentice, not knowing what anyone could learn from him.

"But you saved us, able to do something while we couldn't do a thing."

Fighter quickly gave her explanation on why her and her partner wanted to work and learn under Gummer.

"You were just more... Just more prepared..."

As well as reveal how inexperienced and unprepared both the Fighter and the magic girl were, again much to their shame and embarrassment.

'They sure make it hard to say no to them.'

Seeing them practically begging to be taught to survive made it really difficult for Burt to refuse their request.

'But am I really qualified to teach them anything?...'

But at the same time, Burt didn't feel confident in himself to teach these young girls, and even worried that he could accidentally end up making things worse for them.

'Well, it's better to try and teach them something, instead of letting them go out and risk their lives again.'

However, despite such hesitation, in the end, Burt couldn't just leave the two by themselves. He felt a sense of responsibility toward them, especially after failing to save their friend. It was as if he owed it to them to protect and help them become better, better than himself.

"Atten-hut!"

With newfound motivation and determination, Burt did not hesitate to begin, shouting something that confused but somehow instinctively made both girls stand up straight to attention.

"Starting today, you will be my students and learn the art of being prepared, how to defend yourself properly, and how to kick some monster ass."

Once the two young Adventurers were up and ready, Burt continued to take command and began to explain what the girls should expect when learning under him.

"Your lessons will be difficult, maybe sometimes dangerous, I can't promise you won't be hurt when becoming my apprentice."

As well as making sure that Burt let them know that it wouldn't be easy and could possibly lead them to be harmed.

"But what I can promise you, is that I will do everything that I can to make sure you live until you're old and wrinkled, where you can see your grandchild's grandchildren."

But even with the potential danger, Burt promises them that he will not let anything happen to them, doing all that he can to make sure they are safe and alive under his care, which makes them smile to see how much he cares about them.

"Now, are you ready to go monster hunting and learn how to kill them efficiently?"

Once Burt finished explaining the pros and cons of working under him, he then waited to see what the two young girls would choose, whether to stay or leave.

"Sir Yes Sir!"

Both the Wizard and the Fighter did not hesitate in choosing to stay with Burt, very eager and ready to learn a lot from him, which made him smile. Even though it was a lot of responsibility for him, he was still glad to be able to help someone become more prepared for survival in such a harsh world, and he could only hope what he teaches will help them live a long and happy life.

'Hm, I wonder if I should teach them how to build a Pipe bomb?'
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I'm thinking that Fighter would be trained in the way of "Gun-Fu", while Wizard learns how to make things go "Boom", wouldn't that be a fun dynamic?~

(I already have plans when to reveal the Graboids in Goblin Slayer S1, but I'm open to ideas and such on how to include them in Season 2 and forward)