You are right. Cracks in the Blade is one of the best chapters in Berserk. It is what Godo tells Guts that he needs to hear. Guts doesn’t have any elders that he looks up to, Godo is the closest to that, a father figure in the place of Gambino. So he listens to Godo’s advice and reflects on it. He has matured. The question becomes a catch 22 question..... would he have been the warrior he is if he had stayed? Or was he always fated to roam for two yrs. becoming the person he is today. There is always a trade off. On the other hand, it’s in Guts’s personality to skip town when things get to comfortable. Tigers don’t change their stripes! Ok so why was Rickert scared of Puck? Because Rickert had met Rosine before the eclipse with the Slug Barron. They had killed the wounded Hawks when Rickert went to get water. That is when Skull Knight ( king, you are not wrong by calling him that) saved Rickert. So....... when he sees Puck, he’s a bit jumpy.