The Bekalite Continent has no nations, only scattered villages, and naturally formed marketplaces and towns at transportation hubs.
Most of the continent is wasteland or desert, with very little land suitable for cultivation. Settlements or markets exist wherever there is even a slight water source.
The abundance of monsters and the harsh living environment have shaped the ethnic ecology here.
Essentially, there are only two types of people on the Bekalite Continent.
The first type is warriors.
Due to the presence of succubi, every party must include female warriors. Their role is to become the main combatants against succubi if the men are charmed, and to serve as the 'antidote' for men under their influence.
Therefore, most children from villages, regardless of gender, venture out to become warriors upon reaching adulthood.
Warriors on the Bekalite Continent are not predominantly swordsmen of the three major sword styles, as is common on the Central Continent. The weapons used by warriors here are incredibly diverse.
Great Swords, hammers, axes, mallets, flails, archers—you name it. This has given rise to a unique local warrior system.
However, since most local monsters are heavily armored types, weapons here tend to favor large, blunt instruments. Slender swords and machetes, common on the Central Continent, are rarely seen.
Lacking a proper education system, magicians are a scarce profession on this continent. Essentially, all magicians on the Bekalite Continent are foreign Adventurers. Local magicians are virtually non-existent.
The second type is merchants.
The Bekalite Continent mainly produces monster materials, magic stones, magic crystals, glass, and various special materials from the desert.
Consequently, many merchant groups have emerged on the Bekalite Continent. They collect materials and trade goods between various marketplaces.
They sell local goods to merchants from the Central Continent in exchange for more materials in high demand locally. Perhaps due to the absence of nations, trade routes are highly developed here, forming several large merchant families.
Yet, no nations also means no order, inevitably giving rise to bandits and brigands lurking everywhere, preying on merchants' goods.
This, in turn, creates more job opportunities for warriors unwilling to become Adventurers. Essentially, every merchant hires local warriors as guards.
Thus, merchants, bandits, and warriors have established a balanced triangular relationship of security supply and demand.
Setting out from Sharia, after about a month and a half of travel, we finally arrived at a populated place.
This should be a naturally formed marketplace along a trade route.
No one told us the name of this place.
Once inside the marketplace, we split into two groups: Rudeus and Roxy as one, and Elinalise and I as the other. Our main goals were to inquire about the route to the Labyrinth City of Rapan and purchase sufficient supplies.
Elinalise and I first went to exchange money in the marketplace. The currency used by the people of the Bekalite Continent is the New Sarr, whose value is roughly equivalent to the copper coins of the Central Continent.
Theoretically, if only the New Sarr existed, it couldn't possibly meet the locals' needs. However, perhaps in commemoration of the last empire of the Bekalite Continent, essentially all its people recognize only the New Sarr. Central Continent currency is completely unusable here.
At most, it might be used in transactions at port cities.
Therefore, besides settling transactions with New Sarr, many people here also engage in barter.
I sold a magic crystal in the marketplace. I had purchased this crystal in Sharia for three gold coins, but in this marketplace, it only fetched 5000 New Sarr, equivalent to just one gold coin.
You could say I took a huge loss. But there was no other way; other materials are even harder to offload here.
Moreover, I can purchase a large quantity of magic crystals here when I return to Sharia and sell them there, making a hefty profit.
I wonder if Orsted would get angry knowing I'm using his teleportation magic circle to make money.
Afterwards, Elinalise and I had a hearty meal at a local restaurant.
Although we often ate game during our travels, we rarely had vegetables. Our provisions usually consisted of flour-based foods or preserved rations.
So, even though local vegetables were expensive, I chose to treat Elinalise to a satisfying meal.
The local cuisine is mostly prepared by boiling. Perhaps because the region is rich in spices, boiled dishes are heavily seasoned.
The resulting dish is called 'Masha.' I don't know what it means, but the ingredients seem to be potatoes, beans, meat, and rice, all stewed together with spices.
The taste was actually not bad, surprisingly quite delicious. I ate two bowls of Masha.
Consider it trying the local specialty cuisine.
Elinalise also enjoyed this meal. Actually, elves have a particular fondness for good food. For example, my magic teacher, Bladiconde Gallanod, used to only like stir-fried dishes and disliked food cooked in soup.
But Elinalise, having wandered outside often, has long shed that elven eating habit.
By the way, I asked Elinalise about the relationship between the Long-eared Race of the Great Forest and the Long-eared Race of the Bihiel Kingdom.
She didn't seem to know much either. Moreover, she probably hadn't lived long in a Long-eared Race village in the Great Forest before being driven out. She only heard that the Long-eared Race of the Bihiel Kingdom has a better relationship with humans, while the Long-eared Race of the Great Forest is subordinate to the beast tribes.
It seems the Long-eared Race of the Bihiel Kingdom is more impressive, having their own city to manage without having to bow and scrape.
After our satisfying meal, we returned to the marketplace to purchase supplies.
I bought a carriage and hitched it to Dumb Bird, putting it back to work hauling goods.
Then came the supplies. Being a marketplace on a trade route, there were many people buying and selling all sorts of goods.
After finishing our purchases, I inquired about the route to the Labyrinth City of Rapan or if there were any guides available for hire.
Unfortunately, I got no information. In this culturally rougher place, even if a merchant had a trade route map, they wouldn't sell it. Doing so could easily create competitors and attract more bandits to the route.
As for guides, that was even more hopeless. We were at a marketplace along the trade route. Even if there were people who worked as guides, they would solicit clients at the starting or ending points.
No one recruits guides at such a midway marketplace; we were the only ones doing something like that.
A vendor told me that if we wanted to find someone going to Rapan, we should look for a merchant caravan heading there. Following them would allow us to travel together and even earn money as guards along the way.
In the evening, after reuniting with Rudeus and the others, we received the same answer.
We could only find a spot by the lake, build a simple shelter, and rest. Tomorrow, we'd try our luck with the caravans.
Perhaps due to the long journey and finally finding a safe place, that night, Elinalise transformed into a succubus warrior to battle me. Of course, I had to fight back valiantly.
What impressed me was that after our battle, during the latter half of the night watch.
Intense combat sounds emerged from the room again. It seemed Rudeus and Roxy had also been holding back for a long time. Elinalise and I exchanged a glance and shared a knowing smile, not paying further attention to the matter.
Now that we're two pairs, it's actually quite nice. Team harmony is also ensured.
The next day, we began inquiring with caravan after caravan.
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