I started following the green arrow, and as soon as I walked out of the door, I found myself outside in a vast magical fantasy metropolis. This was unlike any large city on Earth with its towering brick skyscrapers; these buildings were made of every material you could imagine, and some I couldn't even identify. I saw buildings made of cloud, wood, stone, various metals, and glass-like materials. There was even a building made out of what seemed to be a living tree. But that was nothing compared to the people walking about all around me. There was a cornucopia of every magical creature I had ever heard of: beings walking on one, two, three, four, or even more legs, beings with no legs that slithered, beings that could fly, hop, or travel in any way imaginable. Beings rode in magical vehicles unlike any cars, and there were mounts of every type of animal. My mind was experiencing sensory overload. The world around me was so strange and magical I couldn't even comprehend what was going on around me. All I could do was keep my head down and follow the green arrow as I walked.

I walked for about an hour when the green arrow led me to a large red stone building labeled "Bureau of Public Affairs - Housing." As I touched the doorknob, a chime rang, and I heard, "Welcome home, Barrister Pavarimax." I entered a plain lobby that housed a few hundred mailboxes. Ignoring these, I continued to follow the arrow to an elevator. Pressing the button, the doors opened in front of me. Inside, there were no buttons. The doors closed, and the elevator started to move up on its own. A few moments later, it stopped, the doors opened, and I shuffled out, fatigue hitting me as soon as I stepped off. The green arrow ended in front of a door, which opened without needing a key. I walked inside, and the apartment was huge, larger than any apartment I had ever had in my life. The entrance featured a hall closet, a shoe rack, and an umbrella stand, a reminder that even in a magical world, one needed protection from the elements.

The apartment opened up to reveal the largest kitchen I've ever seen in an apartment, equipped with every kind of accouterment and appliance imaginable, and some I wasn't sure how to use. In front of me was a large dining room, perfect for hosting a few guests, followed by what appeared to be a place for entertaining guests after dinner. There were no televisions or any technology like that. A bathroom was situated next to the entertainment room, with stairs leading down to a large, barren office and library with no books, featuring a large desk, a lamp, and an office chair in the middle. Back upstairs, on the other side of the kitchen, was a hallway with two small bedrooms and another bathroom. At the end of the hall were stairs leading up to a master bedroom the size of my apartment back on Earth. It was barren like the rest of the apartment, furnished only with a large bed, a dresser, a nightstand with a lamp, a walk-in closet, a large mirror, two windows, and on the far side, the master bathroom.

This bathroom was the strangest I had ever seen, with a very large shower featuring the biggest showerhead I've ever seen, a shallow trough at waist height across from the shower, and in the far corner behind a privacy glass, a basin about three feet tall. Curiously, I tried sitting on the basin, and it instantly formed to meet my needs; it was obviously a toilet. I stripped off my clothes from Earth, including my navy blue pinstriped suit, soft pink shirt, and plaid pink, white, and blue tie, along with my brown belt and brown monk strap Oxfords, and discarded them on the ground. Around my neck was a gold necklace with a gold ring. I touched my hand to it and walked into the shower.

The water hit me like a deluge, strangely relaxing with a strong scent of lavender, eucalyptus, and a light orange citrus, though it tasted no different. I let my mind go blank, trying to wash off all the strangeness of what had happened that day. I didn't know how much time had passed, but I eventually stepped out of the shower, and a torrent of hot air hit me, instantly drying me off. Deciding to just jump into bed, I instantly fell asleep.

I was woken up by an alarm, which I didn't know how to turn off. Groaning, I rolled off the bed, and the alarm instantly stopped, so I flopped back onto the bed, only for the alarm to begin again. "Oh, great," I muttered, just what I needed. Yelling this time as I got out of bed, I walked into the bathroom and discovered my clothes were gone. Panic hit me all over again. I touched around my neck, looking for my necklace, and thankfully found it there, where it has been for the past twenty-seven years, ever since I got it on my fifth birthday. Sighing in relief, I was still worried that my clothes from Earth were gone, but at least I still had this. I ran to my closet and inside were seven black robes and my clothes from Earth, perfectly pressed as if they came straight from the dry cleaners. I used the bathroom, washed my hands, and splashed my face from the trough.

Something told me I needed to put on one of the black robes; that was my new uniform. I looked like a mix between Harry Potter and a judge. On the right side of my robes was a red crest that read "Bureau of Public Affairs."

Taking a deep sigh, I acknowledged my hatred for wearing black—it's the most dreadful and boring color for clothing. I love bright, vibrant clothes that demand attention from everyone in a room. The life of a public servant is one filled with disappointment being yelled at, oh, and being criminally underpaid. For the first time since getting here, I looked in the mirror. Nothing had changed—my brown hair cut in a tight box fade, and my caramel-colored eyes and soft toffee-colored skin were unchanged from Earth. I'm of average height, about five feet eleven inches, and very skinny. Taking another deep breath, I tried to get my feelings under control.

In the kitchen awaited my first meal of the day: oatmeal, a banana, what smelled like coffee, and next to it, orange juice. To my pleasant surprise, everything tasted just like home. I quickly ate everything, and the dishes disappeared before my eyes. "Hells bells," I said, "no more dishes." Maybe this bureaucratic hell wouldn't be all bad. After all, I hadn't had to do laundry or dishes, two chores I absolutely hated back on Earth.

Before I knew it, the green arrow was back in my vision, leading me to where I needed to go. I walked out of my apartment, and in the elevator, there were five other people of various magical races: what seemed to be an elf, a dwarf, a blue lizard-looking being, an owl the size of a human, and a minotaur. We all were wearing the same black robes. As we descended, twenty more people from various floors entered the elevator, some exchanging greetings. My mind blurred, still unable to comprehend seeing all these non-humans. It seemed I was the only human on the elevator. We got to the lobby, and everyone began to shuffle off in the same direction. We seemed to be in the government housing area of the city because all around me were beings in various colored robes, and we all seemed to walk in the same, almost block formation in different directions. I decided to just follow the group I was with, which aligned with the green arrow in my vision. Overwhelmed again, I shut my thoughts down and started to hum to myself various songs by Notorious B.I.G.

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I approached a massive building constructed from gleaming white stone marble, so tall that its summit was lost to my view. The long courthouse steps stretched before me, and as I slowly ascended, I lost count around the five-hundredth step. Twelve marble pillars fronted the courthouse, lending it a solemn and majestic air. The main entrance was a grandiose affair, flanked by imposing columns and stairs that ascended towards the towering doors, inviting yet intimidating to those who approached. Above the entrance, sculptures, and reliefs depicting scenes of justice and law reinforced the building's purpose and the solemnity of the proceedings that took place within. Surrounding the building, a series of columns, pilasters, and statues contributed to its classical aesthetic. These elements were meticulously carved, showcasing the craftsmanship and artistic skill of the era. The sculptures, representing legal and mythological figures, served as guardians of the law, symbolizing wisdom, justice, and fairness. As I walked into the courthouse lobby, a two-hundred-foot statue of Lady Justice with golden scales stood before me. It was both a comforting, familiar sight and extremely intimidating.

I was looking around the room for the green arrow when I noticed a being in black robes. They stood at an imposing eight feet tall, with brown scaled skin. They had four arms and two legs, their head covered in long tentacles. A long snout with teeth sticking out, extended eyes and just two nostril holes completed their face. They had long, gangly, fan-like ears that descended halfway down their body, reminding me a lot of Jar-Jar Binks from Star Wars. In their hand, they held a sign that read, "Barrister Julius Pavarimax."

I approached and said, "Hi, am I Julius? You must be Zeb." They responded with what sounded like guttural clicks, but their words instantly translated into my mind. "Please, always refer to a fellow Barrister with their title, but yes, I am Barrister Zeb Montauccini. Please follow me; we have many things to discuss." Zeb quickly turned around, and I could hear the fluttering of his robes swishing behind him as he walked. "Barrister Julius, to the left are all the Civil courts, to the right are the poor souls who work on the Criminal side. May the almighty Fish Lords grant their souls peace." I tried to stammer out, "Is criminal practice that bad?"

Zeb only laughed at this. "Did your legal system on your home planet have a Common law system, Civil, Warlord, Bureaucratic, or Religious?" I quickly responded, "I worked in a Common law system, but I am also familiar with a Civil legal system." Zeb let out a long sigh of relief. "Thank the Fish Lords. The Anopia system has a Common law legal system built upon legal precedents and statutes that are set by the monarchical hierarchy called the Chamber of the Immortal Lords." I asked hesitantly, "And all the Lords are Fish?" Zeb laughed as he quickly led me through the massive courthouse. "Oh Lords, no. It's just that I am a vassal of the Fish Lords since I personally come from an aquatic planet."

We headed down a long series of steps into a musty chamber that smelled like dry ink, old parchment, and stale coffee.

We passed a few dozen identical offices, and a few people stuck their heads out, exclaiming, "Oh, look a new guy!" and I heard a few "Welcome to the team" as they all continued back to their work. In the very far back corner was my office, filled with colored leather-backed tomes. Zeb motioned for me to sit on the large leather office chair behind the desk. "Now, Barrister Pavarimax, we have a few housekeeping things to talk about. This world is broken into a monarchical hierarchy. At the top is King Evarius, next are all the other royals in the House of Lords, the highest being the prince and princesses, and the lowest member in the House of Lords is a Settlement Lord. Outside the Monarchy are us, the commoners. At the top of the commoners are government officials, followed by landowners. Now, on the other side of things, our society is split into two groups: Adventurers and non-adventurers, the latter kindly nicknamed 'bystanders,' but only adventurers call anyone by that. All adventurers technically are outside the hierarchy but they can get royal titles." I see a question forming in your mind?"

I asked hesitantly, "Can anyone become a royal?" Zeb burst out laughing, two of his hands slapped my desk, one slapped his face, and the last literally slapped his knee. "Well, technically, but there are only four ways for a commoner to become a royal. The rarest, which hasn't happened in over two hundred and eighty years, is the system awards you a royal title for a great deed, which is almost impossible for a non-adventurer like us. The last adventurer to be awarded a royal title was twenty years ago. The next way is to marry a royal, the third is to be granted a settlement, which normally only goes to adventurers as they are able to protect them while they are still in their founding stage. The last way is by royal conquest, which we won't get into, but it's also very, very difficult since we won't get any combat abilities. The downside of getting a royal title, outside being granted one by the system, is that you can lose the title just as quickly as you gained it if the contributing action that awarded you the title is no longer present." After hearing that, I just sighed. It looks like I won't become a royal.

Out of curiosity, I asked, "What did the last non-adventurer commoner do to get granted a royal title?" Zeb looked at me directly in the eyes. "She cured The Common Cold, which later allowed us to completely eradicate harmful viruses, which also subsequently is why no one gets sick unless they are cursed by someone."

"Gotcha," I responded, "so no sick days then."

"Oh Lords, no," Zeb responds, "if you never get cursed, you're not doing your job right as a Barrister. But since we won't come across anyone that would be willing or can cast any powerful curses on us, we are usually only sick for a day or two."

Zeb continued to speak, "Now, I am sure you're interested in how to do magic." As he said this, he waved his hand, and a glimmer of sparkles erupted, causing him to snort and laugh. My entire body changed; you could see the excitement permeate through me. I saw the smile crawl across Zeb’s face. "Since you were not born here, you have to create your own magical core. It's a very easy process. Do you feel the energy coming all around us?"

I focused, and I could feel a sort of buzz, a hum all around me of power. Zeb continued to instruct, "Now, try and take that energy and pull it inside you, and form a ball of energy in the center of your body."

I mentally opened up all the pores in my body welcoming the energy. The energy just rampaged inside me. It felt like absorbing hot, thick soup. I felt the energy stampede down my veins as I guided the energy into my center and tried to mentally form a ball in the center. The energy wanted to form at my will; it almost seemed happy to do the very thing I was instructing it to. Before I knew it, I had a core absorbing all the energy that was coursing through my body, and all of it was naturally finding its way to my core.

I didn't realize my eyes were closed, but when I opened them, I saw Zeb there, working on some paperwork, a fountain pen in hand. "Welcome back, Barrister Pavarimax. You are now a wizard... kind of."