A Tool That Can Do Anything
"A rival merchant group has announced a new model of audio magic tool."
"Mm. Is that so?"
"Yes. Apparently the sound quality and bandwidth have improved dramatically. At this rate, demand for the audio magic tools we've been selling is going to drop hard."
"Ah. That's a shame."
"Video magic tools and the other lines are in a similar situation."
"Haha. Well, nothing we can do about it."
Good. This time my business is finally going to fail.
Once we get pushed out of the market, we'll have no choice but to shut down the magic tool division.
It was a perfect plan.
"Oh—how's development on the communication magic tool coming along?"
"To develop a communication magic tool based on an entirely new concept, we've currently requested technical consultation from the Magic Tower. We've also brought in a large volume of equipment, including simulation magic tools. It seems there are quite a few areas that existing technology simply can't handle."
"Hmm. Really?"
"Yes. My apologies."
"No, don't apologize. Moments like this are when you push even harder."
Hitting a wall is good news.
If they fail development entirely while they're at it, even better.
"Give them all the budget they need. Haha."
"Yes. Understood."
The research lab of the Cave Merchant Group.
At last, a prototype of the multipurpose communication magic tool had been completed.
"……So the prototype's finally here. It's something the lab threw together on the fly, so the size is bigger than the target specs and the mana efficiency is a mess, but…… for now, every single function we aimed for has been successfully implemented."
The design was still crude, but aesthetics and efficiency could be refined later.
What mattered was that they had succeeded in realizing the features they'd set out to build.
"The minigame we made as a test runs properly, too."
"Well, all we did was port a classic game from recreational magic tools a few generations back. If something this light couldn't even run, we'd have to scrap the whole project."
Pew-pew.
On the magic tool's screen, a pixelated airplane fired its guns and shot down pixelated monsters swooping in from the opposite side.
It was a famous title—classic even among classics.
"Honestly, now that we've actually built it, I don't see why anyone would play games on this instead of a proper recreational magic tool…… We can't run anything heavy anyway, so only lightweight, simple games at the classic level are even possible."
"This isn't a recreational magic tool—it's a communication magic tool. Having something simple to kill time with while you wait for a message should be more than enough."
"Hmm. You think so?"
"Besides, specialization was never the point. The concept is this one device can do everything. The camera quality is worse than a video magic tool, the audio is worse than an audio magic tool, and the calculator and dictionary functions aren't exactly cutting-edge tech either…… but if you've got this one thing, you don't need to buy any of the others."
The research team leader said it with a faint smirk, and a researcher added, a little uneasily:
"……Strictly speaking, to use it properly you still need a physical communication network connection."
"Well, public facilities and major merchant groups already have those hooked up, so you just install a router. And for sharing information between individuals, short-range use is plenty."
"Still. It feels incomplete."
It was an awkward middle ground.
It packed a lot of functions, but each one fell a little short of a dedicated magic tool specialized for that purpose. If you could connect to a physical network through a short-range router, you could share information over long distances—but without a router, all you got was basic communication.
It would be enough for now…… but looking further ahead, they would need technology capable of sending and receiving large volumes of data over long distances.
"Well, it's not like there aren't shortcomings…… but one thing is crystal clear, right?"
"What's that?"
"There's nothing more advanced than this magic tool anywhere in the world. The moment this hits the market, the structure of the magic tool industry itself is going to flip. Dictionary tools, calculator tools, book-storage tools, notebook tools—all those compact devices built around a single simple function are going to get wiped out of the market."
"That's…… a little terrifying."
A market disruptor.
In the research team leader's eyes, this magic tool was a monster that would throw the market into chaos.
Because it had crammed so many functions into a single device.
Similar products had existed before this one, of course—but most of them had been crude, overengineered disasters.
By that standard, this deserved to be called a revolution without any hesitation.
"Director, what should we name this magic tool?"
"……Smart. How about that?"
"Smart?"
"Because it's a clever little thing that can do anything and learn anything. Right now we've only put in one minigame, but once we open up the development tools, countless functions are going to start appearing."
In the research team leader's eyes, it was as if he could already see the future this magic tool would create.
Games that used the camera. Tools for editing stored music. Games you could enjoy together at short range. Platforms for sharing information over long distances.
It had eyes. It had ears. It had a brain.
A magic tool that could learn anything.
That was the most perfect description possible for this new device.
"I like it. Smart."
"But what about the functions inside it? Are we just going to call them 'functions'? Feels like they need a new name of their own."
"Hmm. Since they're functions you can apply by building on the base magic tool, how about application—as in applied use?"
"……Isn't that a little long?"
"Then we shorten it to app."
"App. App. App. Somehow it rolls off the tongue pretty well……?"
And so, the Smart Magic Tool entered the world.
A magic tool that could do anything.
The first to react to it was the Magic Tower.
"Feels like they miniaturized a simulation magic tool. Not bad. The development tools are intuitive, too—nothing hard about it."
Simulation magic tools.
They were devices used primarily by merchant groups, research labs, and the Magic Tower to calculate magic.
Think of them as the magic-tool equivalent of a computer.
Teaching new spells, reproducing the functions of other magic tools, copying and sharing information—most of what a magic tool could do was possible through one of these.
All within a virtual environment, of course.
When private individuals bought them, it was usually for gaming.
Not that many people actually bought one just to play games—the price was astronomical—especially with how well-developed the recreational magic tool market already was.
In any case, the Smart Magic Tool had been designed with the simulation magic tool as its model.
Which meant its architecture was deeply familiar to mages.
"There's a place called the App Store where you can share apps? You can even sell them for money…… Hmm. Maybe I'll make a few and upload them. I could just take some of the stuff I used on the simulation magic tool, slim it down, and put it up."
And mages, by nature, were creatures overflowing with curiosity.
When a new toy appeared, they wouldn't rest until they'd played with it as much as possible.
"Tch. This one's too heavy—it won't run properly."
"Light. What are you doing?"
"Ah. I just bought this new magic tool. Turns out you can develop and add all kinds of functions, like a simulation magic tool. So I was trying to port a few things over…… but maybe because it's a compact device, it's not working well."
"Aha. Compact magic tool development is my specialty. Let me take a look."
Word that an interesting magic tool had appeared at the Magic Tower spread almost instantly.
And countless apps began flooding into the App Store.
Most of them were things mages had made for fun.
Paid apps were actually the minority.
"How's this? Match three identical candies and they go pop! and explode."
"That's basically the same as that classic game from the old recreational magic tools."
"Those were gems. These are candies."
"……Is there a difference?"
"Eh, I'm not trying to make money off it anyway. I'll put it up for free. Download it from the App Store and give it a try."
"Ah, okay."
New games appeared.
"I made a magitech calculator app and put it on the store."
"Oh, so I don't have to carry a calculator magic tool around anymore."
Useful tools appeared, too.
"How about this one? It's a photo editing app. You can add drawings like this, adjust brightness, do corrections—all of it."
"Ooh. Share it with me."
"I'll put it on the App Store, so download it yourself."
"Got it."
Thanks to the mages of the Magic Tower, the once-barren App Store filled up with free apps.
Since they weren't paid, no transaction fees were collected—
but they became the perfect reason for countless people to buy a Smart Magic Tool.
And so the rumor began to spread among ordinary people as well.
A rumor that there was a magic tool that, once you bought it, could do anything.
"What's that? A new recreational magic tool? Got any fun games on it?"
"Huh? You still don't know about the Smart Magic Tool?"
"Smart?"
"It's a new communication magic tool…… and it's seriously amazing. This thing."
"What's so amazing about it?"
"Everything."
"What does 'everything' even mean?"
"Just try it. I'm telling you, everything about it is amazing."
"So what is it?"
And just like that, sales of the Smart Magic Tool began to climb exponentially.
"Lord of the Merchant Group! It's a huge success!"
"Gyaaaaaaah!"
No. Why is a smartphone suddenly popping out of nowhere?!
The technology level just jumped way too far all at once!
Ah. But this game is actually pretty fun.
Of course, I'd bought one myself.
I can't resist a smartphone……