Pain.

That was the first thing Reed felt. It wasn't physical pain, exactly. It was the sensation of fifty strangers trying to shout their lunch orders into his ear at the exact same time.

"Guh," Reed grunted, his forehead hitting the cold stone floor of the Core Room.

[SYSTEM ALERT]

[Status: UNFORMATTED.]

[Psychic Feedback: CRITICAL.]

[Neural Load: 98%... 99%...]

The summoning smoke cleared, but the noise didn't. The Core Room was packed wall-to-wall with confusion.

Reed cracked one eye open. It was bedlam.

Thirty Bone-Maids were chattering, their jaws clicking like castanets as they began to use the stalagmites as stripper poles, confused by their own high heels. Clack-Clack-Snap.

The ten Orc Matrons were flexing at the walls, screaming for something to punch. One was currently trying to headlock a stalactite.

The Void Bunnies, sensing Reed as the source of the mana, swarmed him like a cloud of affectionate fog. They phased through his clothes, nuzzling his neck, his arms, his chest, seeking the warmth of the Void Shard.

"Stop!" Reed shouted, clutching his head. "Too loud! Too… thirsty!"

"Sir!" Maira's voice cut through the din, though she sounded frantic. She was swatting at a Void Bunny that was trying to phase through her clipboard. "You need to format the drive! You need to impose Order!"

"I can't!" Reed wheezed, trying to push a smoke-girl off his face. "It's like trying to herd fifty cats who all want to sit on my lap!"

He couldn't focus. The Shadow Rot inside the minions was resonating with his own. They were hungry, confused, and running entirely on his subconscious desires. And apparently, his subconscious wanted a very aggressive party.

"ANCHOR PROTOCOL," a deep voice boomed.

THUD.

The floor shook.

Terra stepped into the circle, shoving two Orc Matrons aside like they were made of cardboard. The Magma Golem looked at the chaos. She looked at Reed, who was currently drowning in a pile of semi-translucent waifus.

Terra sat down behind him.

She didn't ask. She simply wrapped her massive stone arms around Reed's chest, trapping him against her rock-hard torso. She was warm. Incredibly warm. And heavy.

"I HOLD," Terra rumbled, the vibration traveling through Reed's spine and grounding him instantly. "YOU THINK."

"I can help with the thinking," a soft voice whispered.

Elara drifted out of the ceiling. The Banshee floated down, her spectral dress rippling in the mana currents. She placed her cold, ghostly hands on Reed's temples.

"Open the door, Reed," Elara whispered. "Let me in. I know how to organize a choir."

"Silence them!" Seraphine roared from the doorway.

The General slammed the butt of her spear onto the stone floor. A wave of [Killing Intent] washed over the room. It was sharp, cold, and terrifying.

The minions froze. The Bone-Maids stopped clicking. The Orcs stopped flexing. The Void Bunnies stopped nuzzling and hovered in place, trembling.

The combination was perfect. Terra provided the physical ground. Seraphine provided the fear. Elara provided the mental clarity.

Reed took a breath. He felt Maira's intent, Terra's strength, and Elara's cool touch inside his mind, sorting the threads of connection.

He opened his eyes. They were blazing violet.

[OVERLORD COMMAND: FORMAT.]

"ATTENTION!" Reed barked. The word carried a psychic shockwave that rattled the teeth of everyone in the room.

Instantly, the chaos snapped.

The Bone-Maids stopped dancing. They snapped their heels together. CLACK.

The Void Bunnies phased out of his clothes and formed a perfect, floating line.

The Orc Matrons stopped flexing and stood at rigid attention, saluting with enough force to bruise their own foreheads.

The lust in the air vanished, replaced by a cold, terrifying discipline. They were still sexy, nothing could change the fact that the Orcs were wearing napkins and the skeletons were wearing corsets, but now, they were professional.

Reed slumped back against Terra, the headache vanishing instantly.

"Oh, thank god," he breathed.

Terra patted his head with a finger the size of a sausage. "GOOD JOB, TINY BOSS."

"The drive is formatted," Elara whispered, fading back into his chest. "They are ready to serve."

The Drill Sergeant

Terra stood up, lifting Reed effortlessly and setting him on his feet. She walked over to the army of new recruits.

She poked a Bone-Maid in the chest.

"YOU ARE SQUISHY," Terra boomed. "IF GUEST TOUCHES YOU, DO NOT BREAK. YOU BREAK HIM."

The Bone-Maid nodded violently, her violet eye-flames flaring.

"YOU," Terra pointed to the Orcs. "NO SITTING ON GUESTS. UNLESS THEY PAY EXTRA."

The Orcs grunted in disappointment but nodded.

"Riva!" Reed called out.

"Boss?" The harpy poked her head out from behind a stalactite, where she had been hiding from the noise.

"The Void Bunnies fly," Reed said. "Or hover. You're the Air Commander. Teach them how not to spill drinks."

"SQUADRON!" Riva screeched, diving into the air. "FOLLOW THE SHINY!"

The ten Void Bunnies floated after her, forming a V-formation and phasing through the ceiling to head toward the Casino floor.

Reed looked at Maira. He was sweating, his shirt clinging to his back, but the job was done.

"We have a staff," Reed said. "Fifty minions. Ready to work. Zero upkeep cost."

Maira looked at the lineup. Thirty skeletons in corsets. Ten muscle-mommies in loincloths. Ten smoke-girls in nothing.

"We have a staff," Maira agreed, scribbling furiously on her clipboard. "And now, we have a catastrophic Human Resources violation."

"What's wrong?"

"They are naked, Sir," Maira said, her eye twitching. "We cannot open a high-end casino with a staff that looks like a bachelor party hallucination. We need uniforms."

She turned and marched toward the exit, her heels clicking with renewed purpose.

"Come, minions! To the tailor shop! We have 48 hours to cover your shame! Grika, I need your sewing machine!"

"I modified it to stitch sheet metal!" Grika yelled from the hallway, running after her. "But I can dial it down!"

The army marched after them. Click-Clack-Click-Clack.

Reed leaned back against the cool stone of the Core, feeling the residual warmth of Terra's hug fading from his back.

"I accidentally made a Harem Army," he whispered to the empty room. "I really hope Kaelen doesn't arrest me."

[QUEST COMPLETE: THE HIVE MIND.]

[Reward: 50 Minions (Tier 1) - Formatted.]

[New Feature: The Hive Mind (Stable).]

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