Hopkins has lost his Soul Blade and you will need to journey through Mines level 1 and 2and defeat the Vol Opt to retrieve the Soul Blade.

Follow the red dashed line for the shortest route. This quest has a lot of "puzzles" involving switches and teleporters. Pay close attention to the teleporter and switch numbers in the map.

If doing this quest for experience, go to every room and defeat all the monsters.

Upon retrieving the Soul Blade from the Vol Opt, return to pioneer 2 and speak to Hopkins. It will say that the quest is completed. Collect your reward from the Guild Counter.

The red path on the maps is the shortest path, but watch out for Sinows. In Normal through Very Hard, you only have to deal with Sinow Beats and Sinow Golds, but Ultimate has to deal with Blues and Reds - far worse. What's more, in Mine 1 alone, you'll see about 80 Sinows. The Beat/Blue variety is more frequent, with about 50 appearing on my run in Ultimate. They also bring about thirty of their cousins - the dreaded Sinow Red.

Also, in the room with the double warps, avoid the warps unless you want a really tough fight. Only one person can take warp 1, and it goes to the center platform. After it locks out, it drops in the first of three waves of Sinows, for a total of about an extra 15 on top of the numbers above. (about 10 Blues and 5 Reds). Your teammates can attack from the sidelines if they have anything that can reach, but other than that it's you and your lonesome. After you finish off the last wave, the other warp opens so you can get back on the path.

Forces, have a high-level Resta and Jellen on your Action Pallete - you're gonna need it! These things really pack a wallop in Ultimate, where there are so many they can hit you twice at once. If you've fought against Olga Flow, think of being in his beam, but it saps HP at half speed. It's that bad. You'll have time for one spell before they whack you. Hunters, bring something that can strike at a distance, like a Sword. That way, the Sinows will get hit more, since you can strike from a greater distance. Rangers, a Shot type is OK in lower modes, but in Ultimate, you either need a powerful Mechgun or something with the Hell ability (Dark would work, too). A Hell Arms is really good here.

Mine 2 introduces the other terror of the Mines - the Garanz, or the Baranz in Ultimate. You'll find about twenty, so be ready. Again, Forces need Resta and Jellen ready. Unlike the Garanz, which has slow missles that can be outrun in a pinch, the missles of the Baranz are faster. The only to get rid of them is with a lucky Rafoie or by ramming them into the source - the Baranz itself. Hunters need a strong Sword or whatever their preffered weapon is.... But they may want to keep their distance. Rangers want to go with something that can Freeze it. A Blizzard weapon would be great. Also, watch out for an extra 15 Sinows.

Upon reaching the Boss Warp, you get to fight Vol Opt as usual. When you finish the full form off, you will find the Soul Blade in Vol Opt's remains.