It has been over five years since I dreamt of owning an Earthen Abjuration: Body. Back then, I could not even locate a HNM LS to accept me given my sporadic playtime, but to make matters worse, BSTs were rarely awarded the coveted body piece without a level 75 WAR and/or DRK. Although I eventually landed a HNM LS invite with the help of a friend, I soon learned that I was little more than fresh meat expected to follow my leader's whim. Depressed, I left my original server in hopes of a better LS (and Ebody opportunities) on Asura, but not before exchanging tearful farewells and bestowing departure gifts to my remaining friends.
Unfortunately, the situation on Asura proved no better. Although I did find a nicer LS to attempt HNMs with, they eventually gave up on HNMs and Einherjar runs thanks to LSs with third-party tools and the difficulty of clearing high-tier chambers, respectively. It was not long before most of my friends disappeared without a trace, became banned for Salvage dupes, or quit the game due to real life issues, and once again, I hopped servers in hopes of better opportunities -- this time to Fairy.
Unlike my previous two servers, I focused on Einherjar exclusively while on Fairy, and through the help of another friend, I managed to find a LS several months later. Although the LS was large and successful enough to defeat Odin, LS leadership waned several months after my entry; internal disputes amongst dedicated members saw the LS shrink even further. It would not be long before an LS officer booted a member for unruly behavior, but that very member retaliated by posting controversial screenshots of his expulsion under different reasons -- taking the initiative to lead an Odin run with no officers present. The LS quickly splintered under the controversy, and although the LS leader tried to continue runs, he eventually gave up and quit the game -- the LS, with its crippled reputation, dissolved soon after.
Mortified, I decided to try my hand at buying an Ebody via mercenaries; however, most mercenaries quickly lost interest in camping an old HNM after the third Abyssea installment. Eventually, I came across a certain individual, Kemikal, who was both willing to sell an Ebody and able to hunt Nidhogg vigorously, so for the next five months, I eagerly hunted Wyrms against smaller groups and HNM LS remnants. Although we claimed almost half a dozen of Nidhoggs, none of them yielded an Ebody, and to add insult to injury, Nidhogg dropped Ebodies on days I was asleep or on campus.
Then came the new HNM update: a change that lowered my odds at obtaining an Ebody. Although I had found a new LS by this time, it was most difficult to find help for Wyrms, and the sole Nidhogg pop we did obtain failed to yield an Ebody as well. Soon after, the LS collapsed after our leader disappeared, and it would be almost a month later before I learned he had quit the game for good.
Daunted but desperate, I decided to take matters into my own hands and started organizing my own KS99 runs after my social LS refused to commit to a time. It was at this time, Kemikal offered to help with runs in exchange for an Adamantoise Egg for his friend, Shiiko, and by some bizarre luck, I got both the egg and a pair of Strider Boots on my run (both of which were given to Shiiko and Kemikal, respectfully). For the next three days, Kemikal and I raided the Dragon's Aery and led numerous KS99 Wyrm runs, hoarding as many Fafnir pops as we could get our hands on, but no matter how hard we tried, Nidhogg refused to drop an Ebody.
It seemed like I would fail to accomplish my goal once again: I was down to my last two Themis Orbs, and Shiiko, who had generously donated her remaining seals to my cause, was down to her last. It felt like nothing could make an Ebody drop at this point, having gone 0/9 on Nidhogg and 4/35 on Nidhogg pops, but Kemikal encouraged me to expend the last of my seals. By some stroke of luck, we managed to find another group of Nidhogg hunters after the other abjurations, so we pooled our Fafnir pops in hopes of mutual benefit.
What happened next was a miracle: our combined group went 3/7 on Nidhogg pops and 2/3 on Ebody (the other drop being an Aquarian Abjuration: Body), so both Kemikal and I walked away with Armada Hauberks that night at four a.m. in the morning. In total, I have spent 8.5M in gil, given away a pair of Strider Boots, two Cursed Hauberk -1s, and half a dozen Black Belt items, but fate has smiled upon me at long last.
There are a lot of people, across multiple servers, I would like to thank for helping me along the way: Masani (Diabolos), Anapinata (Asura), Cervesa (Asura), Nexai (Asura), and Goddessalura (Fairy/Sylph) for their morale support, Shiiko (Fairy/Sylph) for donating her Kindred Seals and helping with KS99 runs, Enelya et al. (Fairy/Sylph) for organizing a Nidhogg group, Mclovinn (Fairy/Sylph) and the rest of my former LS, NoRubyLight, for helping with KS99 runs, Bleak et al. (Fairy/Sylph) for teaming up on KS99 runs, and finally, Kemikal (Fairy/Sylph) for co-organizing KS99, Fafnir, and Nidhogg runs until my Ebody dropped.
Statistics:
1/10 on my Earthen Abjuration: Body (2/12 overall).
7/42 on Cups of Sweet Tea (Nidhogg pop item).
0/60+ on Ridill.
EDIT: Aggregate Results
7/48 on Cups of Sweet Tea (Nidhogg pop item).
0/66+ on Ridill.
