King of the Opo-opos.

Well, it took long enough. For those who do not know, the Opo-opo crown is an elusive piece of gear to acquire for anyone with Attention Deficit Disorder. I'll count my lack of ADD as a definite blessing, but that doesn't change the fact that this thing's been annoying.

Nevertheless, early Saturday morning I finally finished the questline. I had to help a rather shady Elvaan who had "overstayed his welcome" somewhat in Kazham. I kept paying his lodging fees, and he'd give me more pieces to the puzzle. Eventually this led to me tickling the fancy of ten Opo-opos in Kazham, giving them each a gift. These gifts ranged from simple purchased items like a wooden workbench, to a dragon's skull I had to travel to a volcano to extract.

After trading in each item in order, I was presented with a crown, signifying that the Opo-opos regard me as their King. Guess I'm moving up in the world...

Practical application for this crown is most importantly for my 65Bard. When worn while eating a Pamama fruit, a hidden effect triggers which gives +50 HP and MP, as well as +14 Charisma. Offset with the -7 CHR on the crown initially, the net gain of 7 is quite a chunk for one armor slot. The MP will help with the light white magic duty Bards find themselves doing.

Overall, Saturday was something of a mixed bag. In the afternoon, three LS mates and I set out to XP with our 45ish jobs. This being my Red Mage, Sodako's Thief, Galbatorix as Ninja, and Noodles on White Mage. Grabbed a Black Mage and a Monk for some beetle-killing in the desert.

Party lasted a couple hours, taking each of us up one level. Not terribly impressive, but a decent party so I can't complain. Afterward, Galbatorix was off to Dynamis-Bastok. Enter Omoikitte.

Omoikitte (Japanese for "to dare; to be bold" as I understand it) is a relatively new friend of mine. She leads both a social LS and a Sky LS. She also happens to be one of the more cheerful and helpful people I've run across of late. I met her through Ringthree, whom I've known for a long while now. Omoi helped me obtain the Savage Blade technique, and I'm on the verge of applying to her endgame LS.

Anyhoo, she offered out of the blue (which rarely ever happens to me) to take me to the Labrynth of Onzozo, where a Notorious Monster named Ose resides. Why? Because I have my big, Elvish heart set on Ose's treasure drop, the Assault Jerkin.

As you can see, this is a body armor wearable by nearly every job in the game. Most notably for me: DRG, THF, BRD, and RDM. That's a lot of Attack for one slot, and 3 Accuracy never hurts.

However, so far the last year or more has proven fruitless. I have claimed and killed Ose a few times, when I manage to get people to go, but no drop. My patience wears thin as DRG has already hit 75 without help from this piece, while BRD and THF approach its level rapidly. I shan't relent; with a smidge of luck and a heap of friendly help, I may just have it soon.

Current objectives, in no particular order:
1.) Occasional DRG meriting, of little importance to me as of yet.
2.) Paladin topped off to 75 with two LS mates.
3.) Static party with RDM, now at 44.
4.) BRD and THF in the 65ish range moved up whenever possible.
5.) Join a Dynamis LS, for acquisition of relic armor.
6.) Continue the hunt for a few NMs (AJ mentioned above and O-Kote for sure).

Much of this is dependent on timing with other people, so having something like BRD to work on that pretty much sails without incident is a breath of fresh air. After a couple things are finished up, I'll be removing a job or two from the equation of priorities, replacing with a new toy. Warrior, Monk, Ninja, and Dark Knight are frontrunners in consideration.

Well, I'm off to do a little meriting before bed. Memorial Day weekend is only halfway through!