Still, grinding is not a rule, it's just a way you choose to play the game. I met a lot of friends back in time who only liked to manasit at houses, do social things, group quests services, etc.
Anyway, even if your objetive is to get that item, that's something that (again) YOU are looking for and nobody is pushing you to get into it, it's just one more aspect of the game that you can entirely avoid.
Yes, you can fully avoid grinding when talking about MMO's, paradoxically grinding ends up doing it way more boring. WOW i.e had you doing quests all the time in order to gain experience and advance in levels, and it turned into a less boring experience when playing for first time and you could, anyway, hunt mobs and gain exp but it was a very slow grinding path. Tibia in the other hand pushed you to get experience solely from monsters (except PVP-ENF), but still you can just avoid it and hunt casual. Even a game like Habbo Hotel have lasted for so many years, and let's say, you dont grind anything there.