I think it might have simply just been a matter of the scenario you played first
If you played Laura’s quest first, you’d understand why Sidequests are the devil. Some of the FIRST sidequests available to you are ‘Abandoned Castle’ and ‘Knight’s Masoleum.’ In other words, two of the freeking hardest sidequests, before you even have a full group. Or better yet, a full group with even 200 HP
Of course, being new, you’re GONNA try it. A few times.
And boy, is that every obnoxious.
Plus, if you’d played Laura’s scenario first, you’d have probly gotstuck on the last boss too. I had to start over because I didn’t make good weapons (I had a few Platinum weapons but that was it), and I didn’t have enough Life Protection. Hell, I didn’t know what Life Protection was at the start; I probly sold a few items with Life Protection
The descriptions can be misleading anyways. Appearantly, Detect Blood lowers an enemy’s Life Protection, but the description is “Detects enemies with blood”. You can’t really make that sort of connection.
The game is particularly confusing, and personally, I think you were just a lucky one. 