Quick Guide on how to win the first duel in the game.
Introduction
I beat this fight at level 22 and using a HP rune by farming near the village you recently went to before the events unfold. Otherwise I had my weapon max upgraded and the best armour I could get.
I do think a bit of RNG is involved with this so if you fail then you will have to redo the whole event again. Reminder that if you hold B on the xbox controller it skips cut-scenes which helped me with attempting this multiple times.
Phase 1
Attack > Counter > Attack > Counter > Break
As far as this battle is concerned, whenever you get the option to break, always take it. It will progress you onto the next phase immediately.
Phase 2
As a reminder, whenever you get the break option, use it immediately to progress to the next phase.
Phase 3
Attack > Counter
After this, the duel becomes RNG again so follow the next table:
As another reminder, once you get the option to break, break asap to get to the final phase
Phase 4
Counter > Counter > Break!
And with that, you will have completed the first duel.
Thanks to VoidKingdom for their excellent guide; all credit belongs to their effort. If this guide helps you, please support and rate it here. Enjoy the game.