but yea spath, the game will never put you in a situation against an impossible challenge.
You asked the question "Am I actually supposed to kill this thing. or did I somehow miss an area I'm supposed to go to?" which is what most players who get stuck fail to do.
They think, oh well it's Dark Souls, I'm suppose to die over and over again with very little hope right? The game got it's reputation from players who don't stop and think, it's actually a very simple game.
You face your enemy and stand back and block while watching what moves it does. Learn how it attacks, and find the obvious opportunities to strike before you do anything. Then you go in, attack, and conquer!
The tutorial was to teach you that. You have a broken sword, against a boss that you barely do any damage to, and it's telling you that if you're not powerful enough to defeat your opponent now, then there is no shame in running away, because next time you'll come more prepared and kick its ***. You get your sword and shield, your two survival tools, and your Estus Flask so you can heal, then you face him again only this time you're much stronger and you gain the advantage of doing a plunging attack on top of him taking away over half it's health.
You need to take things slow, and when you're exploring new territory you always ask yourself if you're ready for this, test out an enemy and if they are super strong then all you have to do is turn around and find a different path. The game is open world for players who are experienced, new players are free to take the fun path with with easier enemies that will teach you the fundamentals of the game while punishing you for your mistakes until you accept you're doing something wrong and learn from it.
It's such a fun and rewarding game if you listen to what it's trying to tell you, without directly telling you. Also, talk with NPCs and never attack them unless you know the consequences for doing so and you still want to for some reason.