Ohhh, I see. I thought it might be like an initiative roll or something, but couldn't confirm by myself, thanks for clarifying!
Also yea, I did exaggerate with that 3-4 step thing, but in my defense it 1) feels like it, and 2) I did get an encounter first step as soon as I left the castle, so it might count protected areas as steps too.
I will rate some more games and then try out that final boss, I'm really eager to try that out!