That's exactly what I mean, yes. If you absolutely must grind, then I would recommend doing it for vocation proficiency (to learn some abilities) rather than exp. The Traveler's Tablet Slimetree Fo...

...want to have a more long-term plan. An NPC in Alltrades will tell you all about the advanced classes; a quick overview, and the requirements to unlock them. Choose which advanced classes you wan...

Yes, you do need to defeat them. The good news is, this is one of the rare times where there's no consequence for dying, so don't be afraid to try various strategies to see what works.