Ok, so youve started to familiarize yourself with your character,  and what he can and cant do so well.  You've reached level 10 and even picked up the 2 marks in Lasler.(you can read more about marks at some of the other various links posted at www.materiamagica.com)

   In my case I had just started becoming familiar with my character and all of the above, when suddenly I walked out of the gate of Lasler and found myself in the wilderness.  And when I tried to go back in... an even bigger surprise...I couldnt !!! YOU CAN NOT RETURN TO LASLER AFTER LEVEL 10 ONCE YOU LEAVE.

   ...So, what do you do now ?  Here are some hints to help out...

   There are all kinds of towns and areas throughout the land of Alyria to see.  As a low level character however,  you will probably want to start with the first town south of Lasler(the town of Rune).  Just follow the path until you come to it.  If you come to the east entrance and its nightime,  you wont be allowed in,  and will need to slip in at the west gate(shhh...dont tell).

   The first thing you should do as with any town is familiarize yourself with the area and check out the shops and equipment and whatnot.  Your probably gonna find lots of new equipment you wanna buy that wasnt available in Lasler.

   Ok, so you've strapped on a few new pieces of equipment and gotten a little familiar with Rune and its inhabitants...so what now...

   This is where the age old question "Kill vs Quest" comes in ?  And I hope you pay close attention to this,  so as not to regret it later on as I did with my first character I created in Materia Magica. I started seeing all kinds of this great equipment I wanted that cost alot of gold,  and soon I was able to tap into the auction channel as will you.  This fueled my desire to level and kill, kill, kill as "quickly" as possible to get more gold and to get stronger quicker too !!!

   That is an option you too MAY end up choosing and you will have alot of fun with it....However,

   I also offer you another option,  so that you understand before you decide what path to take with your character.  Killing the many creatures and forming with others to create "leveling parties" is fun and hard to resist.  However,  if you do this and decide to just go on a slay-a-thon,  Know this...

   you'll level quickly yes, and then one day look around at other characters the same level as you... and realize your character is not as strong as them because you didnt do enough  "questing" and practicing up your skills and proficiencies when you had the chance(Boo Hoo). 

   Why ???... because when a low level character goes to practice his skills,  you may(for example) practice something 20 times,  and recieve a 20 point increase in that ability(point for point).  But as you get higher in level(somewhere around level 60)... you might practice something 20 times and only get 3-4 points better at it...(OUCH).

   Thats why questing is so very important, especially as a low level player.  The theory of this way of thinking is... that you actually want to kill as less as you have too in the early going,  because everything you kill gives you experience points.  In fact I recommend that you find Lord Agrippa in the castle at the northern end of Rune and start questing as soon as possible. 

   Everytime you complete a quest for him you will recieve very valuable practices, quest points, and MORE gold than you will by simply going on a killing spree.  You will be required to kill some in some of the quests but thats ok.

   If you get tired of questing in Rune,  there are other Quest Masters in various other cities you can journey to.  You can find the Merdraco(ship) on the pier to the south of Rune and ride to some of these places if you wish.

   But there you have it...  my advice is to QUEST, QUEST, and QUEST some more !!!  And practice up all of your skills at a low level while you can.  Your character will thank you for it in the long run, trust me.

   Whatever path you choose,  it will be alot of fun,  and GOOD LUCK.