[Feba]

Ok, some advice:

1- Always check NPC dealers AND the AH. A lot of times, low level items are more expensive on the AH (mainly because people will buy them and put them up at higher prices).

2- Don't worry too much about weapons until about lv 7 or 8. That's when you're going to be upgrading your armor for the first time, and it's also a good time to upgrade your weapon. Until then, just use your default equipment.

3- When you say three bats, people are going to be a little confused-- are you talking about Triple Bats (treated as a single monster), or three separate bats?

Bats are what are called 'linking' mobs, which means if you're fighting one of them, and another one sees (or hears) you, they'll also start attacking you. Obviously, if you get a few bats linked together, things get much harder pretty quickly.

4- Don't fight in the mines, at least not for awhile. They can be nice when you're on your second or third time around, you know what you're doing, and you don't want to worry much about the trip back to town or dealing with other new players, but where you are now it will just be painful.

Go outside, to Gustaberg, and fight the mobs near the entrance. You'll level up very quickly that way.

5- As TGM recommended, learn to check mobs. At your level, you can probably handle anything below an Even Match, and possibly even a Tough. As you level up, monsters will become harder, and you'll need to ratchet it down. For example, when I started leveling my MNK, I was able to chain together Very Tough mobs without difficulty for some great EXP. In fact, it was so great that within a few minutes I had to tone it down to even match. because I had leveled to the point where Very Tough mobs would wipe the floor with me!

Crash course in /check:
There are a few different levels that you'll get when you check a monster. These are, from hardest to easiest:

<Incredibly Tough> -- This is very many levels above you. This is what you'll fight in EXP parties most of the time, at least until you get to 75. Almost never should be engaged alone
<Very Tough> -- A few levels above you. Pretty much never a good idea to engage alone, unless you know what you're doing.
<Tough> -- One or two levels above you. At your level, you can probably fight these alone, but you'll need to break that habit pretty soon.
<Even Match> -- A monster at the same level as you. Despite the name, Even Matches can be extremely uneven past the first few levels or so. Take care with these.
<Decent Challenge> -- A couple levels below you. These are generally a good source of EXP up to level 12 or so.
<Easy Prey> -- A few to many (depending on your level) levels below you. These are the safest option, although of course EXP is lower for it.

Additionally, there is <Impossible to gauge!>, which indicates a Notorious Monster. These can be either far weaker than you, or tough enough that they require hordes of people to kill. Generally, you should give these plenty of space unless you know precisely what they are.

There are also markers telling you about it's evasion and defense-- these primarily indicate it's strength relative to yours. You probably won't get too much use out of these unless you're doing testing; but monsters which say "high" are usually going to be tougher than ones that say "low".

BONUS- Be sure to get signet. It was probably in whatever guide you read, but if it didn't have other basics, it might not have that. You can get it from the people near the gates that are marked with an initial ("I.M." in Bastok, I believe) by their name. This will make crystals drop, as well as reward you with conquest points (relative to how much EXP you earn) which you can use to buy the rings Malacite mentioned, which will help you earn EXP faster. You can also use it on items like scrolls of Warp and Reraise, which respectively return you to your home point and cast a spell of reraise on you so that if you die you don't have to wait for someone to raise you, or go all the way back out from town. Crystals of course can be sold for a bit of spare change.