1. If you are having issues getting to 15, then you are doing something wrong.

Between the hunting log, the class quests, the side quests (assuming you were smart and didn't blow them all on 1-2 classes. I didn't and still got 90% of mine ), FATEs, guildhests, and leves...there should be no reason why you are struggling at lvl 7.

I've actually timed it with me and several other people. removing side quests from the equation (since most people didn't listen to the limited quest announcement and blew through everything. most, not all) getting to level 15 from the log, class quests, FATEs, and hests (we didn't do leves) could take roughly 2-4 hours if you focus on the class and don't get sidetracked. The variance in time was for class quests and leveling pace between people.