I honestly hated my mage because of how hard it was to level. I failed to kill my clone several times during the Lv. 20 promotion and I died at least once with every quest all the way to Lv. 30. I remember doing the Baby Bat quest in Burning Hill and being ambushed by Gold Slimes. It was fun, but a challenge nonetheless.
Now I'm Lv. 85, rocking my BK+9.