So, you escaped the undead asylum? That's good. Best way to go is up the cliffside where the stairs are so you can get to the undead berg, then farm souls there and level up putting most of your skill points into strength and endurance so you can block a lot more damage. Keep leveling up until you are about level 20, then just walk around and explore, believe it or not exploring is the best way to level up and progress through the game. If you prefer blocking go for the knight class. They can't dodge for shit but they can block like no other class can at the start. Plus I think knight's start out with 15 SP in vitality and strength from the beginning. Also, do you play it on xbox 360 or Play Station 3?