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I just made Sumia a Dark Flier and I'm attempting to get her to level 15 before I reach Chapter 13 so that I can get a certain build. With the EXP rate being what it is at her rank (I'm gaining roughly 10 EXP per unit killed), I'm going to run through quite a few Reeking Boxes or wait an inordinate amount of time for more Risen before I can accomplish this.
I know that there is a DLC map for easy EXP, but is there another way to gain EXP quickly without resorting to DLC or paid content?
Unit experience is calculated based on an "internal level", and promoting a unit instantly adds 20 levels to this counter (making them effectively level 31 at minimum).
This winds up meaning that promoted units get significantly less XP for killing non-promoted units.
So no, if you want to pass on Galeforce to Lucina (I'm assuming?), you will need to grind out those levels the hard way. (Reeking boxes help)
That said, keep your eyes peeled for the Entombed -- these yellow Zombies are worth bonus XP (as if they were a promoted unit, I believe), and most risen encounters (including those from the Risen box) will have exactly one.
Alternatively, you could simply not pass down Galeforce -- as long as Sumia is her mother, Lucina will be able to reach the Dark Flier class herself -- she won't start with it, but she'll be able to end up with it in due time all the same.
Remember to use your Reeking Boxes on the location that you've cleared most recently; this way the enemies will have the highest possible levels.
Other than that, the best way to gain experience quickly is to fight the highest level enemies that you can beat.
If your 3DS travels, each day Fire Emblem should collect a few random Risen battles and one parley party (they look like a StreetPass party, but don't actually come from a Street Pass encounter). Fight all of these guys.
You can also repeatedly summon SpotPass parley parties (free DLC - Wireless > Bonus Box > Bonus Teams) and fight them. There is a wide variety of teams with differing levels, so you should be able to find a team a just the right level to grow your character.
Within each fight, try to weaken enemies with other characters and finish them with Sumia for the most experience. Also, try to position Sumia so that she has a good chance to team up with other characters when they attack an enemy.
FWIW, I found it worthwhile to grind Sumia very early on, to avoid having to grind her child(ren) through the skills which I wanted Sumia to pass down.
Raven's answer covers your specific situation very well, but I have a few things to add for more general situations.
The fastest way to gain experience requires DLC. You can receive the Paragon skill for completing Lost Bloodlines 3, which doubles experience. There is also a DLC chapter called EXPonential Growth that is specifically designed to provide quick experience to a small number of units.
If you don't want to purchase DLC, you can summon Spotpass teams to the map as many times as you want. Make sure to summon a team that is strong enough to provide decent experience, but not so strong that you can't defeat them. Alternatively, you can summon a Risen party to the map with Reeking Box.
Have you tried using Reeking Boxes at the highest level chapter? So say, you use it at chapter 12 because that's the highest you can go. To my knowledge, the higher the level of the chapter you use the Reeking Box at, stronger risen will come out which nets more exp,
Otherwise, you can do finish off all the Paralogues you can do.
If you're Risen grinding, don't forget to grab the sparkly spots on the map (don't know what they are called). Taking Sumia there gives a chance of EXP, Weapon EXP, etc. If you don't need/want the items, sell them for more gold; more gold, more grinding.
Grinding can be rather tedious. Just do the hardest map you can with only Sumia. So far, even my higher rank characters get at least a level every match at chapter 5~6
