I would like to practice installing Gentoo from scratch since I like the idea of the distro, but I’m quite new to Linux at all and only had experience with Debian. I suppose my very basic knowledge of terminal isn’t enough to install Gentoo, even with the handbook. So, what would you recommend to learn or practice before I actually try installing Gentoo? Also, any specific tips on installing Gentoo inside a VM?
Can’t really say for VM installation, but I was able to install it to “login to terminal” stage on Dell XPS 15, that was 14-15 years ago and my knowledge about Linux terminal was rather limited to basic commands only (mainly those shared with DOS/PowerShell). Just give it a go, stick to instructions and it should be fine.