The devil kept explaining, terrified Max might think he was hiding something. "The marks don't just disappear for no reason. When you meet the requirement, the Pilgrimage recognizes your accumulation and gives you the choice to advance. But once you condense the lower marks into a higher one, the lower marks get consumed. You can't use the same marks twice."
"What happens if someone collects enough but refuses to advance?" Max asked.
"They can keep accumulating," the devil answered. "Some people wait because lower-grade marks can get used directly for certain exchanges and transactions. But the higher your mark grade, the greater your authority, and the more valuable your status becomes. A Gold Mark holder gets treated very differently from someone who only carries Bronze Marks."
Max looked down at his wrist again. The bronze symbol seemed to glow faintly beneath his skin.
"So every newcomer starts with one Bronze Mark," he said.
"Yes."
