Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-86.169.78.147-20150412145140/@comment-13268839-20151105003003

Well no, Liz did actually say that he could probably match it with a sword from a more recent floor (at unknown enhancement levels), presumably surpass it with similar enhancements. Then Kirito said that he thought the swords were special or something, and he later beats the game with them. I can dig up the source if you want, but it might just be some sketchy side-story...

It is top notch to last him 25 levels, which is literally a quarter of the game. The first sword Kirito picked up, the Anneal Blade (or something like that) was considered a very strong starting sword that was so important that someone else was willing to kill Kirito over the quest requirements (rare drop). The Anneal Blade was only relevant... until the third floor? In that sense, the Elucidator seems extremely abnormal to stay relevant for a quarter of the game. A whole quarter, which probably took at least 5-6 of diving through content at a breakneck pace.