I was setting up my OBS but then I realized you can get the sword pencil after the beginning cutscene . It is illegal if I use the sword pencil early before Chapter 7 ?

Yes, you can get the sword, but it's not recommended in 'Any% Bad Ending' or in any misc. categories because the time you expend getting the sword is very big, bigger than the time you expend getting the sword in chapter 7. Getting the sword after the beginning cutscene only actually save time on 'Any% Good Ending' and '100%' runs, because you can get an puzzle piece in chapter 3 much faster and easier, and in case of '100%' runs, get an color buddy at the very beginning of chapter 7 more faster. In general, yes, you can get the sword.

🤓Um, actually, there is no time loss since the timer is started once you press the green start button, so what you do in the intro doesn't matter.🤓

Also, it lets you skip the 3 giant boss frogs at the end of chapter 6, since you can just use the sword on the weather machine instead of making the frogs hit it. Plus, you can get rid of enemies easier, but that's a no brainer with the sword.

The rules were probably different at the time since it was like 3 1/2 years ago