Antimatter - Star Munchkin - Losing Levels You Don't Have

[Munchkinator]

So we had a situation come up recently and I'd like your help.

I'm Level 2. I beat down the door and draw "Trap! Antimatter". I dutifully turn my Shmaser upside down. Then I say that I am discarding the Antimatterized Shmaser and taking the two level hit.

Here's the problem: I only had one level to lose. I said that I could still discard the Shmaser and lose just one level (instead of two). My family said that I had to have two levels to lose in order to discard the card.

So who's right? Could I have discarded the Antimatterized Shmaser? And what if I was just Level 1? What then?

Thanks.

[MunchkinMan]

You have to have the levels to "spend," so you would have to be Level 3 (Level 4 for a Cyborg) in order to dump the Item affected by Trap! Antimatter. Just because you can't below Level 1 and can ignore level loss, that does not mean you can ignore levels you don't have when you have to pay a level as a cost.