A couple of combat questions
 

So, the other day me and my friends almost kill each other while playing.
Rick was level 5, and had to fight King Tut. He had a two point advantage, until Tyler decided to curse him and make him lose two levels. King Tut's card says that any level 4 or higher character that tries to run away loses 2 levels.
Tyler and the rest (except for me and Rick, of course) kept saying that Rick should go back to level 1, since he was 5 when the battle started.
I kept telling them that by the time he tried to run away, he wasn't 5 anymore, so he could even run away without fear of Tut's Bad Stuff if he wanted.

Who was right here?

Also, can I still fight against cards that say they will not attack me?

Well then, thanks for your time, guys.

Re: A couple of combat questions
 

This is correct. You Run Away from each monster as the munchkin you are, not the munchkin you were.

If it says it will not pursue (the more common case), you can fight if you want, but you Run Away automatically if you can't defeat the monster.

If the monster actually says "will not attack X" or "will not fight X," then you can't fight it at all.