So I picked up a Mountain Lily Skillbloom in the chest after the final Boss on the 4th stage.
Did a search on here and didn't pop up, shed some light if you can, thanks:

->Open Spoiler<-

Battle Skill
Charge Laser Lv.1/5 Trigger Chance 15%
Deals 2.3x damage to a single enemy

Ability
Character Upgrade - Fixed chance for Battle Skill level increase for Lily Auratum.

It sounds like the same thing you trade Life Crystals for..but who is the name referenced? Missed Translation?

EDIT- A, Meak touched upon it a little bit up there. Guess I missed Page 2.. New to the Forum, sorry.
As for the "equipment upgrades," the in-game Event splash page said that those would be in Phase 2.