[@King Cosmos]At most I'll probably have like... 5 show up? Depends on how the story ends up going. Since if something crazy big starts happening, having a team dedicated to preforming greater rituals is never a bad thing. 

As for his magecraft, you're pretty much accurate. He mostly looks for other mages who are interested in study, and if they are willing, he takes over their bodies to continue his research. Also, Middle Easter Mages tend to not have crests, which is probably for the best since that corner of the world has some pretty scary mystery. What with demon gods and the like being so heavily rooted there.